Category Archives: Scotland

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, BrewDog, Rye Beer, Scotland

Brewdog Albino Squid Assassin

Tuesday, 17 May 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Rye Beer
Other Notes: Red Rye IPA

Brewer Description: (from Brewdog webshop) This tentacled terminator packs a punch – ten punches to be precise. Each hop addition adds to the intense layers of depth in this red rye IPA. Toasty caramel & cinder toffee from crystal malts, cacao richness from intensely roasted malt and the spiciness of rye. Zesty pithiness from citra and the robust resin of chinook. This small batch exclusive brew is up-front intensity matched with twisted complexity.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 16th December 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a very nice clear dark amber colour with a two finger beige head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Nice tropical aromas of mango and pineapple with a hint of caramel, spice and alcohol.
Taste: Some light but sweet mango mixed in with toasty bread graininess and a long lasting piney grapefruit pith bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was only ok for me. Looks and smells great but I thought that the taste was a bit light (cancelled each other out) with too much grain and pith and not enough fruit.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, BrewDog, Scotland

BrewDog Elvis Juice

Tuesday, 5 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Grapefruit infused IPA.

Brewer Description: (from can) Break out the rhinestone suit, gas up the Cadillac, and take this fruit farm for a test drive down Sunset Strip. Packing more fruit than the State of California, our citrus caped crusader will obliterate your senses. A zest zenith on the nose. Fruity foreplay gives way to an all out sensory assault. A truckload of grapefruit, orange and peach collide in an inter-state pile up. A fruity, hoppy cocktail of flavour builds to a crescendo and a bitter finale leaves you screaming for more. Elvis has left the building. Pay homage to the bejewelled Beelzebub of fruity IPAs. A hopped up power ballad for the twenty first century. The King is back and he’s juiced up and ready to roll. Elvis Juice, the absolute King in a world of wannabes.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.84
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 2nd March 2017, poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a perfectly clear copper colour with a two finger off white head that dissipated slowly and left nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Wonderful strong candy mandarin, orange and grapefruit aromas.
Taste: Some intense hard candy blood orange sweetness! Following the candy sweetness, there was some light grapefruit and bready malt but it was not particularly hoppy for an IPA.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I loved the aroma which reminded me of those fruit hard candies. It tasted interesting, more sweet than expected and I prefer my IPAs to have more hoppy bitterness and less malt. Overall, it was not bad.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, BrewDog, IPA - Black, Scotland

BrewDog Arcade Nation

Monday, 28 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 5.2%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) West Coast America ups sticks and heads out east. Pac-mania is back and this time it’s gone over to the dark side. A pistol black hop bomb packs the roasted malty punch of a stout and the hop laden incendiary hit of an IPA. Roasty, coffee and chocolate notes duke it out with citrus, mango and pine. Insatiably flavoursome, insanely drinkable, immensely satisfying. This light bodied hero punches like something twice its size. A Donkey Kong let loose on Rainbow Island. This all-out American hybrid should run for President. Stack up the quarters. Vote Arcade Nation – Game over.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th January 2017 and poured into an oversized wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark dark brown colour with a less than one finger tanned head that had poor retention but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fruit strong, citrus, grapefruit, pineapple and pine. In the background there is roasty malts and a hint of coffee.
Taste: Bitter grapefruit pith and its not very juicy. There is some roastiness in the background, but its not really there.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: Seemed to be closer to an IPA instead of a Black IPA. Would have preferred to have more roastiness as this had very little. This was just ok.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Innis & Gunn, Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, Scotland

Innis & Gunn Rum Finish Oak Aged Beer

Thursday, 18 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Innis & Gunn
Country: Scotland
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Scottish Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
Other Notes: Rum Finish is the same beer as Rum Cask as the recipe is the same but only the process changed slightly. Malts – Innis & Gunn Ale, Crystal, Roasted Barley and Chocolate. Hops – Super Styrian. Matured for 57 days in oak heartwood infused with specially selected rums.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This ruby red beer is matured over the finest rum-infused American Oak heartwood resulting in a beer with a delicious warming character that is bursting with fruit and lively spiciness. These vibrant flavours perfectly balance the beer’s toffee-malt backbone making it an ideal accompaniment to game meats like venison or duck. It is sublime with mature cheeses served with good chutneys and relishes.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before end of March 2016 date and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark reddish copper with a slightly less than one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong vanilla, raisins and oak with hints of toffee, caramel and rum.
Taste: Sweet-ish rum and plum with a nice long vanilla, oak, coconut finish. There was also some hints of caramel and butterscotch in between.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and interesting albeit a bit vanilla heavy. I would not categorise this as an everyday drink but it’s something I wouldn’t mind trying every now and then.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, BrewDog, Scotland

BrewDog Born To Die 27.11.15

Friday, 27 November 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100 IBUs. Malts – Extra Pale, Marris Otter and Pale. Hops – Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imagine knowing how long you have to live. What would you do? Spend some time alone gathering your thoughts, before bowing out quietly, into the night? Or would you spend every last minute rocking out, burning your way through your last days on earth, then go out with a bang?

This savage IPA was born to die. Its mayfly existence has a solitary purpose – to be a kick-ass celebration of the power of hops. Born To Die is bitter as hell, super dry, and at its best as soon as you pick it up. If our existence truly is but a brief crack of light between two immensities of darkness, you should spend it drinking beer as awesome as this.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 660ml bottle born to die on 27th November 2015 and hence poured into a Duvel tulip glass and drank on such day.
Appearance: It poured an extremely clear golden colour with a frothy one finger white head. Retention is not so good but there is some minimal stringy and dotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical aromas of pineapple and mango with hints of citrus lemon, orange and pine at the finish.
Taste: Starts out with some lemon, grapefruit and pine bitterness but the finish was sweet honey with hints of bready and caramel malts. It was perhaps a bit too sweet for me at the end.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Maybe my expectation was too high to begin with? But actually, it poured fantastically clear and the aromas were stunning. But tasting was where it started to go down. It just wasn’t as bitter as I hoped for a DIPA and the finish was just overly sweet for my liking.

words of another dreamy traveller