Ölbeat 311: BrewDog Cocoa Psycho

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a two-finger thick brown head. Aroma has dark chocolate, cappuccino and roasted malts. Taste starts with biting bittersweet chocolate. Sweet roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate take over with hints of espresso. Towards the end dark chocolate and slightly sweet coffee rise up with smooth bitterness. Aftertaste has lasting bitter cocoa and strong dry roast.

Strong and absolutely delicious Imperial Stout. Chocolate leads the way, roast and coffee follow. Smooth bitterness grows all the way. It's not punk - it's damn good beer.

Ölbeat

Punk sells. Just ask Henry Rollins. Or BrewDog. ;)

Black Flag: Black Coffee (YouTube)

From the 1984 album Slip It In, the song was written by Greg Ginn.

Ölbeat 287: BrewDog Elvis Juice

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is clear orange with a two-finger thick white head. Aroma has fresh grapefruit, orange and pineapple. Taste begins with gently bitter grapefruit. Fresh grapefruit-lemon juice takes over with hints of sweet fruits. Towards the end sweet orange and bitter peel are added to the taste. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit, sour lemon and salty-fruity dryness.

Grapefruit-orange-packed India Pale Ale. Completely fruit-dominated brew with very gentle bitterness. Craving a little more. Probably the name will change soon, so I'll get it then. But this tastes good and fresh, anyway.

Ölbeat

The name of the brew got BrewDog in a legal battle with Elvis Presley's estate, and in July 2017 they lost it: BrewDog is forced to change the beer's name. Because I don't want to link the beer in any way to the King, he will not get his first song here. Instead, I picked this classic tribute to him.

Dire Straits: Calling Elvis (Vimeo)

From the 1991 album On Every Street, the song was written by Mark Knopfler.

Ölbeat 268: BrewDog Zeitgeist

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: Schwarzbier
Abv: 4,7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large but quickly dissolving natural white head. Aroma has charred malts, burned wood and smoke. Taste begins with burned salty liquorice. Charcoal-roasted malts take over with some meaty smoke and dark chocolate. Towards the end charred malts are joined by bitter salty liquorice and even some citrus flavour. Aftertaste has charred citrus bitterness and malty dryness.

We've come this far for the first Schwarzbier. Worth the wait - it's good. Some clearly porterish elements - a malt-driven brew - but crisp hops come out in the end. Light but tasty.

Ölbeat

Since the brew's commercial description tells it to be a timeless classic - amongst the crap about similarities in BrewDog's punk agenda and Zeitgeist movement - I looked for a timeless classic to fit a good brew. According to a research on Spotify, this is the most streamed song of the 1980's. Thus, it's just the timeless classic I was looking for. Personally, I find this song just OK, not that great.

Journey: Don't Stop Believin' (YouTube)

From the 1981 album Escape, the song was written by Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry and Neal Schon.

Ölbeat 189: BrewDog Hardcore IPA

Brewery: BrewDog  
Country: Scotland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 9,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is bright dark orange with a small white head. Aroma has orange, mango and pineapple. Taste starts with strong fruity bitterness. Fresh bitter grapefruit with a slice of orange and mango takes over. Towards the end sweet citrus and gentle pine come through. Aftertaste has bittersweet citrus and gently piny dryness.

Amazing fruity Imperial IPA. Bitterness strikes in the start, but then it's all fruit explosion. Soft touch of pine in the end smoothens the experience to the finish. I'm rather pissed that the commercialized punks are retiring this one from their 2017 selection.

Ölbeat

Of course it's rock, no question about it. A personal message to the brewery on quitting this superb DIPA is written in two lines of the lyrics of this song:

• Now you're messin' with a son of a bitch
• Time's come to pay your dues

Nazareth: Hair of the Dog (YouTube)

From the 1975 album Hair of the Dog, the song was written by Manny Charlton, Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew and Darrell Sweet.

Ölbeat 115: Brewdog Albino Squid Assassin

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: Specialty Grain
Abv: 7,4 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is murky amber brown with a small vanishing white head. Aroma has pineapple, citrus and rye-bready malts. Taste starts with hoppy and fruity sweet bitterness. Bitter grapefruit with tender malty and sweet pineapple flavours takes over. Sweet fruit comes more in front later, and near the finish smooth piny dryness gets through. Aftertaste has citrus, malts, pine and alcoholic bitterness.

Quite complex Rye IPA with moderate-to-heavy bitterness, sweet fruits and steady rye malts. Ending adds some piny dryness and alcohol warmth. This is tasty as hell, and it surely would have been a murder (or a lesser crime) to leave this on the shelf.

Ölbeat

What comes to mind from a multi-tentacled octopus hitman? What comes to mind from a heavy brew with bloody damn tasty flavours? Right. And I select the original version of the song.

Adamski & Seal: Killer (YouTube)

From the 1990 album Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy, the song was written by Adamski and Seal.

Ölbeat 112: BrewDog Monk Hammer

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 7,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy golden yellow with a small white head. Aroma has mostly lemon and grapefruit with some sweet fruits and yeast. Taste starts with sharp heavily dry bitterness with a yeasty twist. Yeasty and bitter grapefruit dominates with some piny dry. Grapefruit bitterness comes out strongest near the finish. Aftertaste is piny dry and grapefruit bitter.

Elements of the brewery's basic Jack Hammer are clearly present. They are coated with yeasty, Belgian aleish flavours. The result is still clearly a strong IPA or even Double IPA. Strong, heavy and tasty brew for the first Ölbeat from the Punks. ("What took you so long?")

Ölbeat

Since I'll reserve the punk rock song for another BrewDog brew - just wait - I chose a joyful soft guitar metal ballad to accompany this one. Somehow the brews that have some relation in their name or style get connected with song themes at least with a thin thread connected to faith and religion. Time for a head check, perhaps? 

Yngwie Malmsteen: Heaven Tonight (YouTube)

From the 1988 album Odyssey, the song was written by Joe Lynn Turner and Yngwie Malmsteen.