BrewDog Punk IPA, 5.6% ABV

So, one Saturday morning a few months back, I was chatting with Vrax about beer, and he told me he was current very fond of this Scottish brewery called BrewDog and though it may be impossible, if I could track down their brews, I’d probably like them.  I paused there for a moment, because I was certain I heard the name of this obscure little Scottish brewery before, or at least had their beers, so I went forth to the oracle of the internet, Google.

And I found out, BrewDog just expanded and was in the process of building their second brewery… over in Columbus Ohio, about an hour and a half from my house.  I lived closer to the source of Vrax’s beer than he did.  Furthermore, they’ve been flooding the local area with their delicious brews in celebration of their immanent opening.  So, next time I was down at good old Red, Wine and Brew, I picked up a couple.  One was Punk IPA.

I’m normally not a big IPA fan.  Here in the states, it’s the most popular microbrew, mostly because it’s one of the easiest types of beer to make, so every microbrew has one.   As a result, I’ve had so many IPAs, I kinda got burned out on them five years ago.  But, there are moments when I’m in the mood for something heavy and hoppy, and Punk IPA is certainly heavy and hoppy, but not in the strip-the-taste-buds-off-your-tongue kind of way.  It’s smooth and malty and hoppy, with a nutty flavor without being aggressively so.  It’s more the Ramones and less the Misfits.  So, if you can find this awesome brew, serve ice cold along with a wheel of Campo de Montalban cheese, and the same Ramones discography you listened to when you drank the Grolsch back in Awesome Brews #3.

Lindemans Kriek Lambic, 4.0% ABV

So there’s times I wish I enjoyed wine.  Oddly, all wine tastes bitter and nasty to me; as in worse than the sourest, bitterest Gueuze – so as a result, you’ll probably never see me review one here on Awesome Brews.  But I kinda like the idea of drinking a massive bottle of hootch; i.e. something that lasts me longer than four minutes, yet not leave me totally smashed afterward.  This is where Lindemans Kriek enters the picture.

Sold in large, 750ml bottles like wine, but very sweet, and cherry.  It’s like the girly drink you really love drinking but don’t want to admit to.  There are several makers of Kriek, but Lindemans seems to have nailed the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness.  It’s a favorite friend that I keep returning to every couple months.  There’s really not much more to say about it except it’s like drinking liquefied, alcoholic cherries.   Serve chilled with cherry glazed sponge cake and a copy of The Notebook