Good evening all. I've had a couple of inactive days on the blog due to dissertation work, but fear not as I've got plenty of interesting beers lined up over the next couple of weeks, and if that's not enough to entice you I might just do another video review so you can see me stammer on a couch whilst drinking. What more could you ask for? Don't answer that, let's just get onto the beer that I had a couple of nights ago- Anarchist/Alchemist, a triple IPA from BrewDog. Sounds like another typically gratuitous offering from the Fraserburgh scamps, so let's get straight in and see what it's all about. Review after the pic....
Anarchist/Alchemist (14.0% ABV) pours a very dark amber colour with a thick white head that dissipates relatively quickly to a thin halo around the inside of the glass. I wasn't expecting a lot of head considering the ABV percentage, so I was initially quite surprised when I poured what you see in the picture, but I had the feeling it wasn't going to last long. The aroma is surprisingly subtle considering the nature of the beer, with a subdued resinous quality, citrus fruits, peaches and a light sweetness. It's definitely not an oily hop bomb as I was expecting and the alcohol is barely even noticeable at this stage. The piney hops and citrus fruits come through in waves, there's a slight ethanol/acetone aroma in the background, and every so often there's an ester-like quality and also some apple aromas. Still quite complex, just not as heavy as I was expecting- this beer is constantly full of surprises! The taste is composed of apples, biscuit malt, grapes, peaches, citrus fruits and some piney flavour, with a distinct alcoholic burn to the finish accompanied by a slight bitterness from the hops. Tasting it immediately reminded me of my first impression of Canadian Club whisky- restrained flavours and a fair hit from the alcohol present during tasting and in the finish. Despite this it's still very drinkable, and I wouldn't have guessed the ABV percentage was that high if I wasn't aware of it. There's also a candy floss sweetness/caramelised sugar flavour to the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is very light and the beer is barely carbonated. Considering the alcohol content this isn't all that surprising, and with the subtleties of the beer it's certainly not a negative thing. Overall, this beer is an unexpected exercise in subtlety, which is quite odd when you consider it's a 14.0% ABV triple IPA from by a brewery with a notorious penchant for taxidermy-related drinks dispensing and outrageous public displays of beer proliferation. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course! I wouldn't get it again but it was certainly an interesting offering that provided a rather subtle array of characterstic IPA flavours with a healthy dose of alcohol to liven up the proceedings. Worth trying at least once.
Until next time....
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