So, to the most expensive bottle of beer I have ever drunk, BrewDog’s Abstrakt:08, the latest in their series of single run beers, brewed for keeping in the cellar (or drinking less than a week after it’s delivered in my circumstance). As this is a fairly monumental moment in my beer life, it deserves at least 3 arty, hipstamatic pictures. So here you go:
Having spent over 2 hours trying to be Heston Blumenthal, I needed something that someone else had put a lot of time into, and boy did I get it.
So what do we have here? An imperial stout, but a deconstructed blonde one, which is weird. Kind of the antithesis of the black IPA, but I suppose you want something boundary pushing from the Abstrakt series. I’d have said it was more amber than blonde but I am a pedantic twat.
Weighing in at a whopping 11.8%, this beer is in to barley wine territory, or a strong Belgian at the very least. It pours pretty clear with a nice white head. Nose is pretty mental, I get bubble gum, rhubarb, overripe banana but, most of all, and this isn’t just me, I get a real strong oyster sauce smell. I don’t know if that’s good or not. I mean, I really like oyster sauce and I’ve been wondering about the concept of savoury beer, but I’m not so sure.
Mouthfeel is super smooth with a fairly mellow carbonation. For such a strong beer (basically half a bottle of wine per) this is drinkable. Taste wise I’m thinking marzipan vodka (does that exist, it certainly should!), a big big alcohol hit and sweet and slightly burnt caramel. It reminds me a lot of Bush Ambre, which you’d probably drink as an aperitif rather than a traditional beer. That is my second favourite Belgian beer so that can’t be bad.
This is a jolly fine beer. Not one that I would want to drink regularly, but certainly one for keeping for special occasions. I might just get me a couple more bottles.
