Brewdog Hardcore IPA
| Brewery: | Brewdog |
|---|---|
| Abv: | 9.2% |
Back to Brewdog for this week’s Monster Beer. I’ve waxed lyrical on the brewery often enough, so straight onto the beer.
This is the slightly more accessible Hardcore IPA, at 9.2% positively lightweight for a Brewdog beer. It’s rather strangely labelled as an “explicit imperial ale” on the bottle although I’m not sure quite what makes it explicit!
It looks quite a dark gold in the glass; it’s a rich, toffee or golden syrup smelling beer with some dark fruit tones – none of the floral notes you get with some IPAs.
In the mouth, again there’s the rich sweet toffee and dates, leading into a deep, balancing hop bitterness that cuts through the sticky sweetness perfectly and leaves you with a nicely lingering but not overwhelming bitter tail.
What you don’t smell or taste is the alcohol; it’s a strong, robust beer but it really doesn’t taste anywhere close to it’s 9.2%. The sweetness gives it a thick, rich body and the hops cut that sweetness back enough to be perfectly balanced and gloriously drinkable.
It’s a properly magnificent beer; not exactly Monster material in taste but wonderful nonetheless.
This review was originally published 30th December, 2011. It was last updated 1st June, 2023.