BrewDog Mail Order Martian

 

Well this was an unexpected surprise; I think it's the first time I have awarded full marks to an IPA.  Yes, that's a full 50/50 and I don't hand that score out very often.

I usually try to keep the sediment in the can but this is a milkshake IPA so I just poured it all in the glass.  It looks like orange juice with a thick cream coloured head.

It smells SO fruity with a combination of tropical fruits and citrus.  I picked up notes of mango, peach, lime, grapefruit and lychee and it smells like there's a full and varied bowl of fruit crammed into this can.

The taste is DIVINE!  It's sweet and juicy with tropical fruits and citrus combining with the lactose and oats to give a smooth and perfectly balance flavour.  It's definitely one for the sweet toothed beer drinker, but it's not too sweet and it has a lovely bitter finish.  There isn't even a hint of raw alcohol taste, despite the stonking 7% ABV.

It's full bodied and well carbonated to give a nice tingly mouthfeel that reminds you it's beer not juice that you're drinking. 

I couldn't fault this beer at all and it was well deserving of a perfect score from me.  I'll be stocking up on this if BrewDog brew it again and hopefully, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 5/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Lost in Blood Orange

This is no ordinary lager from BrewDog, it contains a massive helping of blood orange citrus and it smells absolutely divine.

It pours a light golden yellow colour with a slight haze and a robust, frothy off-white head.  It has the most amazing smell of blood orange and the aroma is strong and distinct.

The flavour is more subtle with the orange citrus taking more of a back seat and letting the hops and biscuit notes shine through.  Body is thin and it's well carbonated to give it that lovely fizzy and refreshing lager mouthfeel.

It's very refreshing and zesty and it's a lovely twist on a standard lager.  It is what it says on the can and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Hoppy Xmas

Christmas time is here again and you can always count on BrewDog for a festive beer. 

Hoppy Xmas is a festive IPA and it's very lively so it took me a couple of pours to fit it all in my 330ml glass.  It pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a tight, thick, robust off-white head that lasts and laces.

The aroma is deliciously fruity with notes of lemon, orange and tropical fruit as well as the expected blast of hops.  It tastes like it smells with a lovely blend of citrus and tropical fruits and hops that give it a lovely dry/bitter finish.   The pineapple and papaya flavours add a note of sweetness that takes the pithy bitter edge off the citrus.

It has a good medium body and it’s very well carbonated, as you can see from the head, but the bubbles aren't harsh and they give the tongue a nice tickling.  

I don't think there's anything particularly festive about it apart from the name, but it's a lovely IPA that's just the right level of bitterness for me.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 

6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Cold Front

To mark the recent cold spell here in the UK, I cracked open my can of BrewDog's Vienna-style lager, Cold Front.

It has a deep golden, orange hued body and a frothy, pretty robust cream coloured head that laces the glass.  The aroma is quite light as you would expect from a lager but it's quite hoppy and there are hints of zesty citrus and sweet caramel.  

The first sip really twanged my taste buds as zesty marmalade bubbles burst in my mouth.  It also has sweet biscuit notes and a lovely dry, bitter finish.  It's well carbonated but not too fizzy and it has a thin to medium body.

It's a lovely refreshing hoppy lager with a surprising zesty kick.  I enjoyed it and Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Cake Cartel

Ooh I wanted to try this hazelnut stout from BrewDog as soon as I heard about it and it did not disappoint.  This is definitely one for the sweet toothed beer drinker.

It's a very dark brown stout with a small, rapidly vanishing tan head that doesn't leave a single bubble behind, giving it a very disappointingly flat appearance.  It makes up for it in the wonderful aroma though - it's as sweet as candy with notes of malt, caramel, milk chocolate and raspberry jam.

It tastes like liquid chocolate cake with a huge helping of malt, a dash of candy floss and a sprinkling of nuts.  It leaves a lovely sweetness of the lips and it's very moreish, although it doesn't taste as nutty as I expected.  Brewed with lactose, it's a very smooth stout with low carbonation and a full body.

This is a lovely rich, dark, sweet pastry stout and it tastes exactly as would expect from the can.  If it hadn't lost its head so quickly and tasted a bit more nutty, it would've been a five star beer but for taste alone, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Silk Road

 

I picked up this can of mango and lychee hazy IPA in Herons for something silly like 69p, so of course it would have been rude not to get one....or two.

It's a lovely hazy golden beer with a small, rapidly vanishing off-white head that leaves a patchy layer of foam.  There's quite a lot of sediment in the can so I left a lot of it behind as it was hazy enough already for me.

It has a beautiful aroma.  It's very fruity with notes of mango and some highly perfumed lychee.  It tastes very refreshing with the delicious flavour of sweet juicy mango and a slight bitterness of lychee.  It has a lovely soft and silky mouthfeel with low, soft carbonation in a thin to medium body.

