I got into microbrews six or seven years ago, but I haven't kept up on what's new since then. However lately it seems like I see Brew Dog beers nearly everywhere.

Does anybody love this stuff? If so, what do you recommend?

I have to admit, at $80 a bottle, the 32% abv "Tactical Nuclear Peguin" made me roll my eyes when I first read about it, and I kinda wrote these guys off as dorks.

Right now I'm halfway through a bottle of their "Hardcore IPA" and it's decent, but I'd still prefer a Dogfish 90 if we're drinking Imperial IPAs. The Hardcore is all hops with near zero sweetness to balance things out :-). On the positive side, the aroma when I first poured it was incredible. I don't know if I've ever had a beer that smelled so intensely of fresh hops. Unfortunately, I'm not a hop freak.

so anyhow, I can taste the love that Brew Dog has for making quality stuff, but it just seems a tad nerdy for me. I want to believe they're making beer that's tasty and not just "the hoppiest" or "world's strongest". Are these guys strictly gimmick clowns or worth another shot?

cheers :-)
[Reply]

They just started showing up around here and like you I wrote them off because of the high gravity stunts. I guess I need to try some of there brews before I knock them. They have some sort of collaboration with Mikkeller that I've been meaning to try
[Reply]

I've seen a couple of their beers at some local shops, but all singles and usually running about $6 each. Maybe because they're imported, I dunno :-) My preference is still for the US microbrews. Maybe I'm one of those damn American beer snobs.

An interesting take on some of their beers--the Tactical Nuclear Penguin looks like they used some kind of icewine technique to freeze and concentrate the beer. Might be worth a taste, but only if someone else is buying!
[Reply]

+1
[Reply]

I had their peat-smoked imperial stout (forget the name) and it was a peat smoked explosion! My friend and I did not finish the 12 ouce bottle, but it was at least a very interesting beer I'm glad I tried....once. The peat-smoke was just sooooo intense, and I am not a huge fan of peat smoke. It was, other than that, a well crafted beer and unique. If you love peat smoke in a big way (like some of the scotches) and RIS's, this is your beer. If not, it's at least a fun 'one-off' tasting (not cheap though, but worth it once to me).
[Reply]