For my 4th beer of Xmas my ture love sent to me…
Click here for the Storify summary of what was being enjoyed on day 3, now onto today’s beer.
BrewDog ‘Mix Tape 8’ Oak Aged Belgian Tripel / TIPA Blend (14.5% ABV / 330ml)
I’ve been quite excited by this beer – a blend of a Belgian tripel and a Triple IPA that have both been oak aged in Scotch Whisky barrels for two years. What could possibly go wrong with this?
Upon opening, immediately greeted by a sticky sweet aroma. It pours a lovely deep amber colour with good, subtle carbonation and a consistent thin head.
Aromas of oak and whisky (well, you’d hope so really wouldn’t you?) greet the nose as the glass is lifted for the first taste… Thick, big, boozy flavours. The sticky sweetness of the aroma follows through on the initial wash and is then followed by heat. Warming flavours and a very sweet finish.
There’s very little of the tripel coming through, there’s very little of the TIPA coming through. It’s more like a barley wine than anything else. There’s almost no hop profile, but there is warmth. And heat. And more warmth. And a little more heat. Did I mention the warmth?
There are some thick treaclely toffee notes, and hints of smoke. There’s no yeast profile coming through like you would expect from a tripel, so that feels like it has been completely lost. There’s no hop slap coming through from the TIPA, so that feels like it has been completely lost. Maybe the two parts of the blend were in the Scotch Whisky casks for too long? The problem is that I just can’t get past the big, hot hit on every swig. I’ve never been a fan of spirits, so I don’t enjoy the warm hit that a neat spirit leaves. I’m struggling to get past this to find anything more interesting to say.
#12BeersOfXmas – leave a review of your beer for today below (or a link to your blog) and your Twitter name so we can give you a shout out. Merry Beermas!