tasting notes OUR CURATED BOTTLE CLUB
THE BEERS INSIDE YOUR Hello once again from the internet! If you are reading this then you re a very lucky person indeed. A card-carrying BrewDog Equity Punk about to delve into their latest BottleBox release. Although you ve probably already opened it. Either way here s more detail on what s inside! We kick things off with our seasonal release for the waning months of 2017 our red rye IPA Slot Machine, a perfect beer for winter. That s followed by freshly-canned 5AM Saint, our red ale of longer standing, and staying with the aluminium wonders we also have the invert and enjoy majesty of Jet Black Heart Nitro! But it s not all dark beers; we are holding a throwback to summer with the Tangerine Session IPA that won our Prototype Challenge, our session pale Dead Pony Club and the tub-thumping Jack Hammer. As a neat segue we also prove that hops are for Christmas with Hoppy Christmas and pair that with our other festive brew Santa Paws. We round things off with our brand new imperial saison Make Earth Great Again and venture into the neon wonderland with the epic Tokyo*! We hope you enjoy these beers as much as we enjoyed brewing them! James and Martin
SLOT MACHINE 5AM SAINT SLOT MACHINE 5AM SAINT Kettle hopped with Magnum, Slot Machine also gains from Amarillo in the whirlpool and dry-hop. There is also a third wave; the herbal spice from German hop Callista brings a nobility to the proceedings. But this beer is also about the majesty of Rye. We love using it, despite the potential it has to make brewers think twice, as it adds a depth to the flavour profile balancing out the caramel from malts such as Crystal. In short, as any brewer will tell you, Rye holds everything together. These interlinked flavours are front and centre; citrus from the Amarillo, berry fruit and gooseberry from the Callista and the Rye brings its standardissue dry spice to the proceedings. Toffee and bread crust from the other malts lock these bitter flavours into place throughout. Style: Red Rye IPA ABV: 5.2% IBU: 55 Pair with: Brisket Sandwich Malts: Extra Pale, Rye, Crystal, Carafa Hops: Magnum, Callista, Amarillo 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 - 4 - - 5 -
JET BLACK HEART NITRO PROTOTYPE TANGERINE SESSION IPA JET BLACK HEART PROTOTYPE TANGERINE SESSION IPA 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. Style: Milk Stout ABV: 4.7% Pair with: Shin of Beef Stew IBU: 30 Malts: Magnum, Sorachi Ace 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 - 6 - - 7 -
DEAD PONY CLUB JACK HAMMER 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 - 8 - - 9 -
HOPPY CHRISTMAS 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 - 10 - SANTA PAWS 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. SANTA PAWS CHRISTMAS SCOTCH ALE 4.5% 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 - 11 -
MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN TOKYO* MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN TOKYO* 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 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! 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. Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 16.5% Pair With: White chocolate ganache Malts: Extra Pale, Dark Crystal, Chocolate, Roasted Barley Extras: Jasmine, Cranberries, Oak Chips - 12 - - 13 -
BEER - 14 - - 15 -
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