Hardcore IPA - BrewDog

Durge

Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A clear but dark mahogany copper color with a whispy off-white colored head and nice lacing. The aroma is a beautiful sweet pine and floral blend and maybe a touch oaky. The flavor makes a bold earthy pine hop statement. It's sort of a syrupy peat, grainy idea yet thick with a near cloying floral edge. It's also nearly full bodied with a little alcohol presence. It has medium carbonation, smooth but alive and a fairly drinkable brew for the style. Very much recommended.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2011 03:54:03 | More by Durge

rye726

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Up for review is a bottle of Hardcore IPA from Brewdog. These guys are crazy! Right? Poured at cellar temp into a pint glass. Seems a bit weak and stale for an IPA. But I guess that happens when you send IPA's over seas instead of your cool barrel aged beers. Go get some, try it for yourself.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2011 02:04:19 | More by rye726

hophopandaway

United Kingdom (England)

2.73/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

On opening, the beer looked promising- copper in colour with a medium head that reduced to a thin lacing. Orange, grapefruite, flowers and peat are the dominant flavours and the combination seems a little off balance.This beer is lightly carbonated, sweet, and full-bodied.

If this beer was 6% I would say that it would be a good, but not outstanding, beer. The flavour is very dissapointing for something so pokey, there is a rather nice peaty flavour that makes it a little interesting but other than that there is really nothing noteworthy about this beer.

It's not unpleasant, but it's certainly not something I'd buy again unless it's on special offer. There are many better beers that are 3% weaker

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2011 00:52:28 | More by hophopandaway

LittleCreature

Australia

3.85/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - 4.0
A hazy copper-orange body is topped by two fingers of dense cream coloured head that steadily receded to a few millimetres.

Smell - 4.0
A strong, but somewhat muddled aroma of warm caramel, flowers, eucalyptus leaves, lemon peel, fresh mandarin and alcohol.

Taste - 4.0
Plenty of sweet, rich toffee malt that is nearly overwhelmed by the resiny, fruity, leafy hops and their powerful bitterness. Flavours of the aforementioned toffee, pineapple, grapefruit, orange peel and plenty of warm, peppery alcohol, finishing surprisingly dry.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
Rather thick and sticky in the mouth thanks to the substantial amount of residual sugars needed to balance the truckload of hops. Moderately carbonated with very fine bead.

Drinkability - 3.5
Not hard to drink for a seasoned hop head, but I'd certainly stop at one. There are more drinkable DIPAs out there.

OVERALL - 3.9
A tasty, very hoppy, very bitter DIPA that would benefit from a lighter body to truly let the hops shine.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2011 07:07:25 | More by LittleCreature

Florida9

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Brown and murky in color. Forms an absolutely huge tan head that has great retention and copious amounts of bubble-laden lacing.

S: Strong aroma of grapefruit and pine with some sweet tropical fruit.

T: Mildly sweet caramel malt gives this one the light flavor of tofee before it moves onto a moderate earthy bitterness that lingers in the mouth.

M: Medium in body though it seems to have a bit of a syrupy feel in the mouth.

D: A decent faux-American style DIPA. Personally, I found it too sweet and lacked the aggressive hop character I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2011 02:46:11 | More by Florida9

dbossman

Nebraska

4.03/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Hazy, orangish brown with no head and little lacing

S:Weird hoppy funk: citrus, feet, weed, onion--I like it--all on top of a grainy backbone

T: Hop oily bitterness up front with pine, citrus, subtle onion; a grainy undertone as well; alcohol is also fairly present

F: Oily quality coats the mouth nicely

D: Alcohol is prevalent but this a good--somewhat strange and harsh--beer

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2011 01:11:38 | More by dbossman

crnipeter

Slovenia

2.58/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

330 ml, Batch 333, BB date reads 26. November 2011, into tulip. Pours reddish coppery body with a good clarity, topped by medium, frothy beige head with good retention that sticks to the walls. Aroma is caramel-malty sweetness with earthy, grassy, spicy hops and evident fruitiness that might be either hop or ester-derived. Faint, skilfully hidden alcohol. The flavor starts with deep caramel-toasty malts followed by earthy, spicy and grapefruity hop flavor leading into resinous bitterness lingering into the aftertaste. Finish is medium, without harshness and hop-astringency of the Punk IPA. Unusually full bodied for an IIPA, almost sticky with soft carbonation and creamy texture. Somewhat unbalanced, leaning towards the malty side. Not necessarily a bad brew but I was rating to the style hence the low score.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2011 00:10:33 | More by crnipeter

thedoubler55

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a pint glass

A- Redish in color a little light, very slight head the disappears quickly.

S- Smell of bitter fruits, grapefruit up front.

