IPA Weekend

"Can" you believe it!!

By chance on my way home from work I came across Brew Dog Punk IPA 5.6% ABV in a can!! At the beer drinkers meca of UtoBeer in Borough Market.

I feel I  owe it to the (original) Punk IPA for starting my adventure in to drinking Craft Ales and Beers. I still remember excitingly buying a bottle in Tesco's, after reading an article about Brew Dog and the then UK strongest beer Tokyo* (oh how times and abv's have changed). Drinking it with a respect I'd never given to another beer before. So Punk means a lot to me.

Late last year myself and Tom M attended the battle of the Punks at The Rake, where the original Punk recipe was put up against what was then known as Punk X. Needless to say Punk X won and as such Brew Dog, in a brave decision amended their flagship beer.Adding a lot more hops and more dry-hopping aswell as  reducing the bitterness from 70 to 45 thus giving the beer a bit more balance.

This was the first time I'd had the new Punk since that night at the Rake and my first time for a craft beer in a can! It didn't disappoint all the flavours are still there, grapefruit and lychee with an toned down onslaught of the bitter after taste (due to the lower IBUs). There's something about drinking from a can that makes this beer more crisp and fresh compared to the bottled version and if this means Punk becomes more readily available and reached a wider audience then I'm all for it!

Following on from the excitement I felt like trying and comparing another IPA and had in my collection.This time from Brew Dog's American cohorts The Stone Brewing Company.

Stone Brewing Company - Stone IPA 6.9% ABV - A full bodied IPA, what we've come to expect from the American craft beer revolution. Heavily hopped given a bitter but sweet taste. Has highly herbal flavour from the dry hopping process that leads to a lovely sweet fruity after-taste. The carbonation gives the beer a crisp refreshing zing.

I've had this beer before on tap (see previous posts) and remember it having a much bigger flavour.
It's still a great IPA from one of Americas best Craft brewers, although I feel that Brew Dog's Hardcore IPA or The Kernel's IPA are better beers being bigger and brasher with their flavours.

Also sampled over the weekend was Oakham Ales - Citra 4.2% ABV. a brilliant single hopped beer. Oakham Ales where the first to brew solely with citra hops back in 2009. A crisp fruity beer with the familiar grapefruit and lychee flavours being produced from the Citra hops. A nice dry finish makes this perfect as a session beer.