BrewDog Punk IPA

Draught at Birreria Paradiso. Nothing subtle here. Nothing too complex either. just hops. Lots and lots of hops. Didn’t get much from this one besides hops.

550ml brown bottle purchased at The Liquor Shoppe in Tygsboro, MA. Pours a murky light yellow body with nearly an inch of short-lived off-white head. Aroma consists equally of lemon, grapefruit, and caramel and toffee malts to balance. Tastes sweet and fruity, lemon, orange, and grapefruit from the hops are very present, as well as some pith and floral notes. Caramel and toffee make brief appearances, but are quickly overpowered by the pervasive hop presence. On the lighter side of medium-bodied with surprisingly low carbonation. Slightly more carbonation would aid the drinkability IMO, but otherwise this is a very enjoyable and unique IPA - glad to have tried it!

Pours from the bomber to a light, cloudy orange yellow with thin white head that lingers thru mid glass. HOPPY citrus grapefruit and lemon starts out in the nose and just keep building throughout. Bitterness of the hops is most evident in the mouthfeel, but also dominates the taste of tghe fruit. Bitterness carries straight over to the long finish. My kind of beer.

(33cl bottle) Hazy, pale golden colour with a blond and short foamy head. Very aromatic hoppy aroma with notes of apricot, citrus, grass and wood, rounded up with slightly sweet pale malt and a subtle grainy touch. Strong bitter flavour, medium to light bodied with a bone-dry, almost astringent mouthfeel. Soft pale malty traste with an astringent and quite harsh hops character that is intriguing on the one hand but also overpowering other more subtle flavours on the other hand. Brutally dry and bitter IPA, still a likeable one (16.VIII.09).

OK..the "best before" date reads 07/07/09, so can I really give it a proper rating? Anyhow. The aroma is grapefruit, piney hops. Flavor is a lot of the same, basically very common of the west coast stye. It did seem a little lifeless, I would geuss thats from being past its time. Ive really gotta start looking at the bottles more carefully :(

Bottled 33cl. Clear pale golden beer with a small white head. The aroma is of gooseberries, wax, pale malt, honey, sweat, hop resin, lemon peel, pepper and grapefruit- very nice and inviting. Wonderfully pleasant taste with an impressive hop profile. Good bitterness. Peppery. The taste is superior to the aroma in my opinion. Some lacework. Very dry bitter finish which makes you eager to take another sip. A very interesting IPA with plenty of character. Delicious.

Sampled at the imports tasting at Blacklick Wine & Spirits on 8/13/09. Pours a cloudy orange with barely any carbonation and no head. Hoppy aroma that is mostly dank, but has hints of citrus and is also pretty tart. Citrusy hop flavor that is surprisingly crisp. Still, I am overall unimpressed with Brewdog.

Scotland is known for two liquid passions: whisky and beer. Obviously, the first of the two are their most prized and treasured piece of history, culture, and life. Second though is their beer; traditionally rich, hearty, and tied to the earth just as much as their whisky.

He poured a light, clear golden yellow with no head, no lace, and little discernable carbonation to speak of. Not a good starting point. Has my dog already been broken long before he reached the safety of my home? There is a slight acrid, cat-pee aroma which is followed weakly by medicinal mint notes, dry honey, and dead grass. The aroma of cat-pee in an IPA is not detrimental to its palate, but in the case of Punk IPA, I am more concerned with the overwhelming staleness of his nose. Nervous, I delve into his liquid depths for the first of many thin, weak, and feeble quaffs. Dead grass sits squarely on top of my tongue, dry, arid, and as stale as month old bread left to sit on top of your refrigerator. Dry earth leads into a faint acidic rind finish that sucks the moisture off the top of my tongue. While hops can come in many formats for brewing these days, one should ensure or would assume that they are still fresh and capable of imparting fresh aromatics and bitterness. I am unsure if Brewdog used bad hops or their Punk IPA oxidized before making it to my lips, but from his nose to his palate to his finish: it is all stale, dead hops, grass, dirt, and acrid acidic rinds. Bleh.

I do believe that the Punk IPA is my first Brewdog brew, which I find rather disheartening. But, I know Scotland has much more to offer me than this failed attempt at an IPA. The unknown nature of tasting beer is half the fun, after all. Even though Brewdog failed this time, there is always next time. In the meantime, I believe I’ll sup on some fine single-malt to properly cleanse my palate.