SO myself and a mate have been saving up a few rare and exotics ales recently, and finally decided that we had enough to justify opening them...and making a little evening of it at that!
Ranging in strength from 5% to a massive 15% YES! You read right a 15% beer, this was the motely-crue of beverages we battled through.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS 5%, this Vienna style ale wouldnt be my usual tipple, with its orangey taste its too sweet for my liking, but was a greatly refreshing and tasty surprise. certainly not one to drink 5 or 6 pints of, but a great ale to have with a meal, or on a summers day, sat in a beer garden.
BREWDOG-HARDCORE IPA 9.2%- This is no special brew copy. Although it comes in at a solid 9.2%, its a full of flavour fizzy style real ale, thats bursting with hops. It almost tastes as if your drinking hope flowers neat out of the bottle. Ive bought this quite regularly, and its a cracking brew. A few of these will chill out the most stressful of days. If you havnt tried it, you should, or even one of brewdogs lighter ales. I really think this is the future of ale drinking, cold fizzy and full of flavour!
So beer no3, after a half a pint of Peroni to cleanse the pallet! Here it was, the much awaited...
BREWDOG, PARADOX JURA 15%!
Brew dog, love their novelty ales and also make a approx 30% and 40% beers. Prices arent cheap at around £15 a bottle for this one and the 30 and 40 percenters cost thirty and forty pounds respectively. These clearly arent designed for drinking by the pint!
Anyway, as it states on the bottle, this is a Stout brewed in Whiskey barrels, and it pretty obvious when you taste it. I can only describe the flavour as smokey, so imagine drinking a stout with a smoked cheese and whiskey flavour and thats as near to its taste as I can get. Weve all heard the saying "It'll put hairs on your chest", but this will put hairs on your tongue! Certainly reaches parts other beers cant, but not one to be added to my shopping trolley again!
The finale...
PUY D'ENFER 8.5%
Im not sure of the full translation, but Enfer certainly means hell, so I nicknamed this Hell beer. :)
This award winning French beer, is certainly up there with the strong ones, but its taste doesnt lead you to believe that. It's certainly full of flavour, but its clever brewing has left it smooth and easily drinkable...maybe to drinkable considering its potent strength!
It was certainly the winner for me out of the above four ales, and one Ill buy again...if I can find it!
All in all a fun evening of beer tasting, Id like to say educating, but I think that would be pushing things a little far :P
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