Speedbird OG
BrewDog

 

Poured from a can into a crystal tumbler aboard a British Airways flight.

Appearance: medium golden hue with a clear body and a finger of ivory foam leaving a good lace on the glass as it dissipates.

Smell: moderately sweet aroma with a super bright lemony aroma. Aha! The ingredients list “natural orange flavoring”. That makes sense. Cheating, maybe, but still it smells pretty good.

Taste: well now that I know it’s orange, that’s mostly what I taste, though there is definitely a lemony character to the flavor as well. It’s not very IPA-ey, but I gotta say, I actually like it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: this beer is a lot better than what I was expecting. It has much more of an English pale ale vibe vs. an IPA, but the orange flavoring actually complements the beer well in a way such flavorings rarely seem to do. And as much as I dislike BrewDog as a company, this beer is pretty decent.

 

RB transfer

Copenhagen 27/1 2024. 33 cl can from Meny, Borups Allé, Frb. F. Blue and silver can with red stripes in BrewDogs usual style. Apparently the result of some commercial stunt for British Airways.

Pours clear, golden yellow with a mid-sized white head. settles a 0,3 cm thick later of foam covering the surface of the beer. crawling up the sides of the glass. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a perfumed, sweet citric odor mingling with tart fruit. Tangerine, aftershave and orange. Lemon and lime.

Strong carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, lively and tingling texture.

Flavor is medium intense with rather strong sweetness followed by a more moderate bitterness. Aftertaste is sweetish. Lingers for a bit. Finish is Semi-dry with a touch of toothpaste.

I do not think that this get any better at 40,000 feet.

 

 

 

 

Amber color with a thick thin head.
Aroma with fresh predominant notes of oranges.
Flavor with notes of orange juice, some grapefruit and fain pine. Dry aftertaste with a mild bitterness.
Light body with appropriate carbonation.
This felt rather bland. Orange juice predominated over other expected IPA notes.

My wife said I should try to be objective instead of letting my review be influenced by the impression the beer made on me, so I said I would try.
I read that the concept behind this beer was to combine the IPAs of the Old World and the New and make an IPA that has both English and American features, hence the name Transatlantic IPA.
I like the idea but I think Stone took this to perfection with their Emperial IPA back in the day. Here, I was getting some strange notes (of nutmeg? or anise maybe? my wife said it is orange) but apart from that I could not really put my finger on what this beer is trying to me. I guess it is my bad (or I just simply did not like the aroma and the taste, felt somewhat disappointed from the beginning) but I was not convinced by this beer. The quality was AOK though but it was nothing to write home about - and still I did.

330ml can from Brewdog Online Shop (£1.58):
Light, translucent amber with a 1cm, foamy head & a few bubbles through the body. Light malts, citrus & zesty notes with caramel, faint line & earthy notes. Sharp & well carbonated but cheap tasting, cereal with a malt bitterness & zesty citrus but definitely disappointing & poorly balanced.