BrewDog Punk IPA

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:40 pm

This is an odd little creature.

Certainly doesn't look like much. Straw coloured, a pretty thin head and spotty lacings.

North American hops on the nose, somewhat subdued with a bit of honey sweetness from the malt.

Bittering hops right up front. Mouth coating. And then... I'm not sure. After reading Jon's (I think) post before, I was expecting some sweeter Scottish malt in the backbone here, but I'm not getting much at all. Just a tiny bit of sweetness, but I can't say much else. It's hops all the way through.

It's not a bad beer, but I'm a bit disapointed. There is so much to recommend good scottish pale ales, but I can't find it here. The malt just isn't there, it's way too clean.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:02 am

So is it unbalanced like Yellow Snow, or in a different way?

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:46 am

Well, I think Yellow Snow is pretty well balanced.

The hops aren't crazy or anything in the Punk, there's just nothing backing them up. So you could say it's out of balance, but only because your standard malt flavours aren't really there at all.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:49 pm

So it IS like the yellow snow. A hop tea if you will. Or like the Prima Pils, you can take your pick. These are all beers out of balance and suffer as a result.

I'll pick up a couple in any event, but I appreciate the warning. Cheers!

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:34 pm

It's interesting to look at some of the 1800's definitions of India Pale Ale. Here's one, which, as many I've read, stresses the dryness of the beer:

http://books.google.com/books?id=A4AEAA ... of&f=false

Fermentation was pursued to consume almost all the fermentable extract (in pre-pasteurization days) to render the beer more stable for export (less likelihood of a wild fermentation).

Of course, sweetness/dryness would have varied amongst brands.

Gary

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:15 pm

My comment in the other thread was merely meant to say that I found the beer atypical to style for either a west coast IPA or a Scottish IPA (like Deuchars for example) which is closer in style to an English IPA. Gary might be correct, that this Brewdog offering is truer to an older interpretation of the authentic style but regardless I found the beer unsatisfying since it really didn`t fulfill my expectations of either continental style nor created (or recreated) something pleasingly unique.

Mr. Lou Pepe · Post by **Mr. Lou Pepe** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 3:42 pm

I bought some for Christmas this year, DID NOT SATISFY the IPA lovers at the table =(

LondonBeer · Post by **LondonBeer** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:47 pm

Had 2 yesterday. It was pretty one dimensional. Lots of good hop aroma and bitterness but was almost like drinking a dry hopped coors light, nothing to really back up the hops.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:46 pm

I felt like I got "punked" when I tried this a couple nights ago.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:54 pm

I liked it for what it's trying to be. It has an almost lager crispness, and the taste is somewhere between a British pale and a lighter West Coast. So it's probably a nice "gateway" beer to steal away drinkers of stuff like Holsten Pils and Greene King IPA, opening their palates a bit in the direction of good west-coast style IPAs. When they eventually discover Stone or Southern Tier, they will go 'whoah!'

This is not the top percentile beer geek's IPA, nor is it really meant to be, I would imagine.

Timmy · Post by **Timmy** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:04 pm

I got to try this and the Yellow Snow yesterday. I liked the Punk....I felt the hops were very much like a West Coast IPA with a slight nod towards the more traditional IPA taste. Very unbalanced but I liked it for sure.

I liked the Yellow Snow much more but wow it was pricey.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:38 am

Timmy wrote: I liked the Yellow Snow much more but wow it was pricey.

It's a good beer. I agree a bomber such as Stone IPA is better value than that, but regardless of price I like variety.

Hope Brew Dog is good for IPA's general visibility.

IPA Boy · Post by **IPA Boy** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:39 pm

Good info on this. I have not tried it, but I was curious when I saw it at the store.

Looks like I'll pass, unless I can get a single at the LCBO.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:21 am

IPA Boy wrote:Looks like I'll pass, unless I can get a single at the LCBO.

If you're still talking about the Punk IPA, singles is how it's being sold at the LCBO. Worth the gamble for a bottle - even if you don't like it, you'll only be out a couple of bucks.

carguy · Post by **carguy** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 9:17 am

I bought two which I tried yesterday. I agree with everyone above that it has a nice hop flavour and aroma, but the body is a bit thin and watery.