FOUR BEER THURSDAY

This week we have not one, but four amazing beers newly live in our online shop and across our network of bars. Each is very different from the others, but all of them are ready to go and are proof that our incredible team of brewers remain at the top of their game. So let’s get right to it!

Tactical Nuclear Penguin, Hop Shot, Prototype Blonde Ale and Hazy Jane are out now!

Tactical Nuclear Penguin

You can buy Tactical Nuclear Penguin online here

Our homage to the highs of radical brewing is back. For those unfamiliar with our foray into the dark side; this was originally the strongest beer in the world when first released, in the distant history of November 2009. The uber-imperial stout has stood up to the test of time and still clocks in at 32% ABV, making it truly a beer for the dedicated, the inspired and the curious.

Aggressively complex and assertive, this cold-conditioned behemoth leads with roasty imperial stout notes and then follows up with a coffee chocolate liqueur character. The smokiness builds and supports a rich mouthfeel of dark, stewed fruit, spiced mocha and a warming buttress of alcohol. In short, it is – still, to this day – a beacon for experimentation in a sea of conformity and remains one of the most popular beers we have ever created.

Hop Shot

You can buy Hop Shot online here

Hops weren’t meant to be subtle. And there is nothing reserved or understated about Hop Shot. It is an armour-piercing salvo of the key ingredient in modern brewing. A 20% ABV quadruple-distilled Imperial IPA it is a celebration of five of the finest sluggers the American hop farmers have given to our industry – Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe, Citra and Amarillo – with nothing held back.

Hop Shot gives aromas that belie its true character but represent its genesis. Sweet toffee from the malt and a huge lick of citrus. Grapefruit, sticky orange, sharp yuzu and resin. The flavour amplifies all of these as flavours, and keeps on going. A blistering bitterness is the fall-out; compound layers of fruit and pine cloaked in a mouth-coating fullness. It is, quite simply, IPA quadrupled.

Prototype Blonde Ale

You can buy Prototype Blonde Ale online here

Our 2017 Prototype Series is still going strong, with the three potential hopefuls still vying for your attention. You can pick up the Prototype Tangerine Session IPA, Black Rye IPA and Double IPA right here – and you can get the lowdown on them and our Challenge itself by checking out the blog post. We said at the time we had wanted a fourth beer – a German-hopped Blonde Ale – to join them, but we didn’t love how it turned out. So it never saw the light of day.

Since then, we have tweaked the recipe and re-brewed the beer, and it is now singing perfectly and ready to go! Although it won’t be joining the challenge the Blonde Ale is so unique we had to release the new version. Hopped with Perle and Mittlefruh but fermented out with British Ale Yeast, this 4.5% ale is floral and spicy, tempered by the wheat and honey malt used in the recipe. It is a meeting of two very different brewing worlds, resulting in something truly fascinating.

Hazy Jane

You can buy Hazy Jane online here

Finally, we have re-upped the stock of one of the most popular beers of the summer. Following months of trials on nailing the perfect Vermont-style India Pale Ale the result was Hazy Jane – and after flying from our online shop, we have brewed another batch and it is ready and waiting for those of you wanting to catch the last of the summer rays with a perfect beer in hand!

Brewed with pale malt, oats and wheat for a hugely smooth mouthfeel, we then pushed Hazy Jane to the limit with five different US hops before fermenting out with our proprietary BrewDog yeast. At 7.2% ABV and unfiltered, Hazy Jane yields intense pine and stone fruit peaks, lime zest and resinous notes – all rounded by a low background bitterness.

You can buy Tactical Nuclear Penguin, Hop Shot, the Prototype Blonde Ale and Hazy Jane online by following the links – and in our UK Bars the Blonde Ale and Hazy Jane will be pouring on draft Thursday 31st August from 6pm, whilst TNP and Hop Shot will be available to buy in 110ml bottle format. As ever let us know in the comments below the tasting notes for these four very different beers – and once again if you manage to sample the three entrants to our 2017 Prototype Challenge, be sure and vote in that all-important poll!