Jack Hammer IPA
Brewery: Brewdog
Type: IPA
Alcohol: 7.4%
Country: Scotland
I have always wanted one of those fancy specially designed IPA glasses that I see all the time on instagram. You know the crazy cone shaped ones with the narrow base full of laser etchings. They were mostly only available in the US, or would probably cost me a pretty penny to have shipped from Dogfish Head or Sierra Nevada. Finally a European brewery came out with them, good old Brewdog. Now when I ordered a glass I had to order the perfect IPA to test it out with. I chose this guy Jack Hammer, mostly because I had never tried it, and because I had heard it might be even better then my beloved punk IPA. We shall see.
Pours Cloudy light orangish, lighter then punk IPA. Has some proteins in suspension, that is a bit worrying. Head was nice almost two finger, dissipated quickly but left nice curtains. Smell is much much different then a punk. While punk is a juicy west coast tropical fruit and citrus, this one is east coast business. Centennial blares out on the nose with huge grassy floral and earthy character. A tiny bit of citrus and a slightly more un-tiny bit of alcohol. Taste big and bitter, this is a beer that is not screwing around. There is some maltiness here, that signature Brewdog Marris Otter breadiness. I actually expected there to be more since this is probably a bottle with a little age on it and a high alcohol content. The hops are still there though, loud and clear and doing their job to balance out that barley. Floral hops dominate the taste with a little hay or grass, but no citrus or other fresh type flavors come out to round this off. Now lets talk about the bitterness. It is pretty epically bitter. The description says more then the human palate can detect, so well over 100 IBU. I believe it because there is just a massive wave of bitterness that washes everything away in the aftertaste. Tiny bit of alcohol taste but this beer is so bitter it won't bother you. Dry mouthfeel, if you can actually feel your mouth after drinking it. Not a bad for a crazy hop monster, nice change with the more floral hops. This is not for everyone but if you want to be tasting hops for a week then this is your beer.
*Update: I had this fresh and on tap at Főzdefeszt, which was an amazing experience. Much more piney citrus hops, but that same abusive bitterness. If you can find this on tap, glass be damned just try it!
