Brewdog: Sub Hop (Scotland: Imperial Pilsner: 9% ABV)
Visual: Banana gold. Large yellowed froth head and some carbonation
Nose: Floral. Light pumpkin (or at least what pumpkin in beer tends to smell like). Vanilla slice. Digestives. Passion fruit.
Body: Very ripe banana. Pumpkin. Custard. Dried apricot. Very ripe fruit in general. Light hop character. Golden syrup cake. Thick texture. Light bitterness and prickle. Light greenery. Pink grapefruit. Rhubarb crumble and custard hard sweets.
Finish: Ripe banana. Light bitterness. Vanilla slice. Golden syrup. Digestives. Pink grapefruit. Toffee.
Conclusion: I think I must have had a cold the first time I tried this, as back then it seemed kind of dull. So, not expecting much, I broke my second bottle open for review.
It’s actually pretty nice. Doesn’t scream lager, not even imperial lager. The first thought that came to mind was actually an easier going Hardcore IPA, for malt influence and level of hop flavours. However it has nowhere near the bitterness of that beer.
The flavours are different though, lots of overripe banana, what seems slightly pumpkin like to my non pumpkin expert mind, and a chunk of the more traditional dried apricot and pink grapefruit flavours. It is very sweet, there is some tartness from the grapefruit, but mainly it emphasises the sweeter element. It is a bit different then, like three separate dessert wrapped up in ball of hops, but kind of nice.
For all its big flavours, it is still pretty slick to drink – a bit syrupy so it is not like the crisp lagers in ease of drinking, but the flavours don’t weigh you down. They do hang around and trade taste tales on your tongue, but happily leave when requested rather that setting up a squatters block.
Overall, as stated before, it is pretty nice. A bit different in flavours, and doesn’t really shout the style, but it does use it for a bit of slick character. I return here to the concept of it as an easygoing Hardcore IPA, via lager, and via rhubarb and custard hard sweets of all things. It is maybe a bit too sweet, maybe a bit too syrupy, but for the mix of quality to different flavours I enjoyed it.
Background: This was brewed for Brewdog Firenze. Which wikipedia assures me is in Italy. Geography never was my strong suit. Sorry to my Italian readers. Anyway, a small amount was available online so I grabbed a few bottles. This was drunk while listening to some of the Guilty Gear soundtrack. I have never played the game but the soundtrack is cool. I had just finished watching some Doctor Who in preparation for going to see the new Doctor on Saturday. Unfortunately I picked Planet Of The Dead, which turned out to be terrible. Or at least started out so terrible I had problems taking the rest of the episode seriously. Unlike the episode before it, “The Next Doctor” which was good for the first 45 minutes and then sucked so hard that everyone remembers the entire episode as being bad. I’m just rambling about Doctor Who now aren’t I? As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.