T- Very malty and bitter with slight hints of citrus, as it warms the alcohol taste is much more potent.

m- Dry finish, with lots of carbonation

D- Taste better as it warms nothing crazy for an IPA, would be ok with not drinking this one again. Although I have a feeling the one I had could have not been to fresh.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 18:19:40 | More by thedoubler55

nickthegun12

Alabama

4.15/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

i've been wanting to try this one for a long time....

the color is a dark murky brown color...with a decent head....and excellent lacing...

smells like any other high grav ipa....malty...but this you can smell the citrus and piney hops....and much malt...

now here is what separates this imperial ipa from others...the maltyness is subdued to an extent by the hop presence...outstanding...

good dry feel....nice carbonation...

drink ability isn't great since its 9% abv

great beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2011 23:55:49 | More by nickthegun12

jjanega08

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Batch 225

A= Pours a Beautiful amber color. Ruby is the first word that comes to mind when I think about this color. The head is huge and rises to three four fingers no problem. Huge thick foamy bubbles on the head with great lacing on the side of the glass.

S= There is an excellent fruity hop aroma coming from it. The hop pepperiness is nowhere to be found and it just sort of has a candied hop fruit aroma. A bit light in the nose and isn't huge with it but it's enough to make it somewhat pleasurable to sniff.

T= The taste is pretty much a mimic of the smell. I'm happy I spotted this at the store because I hadn't seen it before and I tend to shy away from this beer because I never know how old it is. This beer is as fresh as I could possibly have it. The hops show no sign of fading in it and a little booze comes through roaring across the tongue. The alcohol makes itself a little airy and fumey tasting.

M= A little light for me. The carbonation is great.

D= I've been super weary of this brewery without ever really giving them a shot. The recent gimmicks have made me a little shy but seeing as how this beer was almost garanteed fresh with a small 5.50 price tag for a 750mL bottle I can't go wrong. This is a pretty nice beer. Worth trying at least once and who knows I may buy a few more of these.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 04:36:44 | More by jjanega08

BeerNinja007

New Hampshire

3.48/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this single 330mL bottle at Harvest Fine Wine, West Hartford CT, for $3.47 back in September. Batch 072, best before 26-05-11. Served chilled in a similarly-chilled pint glass.

The hiss coming from the popped cap gives a pungent floral and earthy hop.

Beer + glass = 2" of thick and creamy light tan head sitting pretty atop a clear deep orange brew. Head sticks around quite well, but as the cake slowly fades it leaves a good bit of thick foamy lace.

Smell is a lovely hoppy bouquet, a lot of candied citrus rind, some florals, a bit of pineapple. A little malty sweetness backs it up but doesn't detract.

Taste is quite hoppy but could really use more malt backbone. Heavy on the florals, dry citrus pith, some herbal stuff. Good well-rounded hop but too astringent, the body is way too thin. Faint peppery alcohol accompanies the hops in a mild finish. Finish is pretty clean considering the hop intensity.

Mouthfeel is light but not watery, not as thin as the taste. Carbonation is soft. Alcohol is hidden pretty well considering how strong and thin it is.

Despite its shortcomings (lack of body), this drinks pretty well.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 02:21:06 | More by BeerNinja007

CourteManche

Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

12oz. bottle served into a snifter

A - Deep amber, cloudy, slight carbonation. One-finger, light beige head -- looks like an IPA.
S - Less hoppy on the nose than expected. Very floral with citrus. No heat.
T - Less hoppy than expected (Hop Heads may be let down). Tangy, subdued bitterness on the finish that segues into a very subtle, hot linger. Very balanced.
M - Medium-bodied
D - Despite being potentially hard to come by, this beer is hyper drinkable. Low heat despite the high ABV. Super smooth and well-balanced.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2011 02:22:16 | More by CourteManche

3rdRowTailgater

Louisiana

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

BrewDog pushing the limits as usual. A beautifully hoppy imperial IPA.

Beautiful, cloudy orange, amber appearance with nice big head that leaves nice lacing.

Huge, hop bitterness aroma. Great blend of citrus and piney aromas. I just want to walk around with this smell all day. It's simply incredible.

Citrus taste with a ton of piney tastes. It's just incredilbly hoppy, which I love. It does have a nice malt taste but it is simply overwhelm with the hop taste.

It's got a nice mouthfeel with a bitterness that hangs with you and a drinkability that works with me.

BrewDog catches a lot of flack for making beers that are too extreme or just pushing the limits to do so, but I feel that this is a very good imperial IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 04:15:34 | More by 3rdRowTailgater

theboozecruise

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint.

Hazy orange color, bubbly white head. Not bad.

Smells like tettnang hops, maybe I'm wrong there. It's hoppy big time, not much else on the aroma.

The taste has a little malt up front, then bold hops. Definitely a hop head's beer.

