BrewDog Nanny State (0.5%)

Brewed by BrewDog
Style: Low Alcohol
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Beer-scented water. Utterly pointless. Such a weak flavor and no real presence in the mouth. The whole time I was asking myself "why?" I understand the functional purpose of low alcohol beer, but that cannot excuse what I tasted.

Bottle. Big head on dark copper. Looks great for .5%. Smells amazingly great; doubly so for lo ABV. Good malt flavor. Light but solid malt base. Hoppy hoppy hoppy. Probably the best under 2% beer I have had. Makes being a designated driver something to look forward to!!!

Bottle @ BrewDog Edinburgh
Appearance - Chestnut brown, large white bubbly head that dissipates, reasonable lacing.
Aroma - Grassy hops, some citrus hops, quite like 5am saint.
Taste - Very watery, grassy hops, no malt, dishwater. Awful flavour.
Palate - Grassy, very watery, dry finish, lingering, bit metallic. Very thin body. Moderate carb.
Overall - Looks good in the glass, aroma not bad. Very poor taste and thin watery palate - I just couldn’t finish the bottle. Easily the worst beer they do - even Bud is better than this!

Bottle, batch 388, best before 19-12-11. Wow, right out of the bottle, huge piny nose with ’the dank’ and lots of very pronounced earthy and forresty notes, heavy citrus (grapefruit) and cracker. A ton of resin and oil. Deep amber pour with a delicate but rocky tan head. Taste is extremely bitter, not a stretch to say it’s the bitterest beer I’ve had, pound for pound, and at first I had doubts about finishing it. Body is lightish and extremely dry, has a scratch grainy quality, and the bitterness in the aftertaste reminds much more of brutal espresso aftertaste, maybe a little mocha. Lightly metallic but with nice woody overtones and light papery undertones (there’s absolutely no doubt that Centennial and Simcoe were heavily used here, and I’d guess Amarillo for the dank). Tongue stripping and a little rubbery. If anything, this proves there are significant benefits to balance. I wonder if I’d like this more if I’d been a smoker, or if they’d added some lactose, or if I’ll come around after some more experience; it’s not extreme to the point where I’d dare someone to drink it for the look on their face, it’s just in that gimmick territory where there’s no desire to repeat even a few ounces.

Pours dark bronze. 3 fingers of tan head, but it quickly disappears. Lovely smell of hops. Mouthfeel is watery, almost no aroma. Bitter ending. Almost like carbonated water. Not good - got my hopes up from the scent though...

Bottle bought @ Systembolaget and consumed on September 16. Pours dark brown with a very small white head. Smell is fresh, hoppy and filled with fruit like mandarin oranges and pineapple. Taste is refreshing with a very light mouthfeel. There’s a fresh bitterness from the hops but I expected more considering the smell. There is also some ash. Nice and refreshing for a low-alcohol brew.

UPDATED: SEP 3, 2011 Bottle 330ml. A clear amber colour with an average off-white head. Good lacing. An aroma of malt, caramel and citrus. The taste is medium sweet and really bitter. A medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation and a long finish.

Kastanjefärgad öl med beige skum. Härlig doft med aprikoser, citrus och lite tallbarr. Med tanke på den låga alkoholhalten så är det inte så konstigt att kroppen är lite tunn och vattnig. Dock en ordentlig humlebeska som är ganska trevlig med grape och citron.

Bottled. Pours clear, amber with a meium sized off-white head, leaving some good lacings on the glass. Nice hoppy nose with citrus and pine. Sligtly sweet flavour of citrus, pine, caramel and fruity notes. Light to medium bodied, watery texture and average carbonation. A very drinkable non alcoholic.

Not a bad go at a low-alcohol ale at all, and I went in expecting nothing to come from the hype. Unsurprisingly frail on the nose; nothing but hops (no alcohol sweetness or other malty flavour). In the mouth it’s immediately more watery than any fuller-strength IPA, but the hops kick in quickly, coating the tongue in an oily bitterness, with a bit of citrus lingering on the aftertaste. As the glass got lower it got more enjoyable as the palate adjusted to the lack of complexity in the body. Quite drinkable I’d say, and I would seriously consider it as a summer drink to enjoy with a clear head if it weren’t so damn pricey here in New Zealand.