Having missed an opportunity to attend an earlier event - which took place in Renshaw Street’s Beer Inn Emporium, I was lucky enough for my ear to the ground and gastronomic radar to detect a chance at ale induced redemption… of sorts. There was also another event approximately a year ago too in the same venue, but again, my day job pulled rank on such frivolities. The Ship and Mitre played host to Josie Ludford, who, as regional sales co-ordinator for Brewdog in the North of England (rather an expansive area too, it sounded) provided some insight into both the company and a range of beers the company are currently showing off to the masses. The venue itself wasn’t particularly ideal for the event, with the tasting area reserved for ticket holders it might have been better suited away from the main body of the pub as ambient noise was constantly providing a challenge to Josie getting her points across; difficult enough when some people actually attending didn’t seem interested in letting other people hear either. Nevertheless the tasting continued and there were some interesting beers on offer. 1. How to Disappear Completely An interesting and very low alcohol Mild style ale at only 2.8% but with an abundance of hops including Centennial and Colombus giving the dry hopped aromas an extra punch. Possibly the most pleasant mild I have ever drunk. 2. Electric India A saison beer with heady tropical fruit notes including mango, some additional hops have been introduced to bridge the tropical flavours and the hoppy flavours. There is plenty of depth to this beer, which is a 7.2% smack in the mouth and also possibly a great introduction to those who have had difficulty with saison beers in the past. The addition of orange zest and black peppercorns gives a fresh kick in an already interesting brew. 3. Hello, my name is Mette Marit The Censored beer (in Norway at least) so named after a tearaway Princess-to-be-Queen who’s past scandals include domestic family issues, raving, drug taking and having a child from a prior relationship to that of the one with the Crown Prince (*cough* allegedly). The beer is much better behaved than that; the first taste was from an off-pump effort after another Brewdog event, of which the beer was clearly not handled well at all following the event. This 8.2% strength beer does not convey its strength in the flavour or indeed, mouthfeel, with strong toffee flavours and a double IPA basis using amongst others - Citra hops, Nelson Sauvin and lingonberries to provide some additional flavour and acidity to balance out what would normally be quite cloying. 4. Mixtape 8 Mixtape 8 is an intriguing beer that lends itself to be a dessert accompaniment if ever there was one. A deep and complex set of flavours which is a blend of two styles aged before bottling; a dry hopped triple IPA and a Belgian tripel, both of which are aged in oak whisky casks. The two-blend hit gives dried apricots, muscovado, dates and slight figgy flavours whilst the phenolic and earthy tripel element gives dryness to the balance of flavours. A treacly and fine companion for a steamed toffee or treacle pudding, made from 4 malts and 4 different hops. Mixtape 8 weighs in at a more than respectable 14.5% 5. Cocoa Psycho As the name suggests, this is an intense exercise in cramming as much chocolate into a beer as I have possibly experienced. This imperial stout weighs in at 10% with coffee and chocolate notes and flavours in abundance, the dryness also oddly imparts a strange heat to the stout giving an impression of the inclusion of chilli – not the case, however. Oats, cocoa nibs and coffee beans have been added to the brew to impart their flavours to augment that already naturally present in the beer. Again, as with the Mixtape 8, this is definitely suited to being used alongside a cocoa based dessert. 6. Tactical Nuclear Penguin The former world record holder which started a beer arms-race with German competitors. A burgeoning 32% imperial stout style beer that has since been surpassed, has heavy treacle flavours and some undercurrent of industrial spirits held within a noose of toasty muscovado sugar. As with the other heavyweights tasted, this is best paired with a dessert, something along the lines of a gypsy tart would be ideal. The high ABV was achieved by the process of freeze distilling following an aging process to give distinct flavours and an interestingly coating mouth feel. All in all a good event, the promising news is that Liverpool is also going to get a Brewdog bar which is currently targeted for the Manolis Yard area near to Maya/Lucha Libre, FACT and Mojo. Good tidings indeed for fans of the proclaimed Scottish punk brewery. The fact that one half of the Brewdog creators spent time working at another ElectroKemistry favourite, Thornbridge Brewery, is testament to the skills learned to make these interesting brews. Until next time mis amigos! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can find out more about Brewdog here: http://www.brewdog.com/ You can follow Brewdog on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/brewdog You can follow Josie on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Brewdogupnorth
3 Comments
Delly
10/29/2013 01:45:36 am
Nice article Pedro. I've always felt that Brewdog spoiled what were good beers with the pretentious text on their labels, not to mention selling under sized bottles at full sized prices. It's good to hear that perhaps they are moving on from this and becoming a bit more professional - maybe one day they'll make it dahn sarf!
Reply
Pedro
10/31/2013 10:07:42 pm
Thanks for the comment Delly,
Reply
4/29/2016 11:26:28 pm
Hey there, first of all thank you so much for this post and honestly I was searching for the same information from last few days. Keep posting and keep sharing.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2022
Archives
April 2022
Click ^ the RSS Feed to follow me
Categories
All
|