Pretty good but you'd have to really like the hops to drink several.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 03:46:39 | More by theboozecruise

jacobseyb

Alabama

3.38/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into the hotel Dixie cup a medium dark amber with a light head that dissipated quickly. Good even flavor with malty sweetness and a very bitter finish. Aroma is citrusy and sweet with a hint of caramel. Gently carbonated and smooth on the medium to full bodied feel. Overall a decent beer a little but too strong to let the flavors of the ingredients through.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 02:53:47 | More by jacobseyb

stakem

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from notes taken 11/29/10. Thanks to wishuwerebeer for sharing. Batch number 71 with a best by date of 27-4-11.

Poured into a snifter, it appears a very hazed amber orange color. A finger of creamy yellowish foam appears and holds quite well. As it slowly fades, it leaves thin legs of lace coating the glass.

The aroma is chock full of piney hop notes which are grassy, leafy and minorly citrusy. Quite spicy smelling with some fruit rind notes and minor yeast quality.

Taste is quite pine flavored that is spicy with notes of fruited rind like grapefruit that clings with lasting power inside the mouth. An astringent alcohol burn fills the mouth and the pine hops with a light peppery note last in the aftertaste.

A medium bodied brew with a modest level of carbonation. It is lively on the tongue and fairly drinkable. Quite a bitter, earthy and spicy example of hops are utilized in this brew making it enjoyable and a nice distraction from the typical citrus style ipas.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2010 16:33:22 | More by stakem

PBoegel

New York

3.78/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle poured into a Brooklyn Tulip Snifter, swore the bottles had a best buy date stamped, but the one I am holding is blank.

Look, I'm going to come flat and say it, generally I avoid looking at others/overall grade for a beer before I review it, but I had a sneaking suspicion this beer was going to have a mediocre rating. I had so so experience with Brewdog and thought there Tactical Nuclear garbage and Sink the Bismarck were absurd schtick. Couple that with an ok but unspectacular IPA and a really disappointing big Stout I was not thinking of them fondly, their marketing was better than their beer.

But alas I was willing to give hardcore a try.

This beer looks good, but dark for style, dark orange to light amber in hue, some nice stickiness from the hops with decent lacing off a egg shell white head.

Aroma screams Simcoe, blood oranges, fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh sliced mango and pineapple. Some nice sweet malt undertones and flowery alcohol. No harsh tones, no off estery notes.

Flavor is quite good, more tropical fruit character, piney and resinous, pineapples and touches of mango and grapefruit. Very chewy with sweet malt and caramel in the middle. Substantial bitterness, which is a big plus in my book, too many double IPAs and IPAs rely on late hopping and skip on the bitterness. Again nothing afoul bit there is an overly sweet malt character in the middle and finish which lingers between the bitterness.

Mouthfeel is where this the beer begins to have some issues, the heavy hop character lends a sticky punishing astringency. The body is too thick and near full bodied like a barleywine. The bitterness is substantial but still fails to scrub the sweet lingering under attenuated body.

Very tough to drink a lot of, does it really hit the mark of an imperial IPA, not for my book, not at least across the board. While it is out of style, the flavor and aroma make it a really intriguing and nice beer, but drinkable? Not so much, a sipper and closer to an over hopped barleywine than an IPA.

Back to the beginning my point in calling out suspicion of the reviews...this beer tastes remarkably like Great Divide Hercules Double IPA. A beer I have a love hate relationship with. Sometimes I find Hercules to be delicious and rewarding, other times sticky, thick and out of tune. Of course, Hercules has A rating on BA. Hardcore is floating at around B. Now I also see that there is potentially reason to greatly distinguish from original batches to newer ones, of which my bottle is definitely newer based on the label, and best by dates in the store bottles I looked at being mid to late 2011.

This brew is hardly perfect of balanced, but I would drink this fresh, assuming I find consistency in batches, any day next to Hercules.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2010 01:38:00 | More by PBoegel

hopstradamus

Kansas

3.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A. Pours a bright, golden, orange color with a delicate off-white head that dissipates quickly. It is hazy but not cloudy. There is plenty of carbonation but not much head.

S. Its hoppy but the aroma is more of sweet, tropical fruits than traditional hop aromas. There is some piney, floral, fruity hop character bet I smell fruit more than anything. There is some caramel malt character, but it is more dry than sweet smelling.

T. The taste starts with extreme hop bitterness before becoming more malty and mellow. The finish is dry and a little astringent. This beer also has a boozy quality to it as well but it is not overdone.

