This 'review' is taken from a stained and torn scrap of paper I just found amidst the clutter of unanswered letters, receipts, magazine cuttings, hastily scribbled dream recollections and unfinished sketches that currently occupies my desk.
I found the photo of the beers it relates to, it's a couple of months old now, but I figure I may as well type it up out of boredom more than anything else. It's more or less a direct transcription of what is scribbled above, with any added recollections I may have, and updated opinions on the beers I've tried again since then.
First up, if I can recall (and going by the neatness of the handwriting before it descended into a drunken scrawl) was the Paradox.
I've tried just about every Brew Dog beer I can get my hands on, and they're all interesting in their own way, but the Paradox is one I have craved a few more times since this initial test.
I could give a run-down of what makes this beer so interesting, the way it's brewed and whatnot, but they say it better than I ever could, and with a better site design HERE, so all I can give is my own opinion of this delicious, strong-as-fuck brewed-in-whisky-casks beauty of a beer.
My scribbled notes tell me I thought it had a real strong first impression, but not necessarily in a good way. Thank fuck I got over that, because the more you drink of it, the more adjusted to the overpowering taste you become, and you can really settle in and enjoy it. I wouldn't say the whisky taste is OBVIOUSLY whisky, but it definitely lends something to the flavour, which after trying 2 or 3 bottles since, I evidently still can't figure out. It seems to be out of production, so it might be kind of hard to track down another bottle in an attempt to come up with a comparison. It was good though.
Next up (possibly) was the London Porter.
I didn't hold out a lot of hope for it, because I'm a total design snob and the fact that it was a Sainsbury's own brand beer, I thought it would be horribly generic mass-produced swill. On first sip, oh how wrong I was!
The label describes it as having a rich, dark chocolate flavour, with a hint of spicey liquorice, which I thought sounded awesome, except for the liquorice aspect because that stuff is sheer processed gelatinous cancer tissue, and if you eat it, we can't be friends. Anyway, back to the beer... When I tried it, that was exactly how I would decribe it too. It reminded me of heavy stout, in the texture at least, it had a really thick, almost syrup-y consistency, like a thicker Guinness or something.
Basically, it was heavy as fuck, pretty hard going to drink, but so worth it for that tangy, dark sweetness.
Next up was the Black Sheep, which I seem to remember drinking outdoors, while reading a book, and it being unrefridgerated before I started it. I think maybe my judgement of it would be clouded by the warmth, and it says that in my drunken notes. I thought it had a real dry taste, and the label itself described it as having a 'dry, refreshing bitterness'. Like most beers, after the initial adjustment to the taste, it started going down pretty smooth, and I definitely enjoyed it, but then, there's very little I enjoy more than lying outdoors in the sun with a book and a beer.
Last up was the Warsteiner, which I remember drinking with a meal that same day, so maybe the food I ate affected my feelings about this beer.
I remember buying it because it's surprisingly difficult to get a hold of ANY German beer over here, never mind one that a certain German won't decry as being 'shitty Bavarian bullshit!', so I was hoping that this one might meet with her approval, as well as my own. So upon seeing the only German bottle in the supermarket that WASN'T Becks, I was pretty excited to try it.
The first thing that hit me, which I've noted down in almost indescipherable handwriting by this point, is that it has quite a strong smell, pungent, very gassy. I remember it being quite dry, and having an almost meaty flavour, like a smokeyness to it, but again, that might just be the fact I was having it with dinner. It got to be pretty tough going to finish it by the end, but I was 4 bottles into the day by that point so my stamina was waning a little. I'll definitely pick up another bottle sometime to give it a fairer chance.
Going back to my notes, I've also written 'BIG ASS' which I'm assuming refers to the size of the bottle and not MC Hammer lyrics. 'Goes well with biscuits' is another gem.
I'm pretty sure I am the least qualified, least professional beer reviewer in the world if that was all I could think to say!
That's not going to stop me from reviewing almost every new beer I can find. Til next time...
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