This is a lovely hazy IPA but because of the mango, it tastes more like an alcopop than a beer to me; it was just missing a cocktail umbrella.  I can't complain for the price though!  Unless I saw it cheap again, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Puppy Love

 

A milkshake IPA containing lactose, Puppy Love is a limited edition Valentine's Day beer from BrewDog.

It's a hazy deep yellow colour with a small, loose, rapidly vanishing off-white head.  Once the head has gone, it looks like a glass of orange squash.  It has the most amazing aroma of fresh, juicy raspberries with a hint of zesty citrus.  

The flavour is quite light and it's very refreshing.  It's citrussy but there's no bitter pithiness at all, there's a definite hit of sweet not tarty raspberries and there's also a slight hint of tropical fruit that's almost perfumy like lychee.  Lactose gives an overall creaminess to the taste.  The body is thin and ever so slightly watery with low, firm carbonation.

With a lower than usual ABV for an IPA of 4.7%, it's very easy to drink and I really enjoyed it.  It's limited edition for 2022 but I hope it's brewed again next year.  Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.7% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Quench Quake

Although I'm not sure they should be considered a beer, I keep being drawn to fruity, refreshing sours - the more lip-puckering the better.  So, I thought I'd try Quench Quake, BrewDog's grapefruit and tangerine sour but I was a little disappointed to be honest.

It's a lovely bright golden colour with a small, rapidly disappearing off-white head.  Once the head has gone, it looks like a glass of cider.  I leaned in for a sniff and was very disappointed; it smells just like a lager and lime!  

There was no lip puckering in the taste, although the zingy grapefruit citrus had a good attempt at pinging my tastebuds.  It does have a sour taste but it's not overly so, it's like it can't quite make its mind up what to be between a lager and a sour.  Body is unsurprisingly thin and watery and carbonation is low and soft.

Whilst it's tasty and fruity, it's nothing exciting.  There's not even any lime in it, but to me it just tasted like a lager and lime with far too much lime in.  It's maybe one for those who like alcopops, which isn't me, so Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
4.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Zombie Cake

 

I love praline chocolates so I was desperate to get my hands on a bottle of Zombie Cake, BrewDog's praline chocolate porter but I have to say I was a little disappointed.

It's a very dark brown ale with a semi-tight robust beige head that leaves a good layer behind when it disperses.  The smell is amazing!  It does actually smell like praline with notes of nuts, chocolate, malt and treacle.  The nuttiness is lost in the taste though and I couldn't taste any nuts at all unfortunately.  The flavour is roasted malt, coffee and chocolate with the coffee lingering in the aftertaste.  Notes of chocolate do burst through at times but definitely no nuts for me.

It has a medium body and it's quite softly carbonated so it is very easy to drink.  It's a lovely porter but I don't think it's anything special.  It's definitely worth trying but Ale Not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Nanny State

 

As you can tell by the fact that I blog about it, I love real ale but drinking too much of it makes me look like a beer barrel.  So these days, I'm turning more and more to low or zero alcohol beers when I fancy a beer.  Whilst a lot of alcohol free beers taste like beer flavoured spring water, BrewDog's Nanny State is one of the best I have tasted.  It actually tastes like a craft beer, albeit a weak and thin-bodied one, but you can't really expect it to taste like a 6% full-bodied ale because it isn't.

Brewed with Centennial, Amarillo, Columbus, Cascade and Simcoe hops, Nanny State is a lovely malty, hoppy ale with a bitter citrus finish.  The flavour is like a cross between an IPA and a bitter as you've got a hint of citrus as well as a delicious maltiness.  It's thin-bodied and a little watery but with only 20 calories per can, I'm happy to lose a bit of body to have a guilt-free beer.

Currently, a pack of 24 cans is £24.95 from Amazon (or £4.00 + delivery for 4 cans from BrewDog) so at just over £1 per 330ml can, it's not the cheapest alcohol-free beer around but it might very well be the best.  It looks and tastes like a craft beer and it's so moreish and so low in calories that you don't feel bad having just one more.

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
0.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog 5AM Saint

 

It's a bunch of fives from BrewDog with their American red ale 5AM Saint: 5% ABV, 5 malts and 5 hops (actually 6 but I like the pattern they're going for).  Doesn't it look stunning?  It's a beautiful slightly opaque red/brown colour with a small, loose cream coloured head that vanishes quite quickly.

There's nothing subtle about the aroma with a huge hit of malt, caramel and orange marmalade citrus so I couldn't wait to dive in.  With a wonderful mixture of malts and hops, this really tingles the tastebuds.  Sweet malts and caramel make are followed by a bitter citrus tang but these conflicting flavours are seamlessly woven together on a biscuit base.  

The only thing that lets it down is the body.  It has a very watery mouthfeel and relatively low carbonation so it feels quite light despite the amazing flavours.  With a bit more body and a longer lasting head this would have been a five star beer without doubt.  I'd still have another one, so Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Santa Paws

 

Way back in 2016, I was delighted to find a deliciously dark ruby tinged ale inside the bottle of Santa Paws, BrewDog's Christmas Scotch ale.  It has a large frothy beige head that is quite loose but does leave a thin foam layer when it disperses.

