tasting notes OUR CURATED BOTTLE CLUB
THE BEERS INSIDE YOUR HOPPY CHRISTMAS Welcome to your latest BottleBox! So the Christmas shopping is all done, right? As a reward for getting everything you need before the first door of your advent calendar is even opened we have some seriously good BrewDog beer for you. Find that bottle opener, get your favourite glass from the cupboard and enjoy! We send each BottleBox to you bearing a series of brand-new BrewDog beers and some of our biggest-hitting all time classics, all carefully packaged together and dispatched to your front door. So let s rip open the box assuming you haven t done that already and dive in! Well as Christmas is on the way we couldn t deprive you of our twinned festive releases, so they are first up in your BottleBox the beer that proves hops ARE for Christmas (Hoppy Christmas) and its darker, more relaxing cousin Santa Paws. We also have an armchair moment for you the mighty Tokyo* - back and perfect for fireside sippin Depending on whether you are currently looking down at eight, twelve or eighteen beers (and remember you can switch up your BottleBox subscription at any time on our website) you ll also have such amazing BrewDog beer as our new Prototype Vienna Lager, the fury of hops that is Jack Hammer and even a departure into spirits with the epic pre-mixed LoneWolf G&T! Chin chin! However and wherever you enjoy these beers we hope that your love them as much as we loved brewing them! With Santa Paws on (or hopefully in) one hand, we also twinned it with the diametric opposite for our second festive beer. Or maybe if not opposite, one to accompany. Hoppy Christmas is a single hop American IPA and is as far away from cosy and comforting as you can get. A no-holdsbarred salvo of resinous hopload, it is everything a festive release should be and that s release as in escape. Think back to the highs of summer and enjoy! HOPPY CHRISTMAS Tastewise, this eulogy to the festive hop is a flurry of citrus pithy orange and zesty grapefruit, but with deeper layers of more fragrant tropical notes. They say everyone should get at least one Christmas wish and Simcoe is ours. Style: IPA ABV: 7.2% Pair with: Turkey breast (or chicken breast) salad IBU: 70 Hops: Simcoe James and Martin - 3 -
SANTA PAWS SANTA PAWS CHRISTMAS SCOTCH ALE 4.5% With Santa Paws we solved a festive dilemma. The desire for a quintessential fireside warmer strikes all of us; but usually these are one-shot beers enjoyed at the end of the evening. We worked up a beer with phenomenal backbone and pared it down to under 5% ABV the perfect answer for all those people who want something dark, roasty and warming but would then like another, followed by another. Brewed for a time of year when overindulgence reigns, Santa Paws is proof that less is sometimes more. SANTA PAWS This beer is a celebration of malt, at sessionstrength. A Baby Scotch with a depth of flavour from toast crust to deep coffee; the spicy hop notes lend balance but this beer is a who s who of malt character. Style: Scotch Ale ABV: 4.5% Pair with: Mushroom Wellington Hops: First Gold, Mount Hood, Willamette Malts: Extra Pale, Munich, Dark Crystal, Amber, Brown, Carafa, Smoked, Flaked Oats -4- TOKYO* Our ground-breaking imperial stout has an intensity few beers can hope to match. Brewed with an intricate mix of speciality malts, jasmine and cranberries, it is then dry-hopped before being aged on toasted oak chips. Drawing inspiration from the mind-melting gaming scene of the Japanese capital, it is a beer we first brewed in 2008, to a reaction of pretty much mass hysteria. Beers as strong launch every week these days, without anybody blinking. Back then, you could have been forgiven for thinking that we had single-handedly caused the downfall of Western civilisation! TOKYO* On the nose, the combination of the malt bill, added ingredients and dry hopping manifests itself with aromas of dark stone fruit, vanilla and chocolate. This runs through to the palate where they are joined by a vinous tartness from the cranberries and a hugely complementary finish of warming alcohol. A beer with layer upon layer upon layer of complexity, it truly is one to savour. -5- Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 16.5% Pair With: White chocolate ganache Malts: Extra Pale, Dark Crystal, Chocolate, Roasted Barley Extras: Jasmine, Cranberries, Oak Chips
