BrewDog Riptide Imperial Stout

I have loved everything from BrewDog except Bashah. Their IPA's Punk and Hardcore are each great in their own way. This blows them all out of the water if you like stout.

Deep, dark flavor. Toasty without being burnt, chocolatey without being sweet. Thick without being syrupy. Really, really good.

Really, really good with a cigar too. I tend to smoke a lot of cigars when I am with my dad. It's bonding time and shooting the proverbial doo-doo time. Stout, cigars, summer, and a deck. It can't get much better than that.

Belhaven Scottish Ale

I had this one at The Olde Ship in Santa Ana. We were there for Other Asian's birthday. This is the third year in a row that we have met at this very classic British pub. It serves the classics like fish and chips(fries), bangers and mash, and some token Indian dishes in homage to the role that culture has played in their shared history. The portions are huge and the prices are not bad.

The taps are all European and they only have a couple crappy American macro brews in bottle. If you are going to a pub why are you drinking that stuff anyway? They have a 6 taster option but our waitress ever so nicely hinted it wasn't a good idea, how did she put it, "Don't get too fond of that because I don't want a lot of people ordering it." Ok so I guess one pint it is!

I was in the mood for an ESB(Extra Special Bitter) but they keg was dry. What? Grrrr. So I opted for the next best thing, a nice Scottish Ale. I love whiskey and the malty smoked peat flavors in the Scottish Ales always cheers me up.

Unfortunately this one didn't quite come through on the smoky peaty goodness. It was a little sweet like most, a tad bitter, and a little flat. I liked the mouthfeel which was medium and velvety. The head was decent, and the finish left before it began. Needless to say this wasn't my favorite Scottish ale. It was just OK. Satisfying, I will leave it at that. The title of favorite Scotch ale still belongs(amazingly) to Sam Adams Scotch ale which I reviewed previously. I'm glad I didn't come JUST for the beer. Other Asian is always fun to see and the vibe of the place just seems homey like any good pub should. D brought her a cake again this year. Though not as elaborate as last year's Hello Kitty Beach scene cake, this one was a 2-4 person, elegant mini that she prepped during the epic Wedding Cake Weekend. I can gladly say we are both glad that one is over.

Overall: 2.5/5

Brew Dog Hardcore IPA

Are YOU hardcore? I think the answer to this question for anyone used to drinking a West Coast IPA is, yes.

Brewdog's Hardcore IPA is more like Showtime, or Skinemax than Hardcore. That's not to say that it's bad, I was just expecting a bit more bitterness than what was in the glass. Especially since I could smell the hops literally from across the table, and I don't profess to have a great schnoz, AND the schnoz is stuffed up at this time. The pine aroma was exploding up out of the glass and bottle the second this was popped and poured.

There definitely was a whole lot of aromatic hops but they must have skipped the bittering hops brewing step because this was no more bitter than their "Punk IPA" that I reviewed previously.

Appearance: Golden Yellow, very small head, quite a bit of bubbles

Aroma: HUGE pine, hoppy, hoppy, hoppy. A little citrus, lemon.

Taste: Decent body weight, not too thin, not syrupy. Carbonation felt low despite the amount of bubbles for some odd reason. Much more carbonation than the "Punk IPA" though. Not as balanced as the "Punk" either. It didn't taste more bitter but there wasn't that sweetness to balance it out. The lemon in the aroma came through in the taste as well.

Overall: Good, but I'd rather drink their "Punk IPA" because it is better balanced.

Brew Dog Punk IPA

Ever since I read about Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the 32% ABV "beer" from these guys I have been intrigued by Brew Dog. I liked their packaging, I liked their website, and since penguins are my favorite animal, near and dear to my heart(tear, sniff) they had me at penguin. The first beer from Brew Dog I actually tried happened to be a collaboration with Stone out of Escondido, CA "Bashah" which I wasn't really impressed with. I sure am glad my parents taught me not to quit on anything because "Punk IPA" is really good. It may even have taken over my #1 IPA slot currently held by Dogfish Head's "90 Minute IPA."

The best part of this beer last night was that I got to share it with my brother who I don't get to see very often since he moved out to the BFE cowtown. How, in Southern California, can a town feel like it is in the middle of nowhere? I mean, the main road his complex is near actually has NOTHING on it at one point. Weird, wish he was closer though, not because I like the guy or anything, but he brought good beer to the party. Coincidentally also an IPA. But on to the Beer!

Pour: Haystack yellow and a little hazy at first it clears up after a bit. Not a huge head and it doesn't stick around for real long. Decent lacing on the side

Aroma: Pine, Pine, and Pine, with some Sweet Pine thrown in. Methinks this is an IPA.

Taste: Obviously this beer has some bitter, it's an IPA but I definitely got grapefruit right off the bat. That tart sweetness in this beer brings it all together really nicely. What was strange was as it sat the grapefruit taste was less distinct but that malty sweetness was still there. There wasn't a whole lot of bubbles like I have come to expect from many of the IPA's I have tasted. It made for a nice mouthfeel as it had some body to it that wasn't washed out by the carbonation. I could drink a few of these and they aren't real expensive at 3$ for a 22 oz.