Sink The Bismarck!
BrewDog

Into a snifter

Well, been squirreling this one away since I bought it a decade ago. At a time when experimental brewing was still in its novel phase, was excited to stash this one away for ten years, 2020! (Or whatever it was). The first beer time capsule! Tried to cellar it and forget it, but word got around from fellow beer geeks that it was a chore to drink and just kinda gross. Well, unfortunately, they were right. You could stash this one away for another decade and it still wouldn’t hide the fact that it’s better suited for peeling paint than pleasing the palate. Anyway, here are the specs:

Black brew, viscous like a stout. Boozy like a spirit - because it is - with notes of burnt rubber and anise. Kind of an amalgam of nastiness on the palate…plasticky bitterness, charred wood, spoiled cherries and massive booze. Finishes with this weird unsweetened chocolate meets Campari aftertaste. Ouch.

From the 12 oz bottle in a snifter via Bluejacket74! Cheers
dude, I have been waiting for the moment and it just struck me
as perfect. This monster brew pours a dark brown with burnished
copper highlights with no head or ring. Nose of deep resinous
pine and bittering hops with rich caramel and vinous notes
with touches plum brandy and earthy malts. Flavors are an
odd lot. Leather, dark dry red wine, resinous hops laden with
pine, herbal bittering hops, black strap molasses, and earthy malt
touches amongst caramel sweet malt syrup. Mouth feel is full
body, very VERY warm, coating, rich, did I mention warming,
no carbonation, I can't feel my lips....and I should mention
also it is warm....and finishes moderately dry, bitter, and
cloyingly sweet.

Overall, I am so glad I got to try it. It could most likely
replace novocain before dental surgery. That said it
is unique and made to be split with a friend! It is a
very unique brew!

Cheers

 

Shot glass at The Situation.
Black colour, nothing to say about the head and lacing because the Shot glass.
Aroma is sweet, raisins, muscatel,

molasses, and resins. Full body, creamy texture, sweet and hoppy finish.
Taste is completely different, hops and resins dominating, but there's raisins, molasses and muscatel.
Alcoholic, sweet, bitter.
Great, but you can't think of it as a beer, even an extreme beer.

 

 

 

 

 

5oz pour. Pours like syrup. Dark brown . Smells like hop oil, anise, and absinthe. Taste is similar with a burn like a neat whiskey. Drink tide beer for what it is

Bottle from brewdog Stockholm.

Still. Caramel bronze color.

Smell is of booze and dank, resinous hops. Nail polish remover.

Taste is the most bitter hop flavor imaginable. Weedy, dank, floral, resin. Sticky. Boozy. Bready malts. Earthy.

Medium bodied. Ends somewhat surprisingly clean for what it is.

This is a very interesting beer. It is like the whisky of hops. A few sips is enough. Basically liquid hops and booze.

A fun novelty beer to try, but not something I'd try again.

 

 

 

 

OK, OK, it's a gimmick ... and an aged IPA, at that.

Coppery but clear brew. No head.

Smells...potent. Strong alcohol, caramel, and feet?

Doesn't taste all as bad as it smells. Very hot; tons of caramel; stale hops; sherry and port; citrus and pine; fruit cake. Still not something I'd drink normally...or ever again.

For a beer that clocks in at whisky strength, it's not as hot as it could be. It is more flavorful and fruity, as well.

 

I feel the tagline for any critique of this is "what do you expect from a novelty beer"?

Shared with 5 friends in a cabin in the woods at Mt Hood.

Pour is flat, viscous, orange. Strong booze and hops smell. Taste is strong plasticy licorice that doesn't get any more pleasant the more you drink. Boozy sweet hops, sickly and quite unpleasant.

Treating it as IPA concentrate, I finished off one of the other friends glass (they couldn't, I don't blame them) by adding in some soda water. This for sure make is more of a sane drink, and really quite close to a re-hydrated IPA, but there was still that strong medicinal licorice plastic taste that made it nasty to drink.

You could argue it is fun to try once, but in all honesty only to say I have done it. For me, there are no redeeming features, I'd say avoid and go for something brewed for taste, not for some ABV arms race.