BrewDog Hello My Name Is Beastie

Good evening all. You might remember that during August last year, BrewDog released an unusually named beer called "Hello My Name Is Ingrid", a DIPA brewed with cloudberries and the usual hop suspects (Citra, Nelson Sauvin, etc). Previously brewed only for the Swedish market, it was given an all-encompassing release a few months later and quickly became a personal favourite of mine. Over a year later and another DIPA with a weird name, this time with the addition of brambles. It's called Hello My Name Is Beastie, and naturally I've got high hopes based on how fantastic the previous version was. Review after the pic....

Hello My Name Is Beastie (8.2% ABV) pours an amber colour with a thick white head that dissipates relatively quickly to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. The aroma is pretty standard for a DIPA, with resinous pine, mango, grapefruit and some honey in the background. Surprisingly there are some hints of malt every so often which I wouldn't normally expect with a DIPA, and the hop-derived aromas aren't as intense as they possibly could be considering the beer style. This does seem to be a trend with BrewDog's recent Imperial IPA offerings, e.g. Anarchist/Alchemist which, despite the high alcohol content and massive dry hopping regime, was quite reserved in both aroma and taste. The brambles are noticeable yet faint and there are also some notes of orange towards the end of the beer. So far, a myriad of different aromas presented with startling subtlety- let's see if the taste delivers a bit more power. Similar flavours are on show, with malt, pine, peach, mango, grapefruit and some honey sweetness. The hops don't provide much bitterness, but the brambles appear to have imparted a light tartness that compliments the other flavours well. The alcohol is dangerously hidden and the subtleties of the flavours mean there is no cloying, allowing for frequent sips. As with the aroma the flavours aren't particularly robust, but they're balanced and varied enough so that it doesn't seem to matter in this context. The mouthfeel is light and the beer is moderately carbonated- personally a bit more carbonation would've worked better but this doesn't hinder the experience too much. Overall, the inclusion of brambles in this beer is a nice twist on the DIPA style, and I could certainly see myself having this offering again. However, it pales in comparison to Hello My Name Is Ingrid, which is unfortunate as I my expectations were high considering its illustrious company. Definitely worth trying, but if you somehow have the opportunity to get some Ingrid then take it over this one.

Until next time....