Brew Dog Tokio

My buddy Adam gave me a bottle of BrewDog Tokio for my birthday, and I was really excited to give it a try. The beer pours a dark brown color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, espresso, oak, and cream. The taste is smooth but huge on the tongue with lots of chocolate and coffee right at the forefront. The beer then has a warming alcohol bite that taste like bourbon. There is a sweet finish with juniper, molasses vanilla, and cherries. The alcohol content is 18.2% ABV. The warmth that comes with this beer accompanied with chocolate and coffee is such an enjoyment on the tongue that I really wanted to have another one of these, although at 18.2% ABV it is not advisable to have another one.

Brew Dog Paradox Isle of Arran

I picked up a bottle of BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with almost no head; the head that is there is bubbly and tan. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, molasses, and whiskey. The taste is dry and filled with dark chocolate, molasses, coffee, and a nice whiskey bite. The whiskey dries out the after taste and leaves the mouth with an oak flavor. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The beer has a wonderful blend of whiskey and chocolate that dries out the mouth but provides a wonderful sweetness over the entire drinking experience.

Mikkeller-Brew Dog I Hardcore You

I acquired a bottle of the Mikkeller/Brew Dog collaboration I Hardcore You from Lee at Hoptopia through a beer trade. The beer pours an orange-copper color with a lofty frothy white head. The aroma consists of sweet caramel malts with lemon and pine fresh hops that really infiltrate the nose. The taste is sweet and lemony at first before transitioning into a bitter pine hop bite. There is a bit of underlying toffee and the finish is somewhat grassy and warming. The after taste brings back the bitter hops and a light lemon splash. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I thought the blending of this beer was masterful between the breweries, and the caramel sweetness was perfectly balanced with bitter lemon and pine.

Brew Dog Sink the Bismarck!

I was lucky to pick up, in addition to Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a bottle of Brew Dog Sink the Bismarck! (at $108 a bottle) from Honeygo Wines outside of Baltimore, and I contacted some friends to share the beer. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly tan head that fizzles out like a soda. The aroma consists of orange, lemon, grapefruit, and pine (similar to Lysol with the alcohol). The taste is big and bold with lots of citrus including grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon. There is an amazing caramel base before the pine hop kicks in and bitters the mouth somewhat. The finish is warming and welcoming and really lingers on the tongue. The alcohol content is 41% ABV. This beer, to me, is like Pliny the Elder on steroids or could be referred to liquid gold. The citrus flavors and big and prevalent without letting down the tongue and the hop accent isn't overpowering, but just perfect.

Brew Dog Tactical Nuclear Penguin

I was lucky enough to secure a bottle of Brew Dog Tactical Nuclear Penguin (by luck I mean spend $80 for a bottle) from Honeygo Wines outside of Baltimore and share it with three friends. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head the quickly dissipates similar to a soda. The aroma consists of a lot of whiskey with a background of raisin and chocolate. The taste hit big with an alcohol taste at first but the alcohol bite is reserved for the finish and is really warming. My face was lighting up after a couple of sips. Remnants of chocolate, coffee, molasses, and raisin find their way through, but are overpowered by the alcohol. The alcohol content is 32% ABV. This beer, despite being whiskey aged, was not as overwhelming with the smoke and whiskey as the Mikkeller Black Hole series and was quite enjoyable. The smoke lingered and was pleasant in mixing with the sweet flavors that are in the background of the beer.

Stone/Brew Dog/Cambridge Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

My friend Jeff ordered a bottle of the Stone Brewing/Brew Dog/Cambridge Juxtaposition Black Pilsner at RattleNHum bar in New York City. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy head. The aroma consists of oak and strong with raisins, vanilla, and milk chocolate. The taste is big on raisin with some chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar. The beer also has a dry finish, and a little tobacco in the after taste. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. I really enjoyed this black pilsner, a new style to me. The dark flavors such as chocolate and raisins went down smoothly and drank like a pilsner.

Stone/Brew Dog Bashah

I ordered a glass of the Stone/Brew Dog collaboration Bashah from T. Brendan O'Reilly's in Harrisburg. The beer pours a dark black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma has plenty of chocolate and candisugar in it with a good bit of hops providing a balance. The taste has toasted malts, chocolate, caramel. some banana, and a dry finish. In a way, it tastes almost like a caramel coated chocolate. There is also a slight hop bite bite on outsides of the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. The Bashah was a very interesting brew, yet also quite enjoyable. You could tell that there was some Belgian DNA in it, but it also had great chocolate and toasted malt backbone.

Brew Dog Chaos Theory Predictably Random Ale

I picked up a bottle of Brew Dog Chaos Theory Predictably Random Ale when I was in New Jersey. The beer pours an orange brown color with a foamy tan head that sticks to the edge of the glass. The smell is sweet and consists of caramel and heavy on toffee. The taste is very hoppy on the front with flowers and pine. It finishes with caramel and toffee and a a little bit of orange peel in there as well. The alcohol content is 7.1% ABV. The taste didn't exactly follow what the aroma was, so I was a bit surprised at the taste. I enjoyed the beer and it was pretty random.