BrewDog Tactical Nuclear Penguin

Brewed by BrewDog
Style: Imperial Stout
Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Very special. Summarywise: a howbitz in mouth! Aroma is boozy, burbon, toast, no hops. Taste is dominated by salt and licorice, some whisky peat and gun powder kinda thing going on. My taste perception is got saturated, very very much taste. In general a very very strange thing. Can’t decide wether it’s wonderful or horrible. I had a third of a bottle, and it was more than enough.

smag.malt,røget,trøv,jord uds. sort uklar,skun ingen e.smag, bitter ,acl krop fuld siruosagtig

Small sample at the London tasting night last Friday. Massive body, with lots of treacle and salt-liquorice flavours, and a dry, brandyish palate. There’s a kind of orange aftertaste. Amazing, but totally over the top.

Bottle@TastingSession. The aroma is very alcoholic, like brandy with quite some apple, raisin and stuff. No head at all, not even a little fizzy head. Flavour is strange. Starts off as brandy or something but has this unbalanced character due to the hop and mainly malty bitterness. The palate is horrible. Sharp and alcoholic like a very young whisky. Rating it like I would rate a beer isn’t fair, I understand that. Rating it on it’s means I really dislike it. Rating it as a liqueur or spirit still doesn’t give it any credits.

Small share from bottle at the Rake. I normally like to rate on a full glass, but in some cases just counting the units of alcohol involved justifies a much smaller measure. Black and oily with no head but some carbonation. Complex but overwhelmingly sweet with prunes, wood, smoke and some salty tobacco. Interesting, but as I expected, a testament to trying to push boundaries way too far in the interests of egotistical oneupmanship. This beer is a genetic freak and has now seved it’s purpous. I enjoyed triyng it but am glad that I didn’t have to pay through the nose. The term ’Tactical’ in it’s title now makes perfect sense when considering that this beer was really a smoke screen for Brewdog’s masterstroke in waiting. The Germans responded with their own abomination to thwart the sacrificial penguin. However, right out of the blue, Brewdog have hit a real killer punch with the launch of their stupendous ’Sink the Bismarck’. A freak by sheer strength only, this beer has all the hallmarks of a pure bred super IPA.. The battle is truly won. The Germans may boast that they have more strength in reserve but they may think twice about releasing it if they have the sense to try STB in advance. They could well end up with egg on their faces, bearing in mind the limitations of the Reinheitsgebot and their rather tame indigenous hops. The Penguin indeed played a key roll in the battle to establish the World’s srongest (drinkable) beer. .............(Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March is playing as I post this rate).

4 cl sample @ Hilpeä Hauki. Deep reddish brown color, almost like a burgundy red. Aroma brought to mind a cold, stale room with wooden shelves and leather seats. The flavor had notes of salted licorice, herbal hops and medicinal alcohol. Full mouthfeel, very different from any whiskey. An interesting experience, though far less elegant than Nogne’s Dark Horizon, for example.

Whiskey and coffee aroma. Black. Fortified wine, coffee intense. Smooth on the palate, surprisingly subtle, the light carbonation is a nice surprise. Beat my expectation by miles.

Black with a tiny tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate, licorice, peat smoke and alcohol. Thick and sweet licorice, molasses and peppermint flavour, going into (annoyingly) peat smoke, alcohol and finally an ashy roast finish. The alcohol is more liqueur like than whisky, probably because of the sweetness and the thick mouthfeel. Has a lot more going on than just 32% alcohol bomb, but it’s still more a curiosity than a pleasure

Bottle @ YNWA,Kolding.
Pours deep redish brown to black. Less viscous than expected. A few bubbles along the rim of my glass. Aroma has a lots of peity smoke, quite a bit of alcohol that tingles/burns my nostrils. Some soft chocolate and roasted malts in between. Very low carbonation, just about alive. Fat and oily mouthfeel, but again less fat and viscous than expected. Flavour is sharp, vinous, boozy, sweet and with loads of peity smoke. Some chocolate to try a balance. Sadly, the smoke drags it down for me.

Big, Big and Big. Lots of whiskey, lots of peat, charcoal, dark chocolate, boozey. Not particularly full bodied. Surprisingly still beer like. Decent, but a 1oz sample was sufficient.