Friday Beer Post: Quick, Sink the Bismarck before zee Germans get here.

So today I checked in with one of my favorite worldwide breweries: Brew Dog. These Scottish brewing wizards are notorious for bringing strong, craft brewed beer to the British Isles. Until recently they had the distinction of brewing the strongest beer in the world. Called "Tactical Nuclear Penguin," it weighed in at an impressive 32% ABV. While some questioned weather or not it could actually be called "beer," most were just impressed with the gall and creativity of the brewers.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.

As with all records, it was not to last, as German brewers from Schorschbraeu crated Schorschbock 40, conveniently containing approximately 40% ABV. With true Scottish pluck, BrewDog went back to the drawing board and came up with a whopper: A 41% quadruple IPA called "Sink the Bismarck!" (History geek aside: the Bismarck, as opposed to the 19th Century German Chancellor, was a gigantic German Battleship from WWII. It was the largest ship at time of construction. It was involved in one operation, sinking the HMS Hood, and provoking Winston Churchill to order the British Armed Forced to "Sink the Bismarck." When the British Navy caught up to the Bismarck, they fired near 3,000 shells at her before sending the beast to the bottom.) Quadruple IPA, eh? O.K., you have my undivided attention. Tell me more...

"Sink the Bismarck is a quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times to create at a staggering 41% ABV.

This is IPA amplified, the most evocative style of the craft beer resistance with the volume cranked off the scale. Kettle hopped, dry hopped then freeze hopped for a deep fruit, resinous and spicy aroma. A full out attack on your taste-buds ensues as the incredibly smooth liquid delivers a crescendo of malt, sweet honey, hop oils and a torpedo of hop bitterness which lasts and lasts." -link

After my post last week about my love of hops, and their use in my favorite style of beer: the IPA, you can see why I might be intrigued by such beer. I MUST HAVE THIS!

Sink the Bismarck! from BrewDog on Vimeo.

Beer and this modern man

My first taste of beer was of a lukewarm Coors Original... sigh. It's amazing, thinking back to that moment, that I ever sought out beer again. Boring, passion-less, dead, over carbonated and (eventually) vomit-enducing. I guess the only good thing I can say about it is, in the words of Dave Chappelle, "It'll get you drunk!"


( Mm-mmm, bitch!)

Thankfully I have moved beyond such things as staple pilsner lagers from the big 3 foreign-owned American breweries. (Slight digression.... of all of the things that could happen to the Jingoistic portion of America, could anything be more devastating than the big 3 being owned by foreigners? I imagine it would be a lot like finding out that Jimmy Johnson was actually a French foreign national. In the end, I guess its a good thing that the majority of America hasn't figured this out yet.)

Hey, if you like Bud or Miller, God bless you. It's your damn right to drink and pay for what you like. In my mind, I just view it as if one spent their entire life just eating red beans & rice. Delicious, sure, but after a while you would, invariably, start longing for something else. When I consider my beer choices I generally prefer to go for something I've never tried before. While I certainly have favorites, more often than not, I'll pass them up for the opportunity to try something new. I just love to experience new flavors, and new ideas.

Variety is, after all, the spice of life. I guess that's why there has been a massive proliferation of beer variety thrust upon the American market over the past 15 years. The free market being what it is (...is the liquor market really free? The 3-tier distribution system seems to hold back diversity in many states) once there proved to be a demand for beer diversity companies began to spring up that were more than willing to oblige. While the big 3 still dominate the national market, micro-brews are becoming much more common-place. I fully expect that every bar or other type of watering hole (watering hole makes me giggle) that I go into will have at the very least Sam Adams and/or Fat Tire, and possibly something more local, available. It's not just the variety, but the development of such wide-spread access to craft brewing that is so incredible.

In all actuality, I don't consider myself to be that much a beer snob, I just know what I don't like. I certainly don't spend that much time considering the intricacies of that which I am drinking. The primary question I ask myself when I try a beer is "Is this awesome?" Usually the answer is "Of course, keep drinking!"

I love beer for the exploratory nature of the craft. People are always trying new things, be it in their home kitchens or in the multi-million dollar set-ups that the big 3 have designed to get in on all of the craft beer fun. Just as long as no one takes it too seriously, no one will get hurt, and we can all keep drinking!