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International Arms Race
BrewDog
- From:
- BrewDog
- Scotland, United Kingdom
- Style:
- Gruit / Ancient Herbed Ale
- ABV:
- 7.5%
- Score:
- 76
- Avg:
- 3.23 | pDev: 20.74%
- Reviews:
- 23
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 06, 2015
- Added:
- Sep 02, 2012
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 7
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by civicm87:
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland
3.65/5 rDev +13%
3.65/5 rDev +13%
From BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #70 (November 2012):
"An IPA with no hops by two breweries separated by sea?" Yes, that's the challenge between BrewDog and Flying Dog; a zero IBU IPA. Instead of hops, spearmint, bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berries and elderflower were used to impart bitterness. Unfortunately BrewDog forgot to take "hops" off their label, calling this an IPA was a mistake and they missed an opportunity to educate the masses about this interestingly complex no hop beer.
STYLE: Gruit
ABV: 7.5%
AVAILABILITY: Limited
LOOK: Bright copper, creamy tight lacing
SMELL: Bitters, minty, floral, herbal, rosemary, wet hay
TASTE: Smooth, medium-bodied, semi-chewy, malty sweet, banana, juniper, spicy, spearmint, bitter herbs, leafy, earthy, woody, dry, grainy finish
Oct 31, 2014"An IPA with no hops by two breweries separated by sea?" Yes, that's the challenge between BrewDog and Flying Dog; a zero IBU IPA. Instead of hops, spearmint, bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berries and elderflower were used to impart bitterness. Unfortunately BrewDog forgot to take "hops" off their label, calling this an IPA was a mistake and they missed an opportunity to educate the masses about this interestingly complex no hop beer.
STYLE: Gruit
ABV: 7.5%
AVAILABILITY: Limited
LOOK: Bright copper, creamy tight lacing
SMELL: Bitters, minty, floral, herbal, rosemary, wet hay
TASTE: Smooth, medium-bodied, semi-chewy, malty sweet, banana, juniper, spicy, spearmint, bitter herbs, leafy, earthy, woody, dry, grainy finish
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina
3.5/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: poured into an IPA glass to a nice gold hue that's a little cloudy and topped by a finger of dense slightly off white head that fades fairly quickly
S: smells very herbal with a bit of pine. It smells like potpourri.
T: taste is very herbal and tea like with a slight honey sweetness. swallow brings more herbs and a bit of a medicinal taste that's a little fruity
M: this beer is on the lighter side of medium with prickly carbonation and a drying finish
O: very funky for an IPA, but it appears to be spot on for a Gruit. It isn't terrible but it's very different but you have to be expecting different.
Jun 01, 2014S: smells very herbal with a bit of pine. It smells like potpourri.
T: taste is very herbal and tea like with a slight honey sweetness. swallow brings more herbs and a bit of a medicinal taste that's a little fruity
M: this beer is on the lighter side of medium with prickly carbonation and a drying finish
O: very funky for an IPA, but it appears to be spot on for a Gruit. It isn't terrible but it's very different but you have to be expecting different.
Reviewed by DrDemento456 from Pennsylvania
3.74/5 rDev +15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Paid about 3 bucks for the single. Seeing it retired I now know it's an old bottle. Still I have not had many to the style.
A - Well it looks like beer hazy honey amber color with a 1/4 inch of head that dissipates before I can even type this sentence. Not much lace.
S - Wow is that herbal and woody! I have not experienced such an intense smell. Like a garden of fresh blueberries and blackberries meets flowers and cinnamon.
T - The taste not so intense. Pretty much as others described like an alcoholic herbal tea. Some cinnamon. Some fruit. Mostly honey sweetness.
M - It's thin but not watery the ABV really clings to the palate masking the body of actual beer.
Well this was quite a tasty find. Leave it to brewdog to make a Scottish Gruit that taste like actual beer. Even the herbs seem to take a backseat after aging. Worth picking up I guess.
May 09, 2014A - Well it looks like beer hazy honey amber color with a 1/4 inch of head that dissipates before I can even type this sentence. Not much lace.
S - Wow is that herbal and woody! I have not experienced such an intense smell. Like a garden of fresh blueberries and blackberries meets flowers and cinnamon.
T - The taste not so intense. Pretty much as others described like an alcoholic herbal tea. Some cinnamon. Some fruit. Mostly honey sweetness.
M - It's thin but not watery the ABV really clings to the palate masking the body of actual beer.
Well this was quite a tasty find. Leave it to brewdog to make a Scottish Gruit that taste like actual beer. Even the herbs seem to take a backseat after aging. Worth picking up I guess.
Reviewed by longjohnsilver from California
3.96/5 rDev +22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.96/5 rDev +22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
The beer shows a decent cream colored head on top of a light amber body, which is a tiny bit hazy.
A honey sweetness lays down the base layer which is complemented by the appearance, which is also very reminiscent of honey. It smells a bit like clover and blueberries, and overall this is the secondary flavor. There is very little in the way of bitterness, except as added by the carbonation.
The beer drinks like an easy walk through a rose garden in the summer, the easy-going sweetness is like 2 teaspoons of sugar in a tall glass of iced tea.
If more standard IPA's took this well balanced approach to the malt then I would be happier to try more of them.
May 04, 2014A honey sweetness lays down the base layer which is complemented by the appearance, which is also very reminiscent of honey. It smells a bit like clover and blueberries, and overall this is the secondary flavor. There is very little in the way of bitterness, except as added by the carbonation.
The beer drinks like an easy walk through a rose garden in the summer, the easy-going sweetness is like 2 teaspoons of sugar in a tall glass of iced tea.
If more standard IPA's took this well balanced approach to the malt then I would be happier to try more of them.
International Arms Race from BrewDog
Beer rating:
76 out of
100 with
64 ratings
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