DEAD PONY CLUB JACK HAMMER INCLUDED IN 12/18 CAPACITY ES DEAD PONY CLUB JACK HAMMER Inspired by the wave of classic American Pale Ales arriving in the UK, Dead Pony Club was first brewed at the start of 2012. As a showcase for the amazing qualities US hops can bring to beers of mid-range ABV levels, as such we took pointers from a number of different (but similar) styles to merge into a Session Pale Ale. Once released, Dead Pony Club very quickly became one of the most popular beers on the BrewDog roster and it still remains our secondbest seller behind Punk IPA. Light, aromatic and zesty, Dead Pony Club revels in big citrusy aromas of lime zest and lemongrass against a light caramel backbone. Blossoming resinous hop aromas follow suit. At the first sip, there s light toffee malt before grapefruit and pine come crashing in this pale ale packs a full throttle hop punch, making it a low amplitude, high voltage hop hit. Style: Session Pale Ale ABV: 3.8% Colour: Golden Pair with: Prawn tempura Hops: Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic Malt: Pale, Cara, Crystal Another beer that spent its formative years kicking around the corners of our Prototype Competition, Jack Hammer finished runner up in the 2012 contest (although it came home behind Cocoa Psycho, so all turned out well). Our big-hitting India Pale Ale revels in bitterness and hopload, piling both up to near theoretical levels. The first of those in particular, as the International Bitterness Scale only goes up to 100. Jack Hammer tops out well above that as its many firm fans can attest We threw the kitchen sink at Jack Hammer from the first nose the aroma is full-on citrus and pine. With grapefruit, pineapple and lime resonating from start to finish, our ruthless India Pale Ale becomes progressively more bitter and resinous as you go. The aftertaste is a simple eulogy to the glory of the hop, and a celebration of the art of bitterness. Style: Imperial IPA ABV: 7.2% IBU: 100+ Colour: Golden Amber Pair with: Carrot Cake (no really) Hops: Amarillo, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Simcoe Malts: Extra Pale - 6 - - 7 -
5AM SAINT MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN 5AM SAINT MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN A robust red ale, 5AM is hopped to the brink and back with some of our favourite North American hops and featuring a rich, roasty base of speciality malts for flavour and colour. The second beer we ever dry-hopped (after we had dialled in Punk IPA), this technique transformed one of our existing amber ales The Physics making a roasty, fruit beer so much more. Switching to US hops over English ones, combined with this massive dry-hopping, created this hugely popular beer that has remained in our Headliner range ever since. The nose is a riot of citrus and berry aromas, from orange to lychee to redcurrant. On the palate is a bold resinous bitterness which builds against the burnt sugar sweetness. The finish is clean and the fruity notes linger on. A bitter twist on a classic style, this red ale takes the best of sweet malt and bitter hops and fuses them in perfect harmony. Style: American Red Ale ABV: 5.0% Pair with: Ribs Hops: Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial, Ahtanum, Nelson Sauvin Malts: Extra Pale, Munich, Cara, Crystal, Dark Crystal From the moment America decided to withdraw from the Paris Accord our planet has been on the clock so we brewed a beer to remind global leaders to prioritise issues relate to Climate Change. All proceeds from Make Earth Great Again will be donated to 10:10, a charity lobbying for legislative changes relating to global warming. We chose an imperial saison (which ferments at high temperatures), added water from melted ice caps and berries from the threatened Arctic region. Whether you work in a brewhouse or the White House, climate change is everyone s responsibility. Spicy and bright, MEGA has citrus notes of spiced orange, nutmeg, clove and caramelised banana with a dry yet warming body and a hint of acidity from the cloudberries to balance the sweeter notes. Style: Saison ABV: 7.5% Pair with: Apple Pie Hops: Amarillo, Mandarina Bavaria Extras: Glacier Water, Cloudberries - 8 - - 9 -