The aroma has a lovely cinnamon spiciness to it that reminded me of Coca Cola and it's a lovely blend of malt, dark fruit and caramel with a hint of winter spice.  The aroma transfers to the flavour and it's a delicious blend of chocolate, malt and coffee with a treacle or slightly burnt toffee aftertaste, perhaps from the heather honey that is included in the brew.  

Well carbonated, it gives my tongue a good tingling but the body is rather thin.  It's only 4.5% and it feels quite light to drink so it goes down very nicely indeed.

I do like a scotch ale now and again as a lighter alternative to stout or porter, and Santa Paws is a lovely subtle, easy drinking scotch ale.  If it's brewed again, Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Clockwork Tangerine

There are a lot of fruit infused beers around at the moment and I find them lovely and refreshing, so let's see what I thought of Clockwork Tangerine, the citrus session IPA from BrewDog.

This pours a beautiful deep golden or light amber with a lovely orange hue.  If it didn't have the frothy cream coloured head, you could almost mistake it for a glass of Irn Bru.

I was expecting a huge whiff of tangerine when I popped the lid off the bottle but instead got more of a light hoppy aroma.  It does have a hint of tangerine when it develops but if I wasn't looking for it I wouldn't really have noticed it.

On to the taste and there is a definite flavour of tangerine, although it isn't overpowering, coupled with hops and caramel.  The tangerine hint adds an initial bit of sweetness followed by a bitter pithy aftertaste.  The bitterness lingers slightly too long for my liking and builds up over time, turning into more of a grapefruit than orange citrus.  It's fizzy but a bit thin-bodied and watery, but that's what you'd expect in an IPA.

Crisp and dry, there's a little too much pithy bitterness to be refreshing but I have to applaud BrewDog for getting the tangerine flavour absolutely spot on.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

BrewDog Slot Machine

It's not an optical illusion (or a very small glass), this is a 660ml gigantic bottle of Slot Machine, a red rye IPA from Scottish brewers, BrewDog.  It pours a beautiful russet brown colour with a huge frothy but tight beige head.

The aroma is mainly malt and biscuit with hints of citrus fruits and warm spice.  The initial flavour is predominantly citrus followed by a floral, spicy taste.  As you drink it, the citrus flavour seems to diminish and more toffee and caramel flavours develop.  The citrus flavour remains throughout to give a lingering bitter aftertaste.

Surprisingly softly carbonated, it has an almost smooth mouthfeel and is a full bodied ale.  The head leaves good lacing on the glass and I loved the developing toffee flavour which takes the edge off the initial citrus hit.  The spicy rye flavour is well balanced, giving more of a hint than a full hit which can often take over.  

It's a decent red rye IPA and very drinkable, which is just as well as I got two full 330ml glasses out of the oversized bottle.

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 
5.2% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

Brewdog Dead Pony Club

A stunning crystal clear light amber ale with a substantial frothy beige head that laces down the glass.  It has an absolutely mouthwatering aroma of oranges with a hint of grapefruit; I could quite easily close my eyes and imagine that I was walking through an orange grove...with a grapefruit or a can of Lilt.

I was pleasantly surprised with my first sip; I expected a huge citrus burst but instead the citrus flavour is quite subtle in the form of a tropical fruit burst after the initial sublime malty taste.  The carbonation is slightly on the harsh side and, coupled with the fruitiness and a hint of floral spiciness, it results in a pleasant tongue tingling.  Although quite thin in body, it wakes up my taste buds without feeling as if they've been tasered.

Dead Pony Club is a perfect sunny day beer as the fruitiness is so refreshing and the ABV is quite low at 3.8%.  I really enjoyed it and although I'm not usually a pale ale fan, Ale Be Seeing You Again Dead Pony Club.

Brewed by Brewdog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire

3.8% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Brewdog

Beery Christmas Day 16

There are two bottles on the door of Day 16 but there's only one inside - let's hope it's a good one...without any fear.  A bit too early for Christmas songs perhaps, but Happy Christmas (War is Over) just popped into my head unbidden.  That'll be stuck in my head all night now...for yellow and red ones...

It's a bottle of beer wearing a Christmas jumper!  What a very festive looking Santa Paws from Scottish brewer, Brewdog.

Brewdog's website describes Santa Paws as:

A 4.5% decadent scotch ale brewed with Scottish heather honey.

A robust malty beer packed with flavour, at a strength you can drink all (Christmas) day long.

Santa Paws is is our antidote to the chaos of the upcoming festive season. Raise a glass of this Christmas beer, share it with friends, family and strangers, and sit back and enjoy the view as the world descends into a fairy light-fuelled frenzy. And, if all else fails, just blame Santa...

4.5% in a 330ml bottle

Found for sale from Beer Hawk for £2.29 or from Brewdog for £1.70.  You can also pick one up in your local supermarket for around £2.00.