Shipwrecker Circus
BrewDog

Shipwrecker CircusShipwrecker Circus
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From:
BrewDog
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 10.42%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
58
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 23, 2022
Added:
Nov 10, 2013
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  12
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Shared bottle at local tasting. Chestnut colour. Very nice aroma of American hops, malts and hints of oak and molasses in the background. Hoppy flavour, fairly bitter, not as boozy as many other barleywines. Still, this is heavy fuel.
Jan 23, 2022
Photo of Jack_14
Reviewed by Jack_14 from Italy

4.22/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Barley wine from 10.5%, in collaboration between Brewdog (SCO) and Oskar Blues (USA).
Shelf life indicated in the bottle 07/10/2018.
Drank on 01/30/2021.

VERY amber red color, tending to mahogany.
Foam not entirely absent, but which predictably disappears immediately
On the nose immediately warm notes of molasses, panettone, candied fruit. And a light note reminiscent of Passito wine.

In the mouth the body is certainly smoother than I remembered, the notes that flood the tongue and palate certainly remind me of molasses, candied fruit (raisins and candied orange) and fruit in alcohol (sweet cherries).
Also almond and hazelnut and maple syrup, always in notes that can be perceived from drink to drink.
Immediately after having made the drink, a warm note is heard immediately rise to the upper floors and decisively warms the drink, without ever being ethyl or spiritic (as in a Passito wine, if anyone knows it ... it would be a traditional Sicilian wine obtained from dehydrated grapes. It goes well with desserts). The finish is even (and here I am once again and even more amazed) is bitter. The tongue is "dried" by a very pleasant bitterness that cleanses the tongue of all the sweet notes of the beginning of the drink.
On the other hand, the palate is flooded with hints of caramel and candied fruit.

So, summing up ...
In my opinion, the taste path of this beer is a very balanced and very round succession of three steps
- Sweet entry characterized by the many indicated above and which emerge with each different sip.
-Alcoholic note that gives warmth and fullness to this barley wine, without the slightest hint of ethyl scent.
-Surprisingly still bitter finish (despite the expiration that has been largely exceeded ...) that "dries the tongue, leaving all the gustatory enveloping of this beer on the palate.

Wonderful.
Jan 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by ROGUE16 from Delaware

Oct 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.19 by DispyDnb from England

Jun 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by InfragilisBrew from Illinois

Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4.23 by Walbert_Neto from Brazil

Oct 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.27 by Moonshae_D from North Carolina

Sep 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by bgold86 from New York

May 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.33 by ManWithNoName from South Carolina

Apr 20, 2015
Photo of barfootbandit
Reviewed by barfootbandit from Maryland

4.41/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Had on tap. A dark murky color similar to a brown or dark amber ale with aromas of hoppy-pine and dark fruit. Not much honey in the smell or taste as seen in other barleywines. Very boozy taste with hints of plum, fig, and raisin. A good amount of hop character as well to add some crispness. Again very alcoholic. Overall an excellent beer but I would have preferred to drink this beer after some aging. Great to see a collaboration between two awesome breweries.
Feb 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by rsquared59 from Indiana

Jan 19, 2015
Photo of doktorhops
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia

3.89/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I told you the beers leading up to #500 were going to be BIG beers, and it doesn’t get any bigger than BrewDog, brewer of the BIGGEST beer of all time sold in a taxidermied stoat or squirrel*: The End of History. Weighing in at a brain-crushingly, for beer at least, 55% ABV - I would love to have gotten my hands on a sample of this, however as there were only 12 bottles made and sold at brain-crushingly prices I will never get to try that beer... but I have their 10.5% ABV Shipwrecker Circus... Yay!

Poured from 330ml bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Mahogany brown, like my bookcase with its mahogany bound books and trinkets of mahogany, with a thin beige lace ring where there was once head. 6/10.

S: The nose is a cacophony of sharp pine resin and bitter orange hops with a burnt sugar and treacle base from the malts. Style-wise this is an American Barleywine for all intents and purposes - I mean the hops alone scream “American!”. Another whiff reveals a hint of sweet dark plum. 8/10.

T: Flavour profile flattens out quite a bit, not nearly as hoppy as expected, but it comes through with a viscous roasted malt taste back to front. A lot easier to drink than expected. The profile has characters of dark treacle, a woody note, roasted coffee and mild pine hops accentuating a slight bitter finish. This combination lends it a very earthy and woody appeal that was not anticipated in the aroma. 8/10.

M: Mid to heavy bodied, fairly viscous with hop oils dancing around the glass on first pour, the carbonation is understandably flat. 7/10.

D: This one turned into a real sipper with the charm of a good single-malt scotch... damn I love beer, and I love scotch too, which is how Shipwrecker Circus won me with its wiles. That said - if you’re strictly a beer person, and the idea of drinking a fine single-malt is akin to slicing your own leg off with a hacksaw to get out of a film analogy, then you probably won’t want to try Shipwrecker Circus, if however woody/smoky/earthy characters intrigue you and you want more of those things - Shipwrecker Circus is your beer. 8/10.

Food match: Would have to be something opulent: like black truffle squid with golden caviar and rose hip.

*I understand the extreme specificity of this criteria.
Jan 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by rodzm14 from Washington

Dec 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Stinger80OH from Ohio

Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Sarmento from Brazil

Nov 13, 2014
Photo of heygeebee
Rated by heygeebee from Australia

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
Not quite English, not quite American... therefore what temperature to drink at :-)
Good complex ale tho
Nov 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by NRo from California

Nov 06, 2014
Photo of SayBoom
Reviewed by SayBoom from Ukraine

4.75/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Saturated dark amber colour, poured with small head, disappears quickly. Heavy malts aroma, some caramel, coffee, raisin and forest honey. Taste is well balanced, smooth with caramel, roasted malt, and dry fruits notes. Warm alcohol, finish is sweet, not enough bitterness. Sufficiently booze. Overall very drinkable.
Nov 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Lanstrum from Ohio

Oct 31, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by myuncle from Illinois

Oct 27, 2014
Shipwrecker Circus from BrewDog
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 58 ratings