Taylor:  BrewDog is a Scottish craft brewery that makes some crazy concoctions. They are notable for their awesome, antics-ridden videos, their deep hatred of commercial beer, and their Sink the Bismarck IPA, which is the highest ABV beer in the world, at 40%. They are like the Three Floyds of Europe … but even crazier. In this review I will argue that their Hardcore IPA, an Imperial IPA, is delicious and should be given an A grade. My argument is based on three simple facts. The first is that the beer is visibly appealing in every aspect. The second is that the beer tastes good. The third and final reason is that it honors the Imperial IPA tradition while also maintaining nuance.

Firstly, BrewDog Hardcore IPA is visibly appealing in every aspect (packaging, color, clarity). I am not a huge fan of all of their packaging, but there is something radically appealing about the brown bottle, bedecked with a bold blue-green label and shocking white cap. It is a perfect example of texture, contrast, and personality. Furthermore, the color of the fermented beverage inside the bottle is also inspiring. It pours a warm rust color and makes an easy tan head that is absolutely bursting with resinous, citrusy hops. The color is uniform, cloudy and mysterious, and looks so tempting that your brain is begging you to bite the thing instead of drink it. Thankfully, Hardcore IPA doesn’t stop at looks.

Secondly, BrewDog Hardcore IPA tastes good. It’s that simple. It’s been hopped to hell with Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe hops (the same varieties were also used for dry hopping … to hell), so it packs that great hop menace you expect from an Imperial IPA. But it’s also balanced with Maris Otter, Crystal, and Caramalt, which give it that warm reddish brown hue. In any given sip, the tongue is barraged by bursting grapefruit, sinus-clearing pine, and sweet, toasty caramel … all big flavors delivered right to your brain stem with a well-carbonated punch. The finish is resinous and chewy, and not too boozy. But is this beer all nuance?

Lastly, BrewDog Hardcore IPA honors the Imperial IPA tradition while also maintaining nuance. It leans heavily on the hops, both during boil and post for dry hopping … more heavily than a traditional IPA. Its IBUs are well into the Imperial range (at least over 100 … BrewDog’s Hardcore is 150). It also packs an ABV of 9.2%, which is nearer the top of the “accepted” range for an Imperial IPA (8-10%). It relies on malts in a support role only.

In conclusion, BrewDog is a fully original and wildly creative Scottish brewery. Their Hardcore IPA is in keeping with their personality and modus operandi. It is visually appealing in every aspect, tastes good, and honors the Imperial IPA tradition while maintaining nuance. It deserves an A grade.  Grade: A

Tom:  I had Punk IPA about a year ago and it did not live up to the BrewDog hype in my opinion (will revisit).  With that in mind, I decided to give Hardcore a try.  Looking at the malt bill I knew this beer would be on the spicy aromatic side due to the Maris Otter and not to mention the color would be darker.  Displaying a burnt-orange hue and off white creamy head I got a big whiff of sticky resinous hops right away.  This sucker is bursting with a dank hop profile that compliments, nay, overpowers the huge malt backbone just like it should.

The smell is deep, dank, pungent, resinous, caramelized sugars, buckwheat honey, spicy (almost rye malt-like), and herbal.  A strong beer all the way around.  When I comes to the taste the bitterness sets in immediately.  The assault is on the entire palate.  The spiciness meshes well with the bitterness most on the sides of the tongue.  As you might expect, the finish is piney and resinous creating a mouth smacking dry effect.  The aftertaste is toasty and rather floral leaving a nice medley between hops and malt (with the focus on the former).  A very well constructed IPA that demands respect.  Grade: A