Pump Action Poet
BrewDog

Dec. 2017: 330 ml can, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 7.5%. Golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of peaches, apricot and American hops with notes of tropical fruits and pine. Fruity flavour (too much fruit, actually), some sweetness, peaches and apricot. Moderate bitterness.

330ml can poured into a pint glass.

Golden orange in color with lots of sediment floating, the pour builds up thick frothy off-white head that stays with pretty good retention before gradually collapsing and leaving slight lacing.

In a nose, obviously ripe mango and jackfruit. Also, kind of sweet ripening fruit. The taste follows what reflects in the aroma with the lead of ripe mango, jackfruit, and lots of sweet fruitiness. Hop bitterness is very low here.

The body is medium with quite smooth mouthfeel and moderately crisp carbonation. The feeling is refreshing with a dry finish. An exotic IPA with the lead of ripe mango and jackfruit.

 

Well, well, looks like BrewDog Elvis Juice has a new sibling in Pump Action Poet Stonefruit IPA... it’s no secret that I am a big fan of Elvis Juice, to me it is the best (and most consistent) fruit-infused beer. So expectations are very high indeed. A thing that a seasoned Elvis drinker (like me) notices right away is the higher ABV from 6.5% to 7.5%... Elvis was such a drinkable brew at 6.5%, my only concern is that at 7.5% Pump Action Poet might be a bit too on the nose [or tongue in this specific instance]... not the name though - Pump Action Poet, it’s another great brew name from BrewDog, hopefully they won’t get sued for this one... though that does look like Master Chief on the label... shhh, don’t tell Microsoft!

Poured from a 330ml can into a nonic pint.

A: Fairly hazed golden amber hue body with a nice white cappuccino foam head on top that compacts down to about half a centimetre. I declare this looks like a tasty fermented beverage! 8/10.

S: Fruity... stone-fruity. Peach and apricot rule this Pump Action Poet aroma! As advertised then. With notes of grapefruit, orange blossom and a thick biscuit malt base. Master Chief: “Reporting for duty!”. Wait, does the Master Chief even speak? I don’t ever remember hearing him speak. Regardless he has the soul of a poet I am now swayed to believe. 8/10.

T: Yep, stone-fruit for days - it’s carnival time in Georgia (the US state - not the Eurasian country). It’s a bit like an American IPA with some Southern Comfort - that extra 1% ABV does give it a slight spirit edge unfortunately. Other than a bold peachy character there’s a light grapefruit/orange citric backbone and a biscuit base underlying everything... however that spirit edge only serves to detract from the flavour overall. Still it’s good. Not great. Good. 7/10.

M: Medium bodied with a reasonably dense carbonation, not as gassy as Elvis, but then he did eat a lot of hamburgers... 8/10.

D: It’s no Elvis, but it delivers what it sets out to do on the can where it says “Stonefruit IPA” - it is definitely one of those. The whole spirity/SoCo vibe detracts from what could have been an easy-drinking fruit beer like Elvis. Elvis is a breeze at 6.5%, this is almost a chore at 7.5%, goes to show just how much of a difference 1% can make. However: there is a good beer in here. Oh yeah, not a fan of peaches, but I didn’t let that affect the score [I’m a mofressional]. 8/10.

Food match: This beer made me think of sashimi for some reason.

 

 

 

The colour is gold; the liquid is almost clear. The compact two finger head is white, it sinks down to a thin lid leaving some lacing.

The smell is dry with some fruit candy, apricot marmalade, leather and dense alcohol.

The taste is at first sweet with light notes of tropical fruits: Orange peel, apricot, banana and ripe plums. Growing warming clean alcohol. Chemical bitterness in the background – some lemon acid. Medium to full body. The aftertaste is less fruity with somewhat stronger chemical bitterness, wheat dough sweetness and old-fashioned fruit drops. The finish is quite smooth with sweet exotic fruits.

The carbonation is medium strong; the small bubbles fresh. The liquid is thick and a bit sticky.

Not enough bitterness to balance the (fruity) sweetness. BrewDog seem to have some issues with the bitterness in their IPAs…

 

 

Pale yellow color. A little bit hazy.
Two finger high, white head.

Nose: Citrus, grass, passion fruit and caramel.
Taste: Sweet caramel malt, tropical fruit, bread, mango and peach.
Mouth: Medium to light carbonation. Light bitter.

A 330ml can with a BB of May 2018. Purchased recently from the Brewdog webshop. Described on the label as a stonefruit IPA brewed with peaches and apricots.

A: Poured into an IPA glass. A rich golden-amber hue with faint haze and good carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a patchy surface layer. Slight lacing.

S: Aroma of fruity hops with hints of ripe stonefruit, citrus, subtle peel, mild tropical fruit, caramel malt, ale yeast and light earthiness. Nice, though neither as fruity or hoppy as might be expected.

T: Tastes of fruity aromatic hops with notes of grapefruit, citrus, stonefruit, mild tropical fruit, caramel malt, light grain, ale yeast and a vague earthiness. A hot alcoholic note lurks in the background, followed by a restrained, hoppy bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with prickly carbonation and good body. Hop oils stimulate the palate. Aftertaste of light bitterness, fruity hops, subtle stonefruit and earthiness.

O: Pretty good, though not as intense as might be anticipated for a Brewdog IPA. Looks great, while the aroma and flavour have a pleasing blend of fruity hops, caramel malt and mild yeast. Nice body. The fruit content is much more subdued than I thought it would be - the hop character seems to dominate while peach/apricot notes lurk in the wings. The booze is also quite prominent and could be better hidden. That said, it's a drinkable brew that should satisfy most hop lovers out there. Worth sampling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schooner on keg at DogHouse, Glasgow (£4.56):
Quite a strong beer throughout with more heat than anticipated & a subtle alcohol kick that was apparent throughout but somehow the beer seemed to work & the balance wasn't too bad either. Opening with a nice burst of fruits to give the beer quite a fresh feel, there was some mango & pineapple alongside the usual orange & citrus flavours. The beer was fairly bitter in the early going to thanks to a pleasant combination of pine & grapefruit as well as the stone fruits, although these seemed to have disappeared come the taste. Definitely an interesting & enjoyable beer from Brewdog but I'm not sure I'd rush back to have it again were it on their permanent roster of beers.