When you think of the name BrewDog the image of a biker riding a Harley, wearing leather, chugging beers, packing heat, wearing a skull-cap, and has probably has killed a man or two comes to mind. While all this might be true, BrewDog is in fact the name of a brewery located in Fraserburg, Scotland.
BrewDog went mainstream in late 2009 when they created the worlds strongest beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin (Tactical for short). Tactical hits the charts at 32% abv (alcohol by beverage) and shattered the world's record for the strongest beer. The Brewers Association created a new category of beer in which to classify any brew over 25% abv, Hyper Beers. These beers are closer to spirits than beers but Tactical was not only the beer that started this category but the most popular and sought after to date.
There is a lot that goes into brewing beer- barley, hops, water, yeast are just the basic ingredients for beer. After these ingredients are carefully chosen and prepared just right for brewing they enter the "copper" or kettle and the water is added, then brought to a boil. From here there is a lot a brewery can do to the beverage in order to have the desired beer as their end product. James Watt, head brewer of BrewDog, had a completely untested and experimental method of creating the strongest beer in the world. He decided to freeze the beer. By freezing the beer the water is removed from the solution of the brew leaving a higher abv.
Once Tactical Nuclear Penguin was brewed it was around 18% abv and an Imperial Stout (very high in malt, pitch black, with a lot of hops to balance out the malt). BrewDog aged Tactical for a year and half in 1996 Aaron scotch single malt whisky barrels. Aaron scotch opened it's doors in 1995 meaning these barrels saw 13 years of scotch aging before touching Tactical. You can imagine how much peat flavors were imparted on the beer. After a year and a half in casks BrewDog undertook the most challenging act in beer making- one which has no prior study or knowledge of: Freezing beer.
A local ice cream factory let BrewDog freeze the beer over the course of a month- 21 days in fact. Freezing took place at -120 Celsius. The wort (liquid left after boil in the copper) was then placed into large containers called ports. Each port took seven days to fully freeze. After the wort inside was frozen a porthole was opened and the pure alcohol moved from the frozen port to the unfrozen port; leaving only frozen water behind. This process took three times over 21 days to complete taking Tactical from 18% abv to 32% abv.
What was only meant to be a one batch brew to set the record of the world's strongest beer is now on batch 5 in 2010. The demand for this beer far exceeds all other beers on the market and has caused a craze for something so strong in flavor and alcohol that it is best meant to be shared with friends. Few beer bars have Tactical for a few reasons. One is the price. Coming in around $85 dollars a bottle after shipping and handling this is one of the world's most expensive beers. Since all establishments exist to make a profit it's hard selling a bottle that costs so much; even before a markup.
While working for Denver's busiest beer bar I've had the privilege to not only sell a lot of Tactical Nuclear Penguin but taste it as well. I have seen a party as large as 16 tackle Tactical and as small as 4. This beer is very hard to come by for beer bars (allocation and cost) so the opportunity to try this beer is so miniscule for the average craft beer drinker or the dedicated and hardcore.
Many can't begin to conceptualize a 32% abv beer. Many more can't fathom what a year and a half in 13 year old single malt whisky barrels does to a beer. Many will never have the opportunity to try Tactical because of its rarity and cost. Having had the ability to taste Tactical on many different occasions I thought I'd share with you just exactly what this beer tastes like. I pour Tactical into snifters (as I do all stouts) to really showcase the aromas of the beer. Right off the bat it's inky black with dark brown hues. I mean the darkest black you can imagine; void of all light. In fact no light passes through the glass whatsoever. There is zero haze to the beer and zero head (foam). The carbonation in this is completely nil- imagine scotch poured in front of you where even swirling the glass never brings up head.
First sniff of Tactical reveals a massive amount of peatiness flavors. Peat is the ingredient used to roast barley when making Scotch- it leaves the spirit with a smoky flavor. That's exactly the aroma this beer has- heavy peatiness that you can smell two feet away. The aroma is that of a Highlands Scotch similar to Oban.
The first sip of Tactical will definitely show you how small you really are. This beer is massive not only on flavor but on booziness as well. Right away your bombarded by full flavor Scotch. While the aroma suggests Highlands the taste is more of Lowlands. After a few sips more characters of this complex beer begin to take shape. The peatiness takes a step back to solid oak notes as well as Bing cherries. There's darker fruit going on near the finish that remind me of blueberries. Hints of chocolate dance with the oak and a slight sweet vanilla takes shape before finishing hot and smoky.
The beer is a meal unto itself. Like most imperial stouts the malt is very heavy and weighs down the palate but add in the Scotch like characteristics and you have a very heavy beer. Tactical coats your entire palate and the finish lingers for a very long time after each sip. This beer was meant to be sipped just like a fine Scotch. BrewDog strongly urges drinkers of Tactical to share amongst friends; This beer was never meant to be tackled solely by yourself.
Having served a lot of Tactical and seen a lot of people have the opportunity to try Tactical Nuclear Penguin I've seen that this beer is one for celebrating. Next time your out at your local beer bar order Tactical to share amongst friends and truly see what the world of craft beer is all about. Maybe a loved one is having a birthday, graduation, promotion, or just loves Scotch. This is the perfect beer to buy for them; be it from BrewDogs directly or out on the town. Whatever the case may be Tactical Nuclear Penguin broke records in 2009 and is still one of the most sought after beers in the world today.
