Brew Dog Brewery Punk IPA
For quite some time I’ve been hesitant to try any IPA that isn’t made in California. It’s not that I’m inherently Cali-centric, I’ve just never had an IPA brewed outside of The Golden State that I’ve really, really enjoyed. However, when I stumbled across Punk IPA at my local liquor store, Palm Springs (no, not the arid, geriatric inferno to the east of Mt. San Jacinto), I was feeling adventurous and the thought of a ‘Punk’ IPA sparked a wave of nostalgia carrying me back to the old days of sweaty, smoky anarchy at Soma Live. I should have known better. Like many of the “punk” boy bands to play at Soma, this IPA has little substance to accompany an aggressive façade. This beer is no Bad Religion. And while I typically won’t review a beer that I’m not particularly fond of, the proclamation of “We don’t care if you don’t like it” on the bottle pushed me forward, much like the dumb fuckin’ skinheads used to do at Soma.
So about that beer…
Splitting the bomber between two double-walled glasses for my wife and I, the beer poured a very light, golden straw-color with an almost non-existent head. In addition to scarce lacing, it also seemed to be lacking in carbonation. I’m usually leery of IPAs that don’t register an abv above 6.5%, but Blind Pig has had me reconsidering this lately. Coming in at 6%, this was no Blind Pig. Not only was there not much bitterness, but it just seemed to have an overall flat flavor profile. While the website claims that “the light fruity aroma dominates the initial confrontation,” I didn’t get any of this on the nose. And the claim that “lychee, kiwi and passionfruit all prevail with subtle nuances of cherry and strawberry,” is also lost on me. Perhaps I just picked up a bad bottle, but the “07/07/09” best by date on the bottle leads me to believe that it should be relatively fresh. There is also the possibility that my trusty liquor store, the home of robberies and car-jackings-with-hammers, didn’t properly store the beer. The friendly, non-beer-guy cashier did freely admit that the couple of cases they had had “sat in the back for a couple weeks until they found space for them,” but unless I can find a bottle for less than the 9 bucks I shelled out for this one, I won’t be giving it a second chance. I should also admit that I drank it following a West Coast IPA, a beer that has me questioning my former allegiances.
Score: I’ll start with a generous 80 points (allowing for the possibility that I had a bad bottle and the fact that it followed the WCIPA), but subtract 10 points for the price (I could have bought a Sculpin!).
Final score: 70 points.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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With a name like that, you would think you’d be drinking a beer with a double dose of attitude, it sounds like this one was sadly lacking. Maybe your liquor store needs to send all remaining cases of it to Palm Springs, where the geriatrics can enjoy it without fear of setting off their pace makers!
I think the geriatrics probably would dig it, along with others who aren’t accustomed to the palate punishment that many Cali IPAs are known for. Another gateway beer?
The Hardcore IIPA was pretty good though. I like my IPAs somewhere in the middle of the Punk and Hardcore.
The Hutt and J David really enjoyed their whiskey barrel-aged imperial stout, Paradox, a beer that the Scottish brewery is more known for.
Can’t comment on this beer,but have had the Hardcore IPA and Paradox Glen Grant Stout. Hardcore didn’t taste like a IIPA, with citrusy rye flavors and no real hop bite. The Paradox was great, one of the better Stouts I have had, totally dry with some great whiskey notes from the barrels, the only drawback was the price at $14.99 per 12 oz.