PROTOTYPE TANGERINE SESSION IPA PROTOTYPE VIENNA LAGER PROTOTYPE TANGERINE SESSION IPA PROTOTYPE VIENNA LAGER India Pale Ales often major in the citrus elements that result in the style being so refreshing (even in mid-november), but in this beer we decided to combine those new world hops with actual citrus a la Elvis Juice and introduce the bright flavour of tangerine. We combined a fairly colossal amount of favourites from the hop store and used them in the boil, whirlpool and then the dry-hop stage to release as much of their aromatic resins as possible. The reason for this is we wanted this IPA to be as citrusy as we could get even before we added the tangerine. The aroma is full-on citrus with an unmistakable salvo of sweet, fresh tangerine on the nose. On the flavour this citrus addition comes over in a more subtle way, when combined with the zesty hops from the dry-hop stage in particular, and the crystal malt. Style: Session IPA ABV: 4.5% Pair with: Lemon and Herbed Sea Bass Hops: Chinook, Ahtanum, Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Cascade, Nelson Sauvin Malts: Pale, Cara, Crystal Extras: Tangerine One of the classic beer styles of central Europe, this Prototype Vienna riffs on the old-time feel of these amber lagers. Developed in the midnineteenth century they are not spicy or layered with caramel like other beers from that part of the world Vienna lager is all about toasty, warming malt. That they have fallen out of fashion with many breweries in Europe is a huge shame as they are amazing beers, and if you ever need a style to pair with Mexican food go for a Vienna Lager every time. This beer is all about the malt, as it gives toasty notes of bread crust, cheesecake base and cinder toffee. The continental hops work with this perfectly, bringing a light orange peel hop character, and a snappy medium dry finish. Style: Vienna Lager ABV: 5.0% IBU: 25 Pair with: Chilli con carne Malts: Pils, Vienna, Munich, Cara Hell, Cara Red Hops: Perle, Mittelfrüh, Mandarina Bavaria - 10 - - 11 -
JET BLACK HEART NITRO INCLUDED IN 12/18 CAPACITY ES LONEWOLF G&T INCLUDED IN 18 CAPACITY ES Gin & Tonic 8.8% JET BLACK HEART LONEWOLF G&T We long wanted to return a dark beer to our Headlining lineup, and after trialling a limited-edition B-Side Milk Stout, the fledgling Jet Black Heart was released into the 2015 Prototype Challenge to see what would happen. What happened was it won the competition at a canter, never polling less than 40% of the overall vote. Our eight malt, two hop, four-legged friend is black as pitch and smooth as hell. The flaked oats and wheat add to the mouthfeel throughout, with the rest of the malt bill setting up a truly smooth, rewarding finish. On the aroma, a depth of roasted coffee beans and chocolate, with raisin and other dark fruits. The first thing that comes to the fore on the taste is the full-bodied richness, with the velvety mouthfeel leading to an intensity of smooth vanilla and dark berry fruit. These flavours in turn lift and amplify the chocolate character into a long, roasty aftertaste. Country: Scotland Style: Milk Stout ABV: 4.7% Pair with: Shin of Beef Stew IBU: 30 Malts: Magnum, Sorachi Ace When we began the LoneWolf journey we wanted one thing above all else to stand firm no part of what we did would involve compromise. So after trialling over a hundred different combinations of botanicals, we selected our awesome LoneWolf gin. Seeing as three-quarters of a G&T is the T, we developed our own tonic water to complement it perfectly. And now we have canned those two together in perfect balance, exactly in the ratio you d receive if you ordered a LoneWolf and Tonic in a bar. The perfect crisp G&T, from a can. Every time. Clean, crisp and with refreshing hits of citrus from the peel and kaffir lime leaf, we believe this is the perfect gin and tonic. Style: Gin & Tonic! ABV: 8.8% Pair with: Asian Prawn Salad Extras: Juniper, scots pine, fresh grapefruit peel, fresh lemon peel, coriander seed, cardamom, angelica root, orris root, Thai lemon grass, pink peppercorn, kaffir lime leaf, mace, almond, lavender flower - 12 - - 13 -
VAGABOND INCLUDED IN 18 CAPACITY ES VAGABOND Teeming with hopflecked attitude, the main aim of Vagabond is to dispel two commonlyheld misconceptions in the world of beer. Firstly, that 4.5% pale ales are mere run-ofthe-mill stock releases. And secondly that by necessity, gluten-free equates to taste-free. Vagabond is proof that the focal point of both of these types of beer should be flavour, rather than hiding behind the everyday nature of a style, or conforming to an ideal. A blast of Californian Pacific coastal sunshine, Vagabond melds garlands of floral-decked citrus and tropical hop flavours with a light caramel malt base, backed up with a raucously resinous bitterness. It is full flavour, full tilt only zero gluten. Style: Pale Ale ABV: 4.5% IBU: 55 Pair with: Ceviche Hops: Centennial, Amarillo Malts: Extra Pale, Cara, Crystal - 14 - - 15 -
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