M. Medium to full mouthfeel and a little chewy- this seems more like a barley wine than an IPA.

D. It's not insulting, but it was disappointing. I was hoping for a great IPA, what I got was a solid but not spectacular barley wine.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2010 21:07:07 | More by hopstradamus

potownbill

New York

3.93/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Excellent Brew!
Appearance: Nice amber brown color with a 1" off-white head. Good lacing
Smell: Citrus hops. Not overpowering
Taste: Subtle citrus hops, some alcohol burn, but very well balanced
Mouthfeel: Mild carbonation. No bitter aftertaste
Drinkability: Very drinkable. Delicious American double from Scotland. Huh?

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2010 00:22:56 | More by potownbill

thekanna

Maryland

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Darker hazy amber bordering on orange with medium head.

S: Very strong pine hops, almost like smelling pine-sol, but less astringent. Strong citrus and floral notes.

T/M: Extremely strong pine and evergreen-tinged hop flavor with big notes of citrus (especially grapefruit and pomelo) and a strong, bitter hop bite. Medium bodied with oily finish.

D: Unmistakably an IPA, and doesn't have any pretenses to be anything else. This is a very slap-in-the-mouth, take-it-at-face-value beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 04:06:54 | More by thekanna

ism

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thick 2-finger head, off white, on top of a just-hazy amber body. More than acceptable retention. Nose is sweet grapefruit with a touch of floral, rather straightforward and clean. Gentle-medium carbonation, medium body, slight butter texture from hop oils on the tongue. Taste is big, lots of malt, a good dose of hops, the sweetness edging it out. It isn't until it goes down smooth that the hops truly emerge, citrus at first, then pine resin as it lingers.

A solid DIPA, finely made, just not terribly complex enough.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 03:58:38 | More by ism

riored4v

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed on 11/5/10

Poured a murky, amber colored body in to my tulip glass. Rocky, off-white head that held nicely.

Smell was bitter with a mild malt sweetness. Some caramel notes. Hop presence was citrusy and floral.

Taste had a medium malt sweetness helps balance out the bitterness. Very mild finishing bitterness on the back of the tongue that is mildly resiny. Some grapefruit notes from the hops along with citrus and spice. Notes of caramel as well.

Mouthfeel had a medium body with a medium carbonation. Mildly dry finish.

Drinkability was good. Good balance that leaves a touch of bitterness. No signs of ABV and a light sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 01:39:55 | More by riored4v

ectomorph

Tennessee

4.08/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

11.2 oz with a batch Number 225 best before August, 2011. Poured into a DFH glass.

A - Cloudy dark orange body holds a smallish off white head. Decent retention with some sticky lace.

S - Pungent and dank pine hops. Citrus rind, orange blossom and wildflowers. Some alcohol and malt sweetness. Clean fermentation with little to no fruity esters.

T - Moderate initial bitterness unfolds into a big malt backbone. There are hints of caramel and toffee and a solid fresh bread character. Loads of hops flavor on the backside. Pine sap, orange rind, and grapefruit slaps you about the face and neck. Alcohol warmth is noted in the belly almost immediately.

M - Medium to big bodied for an IIPA, but not chewy at all, just not "dry"... Bitter aftertaste is a side effect of the hop oils on the tongue. Citrus burps are my favorite!

D - The big ABV holds this one back, but for an IIPA it is what it should be which is on the big side of everything. Underrated on BA IMO. Kudos to BrewDog.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2010 22:13:35 | More by ectomorph

HURTemHIZZY

Virginia

2.65/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

My first Brewdog experience ended up being a disappointing one. Pour is nice looking, clear fairly deep amber with a one and a half finger off white head. Decent retention, no lacing. Smell is ok. Noticeable hop presence in the form of pine, only a touch of citrus. I like more citrus and tropicals in my aroma, but this is not too bad here.

The taste is really lacking. Maybe I would like it moreif it was fresher? The best by date is over a year away, so as far as I'm concerned this review is valid. Hops are completely muted for an iipa. Really more like a Barley wine. Flavor starts with a big dose of caramel malts, then shows a biug bready base that rounds into light notes of pine and a hint of citrus. Real malt bomb for an iipa.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 13:31:53 | More by HURTemHIZZY

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rather pleasing DIPA shining on its malty side without losing the hoppy profile.

Presentation: 33 cl brown capped bottle. Standard Brew Dog design with the worn graphics, white lettering over dark emerald green. Braggy side narrative goes over main intent, brewing, ingredients, Notes batch, best by date ( 17 26 -07-11), and Alc. by Vol. (9.2%) Served in a tulip glass.

A - Lightly hazy deep golden pour, good frothy head, fair retention with a good surface memory and some lacing.

S - Good nose highlighting the malty toffee sense with dashes of resin and grapefruit. Not too fragrant but pleasing and in good sync with the style.

T - As with the nose the brew rests on very sturdy malty backbone with a nice caramel and butterscotch sense, hops are woven almost on a second layer to it, citrus and resin with a touch of grass as the boozy sense touches the finish.

M - Medium-full body with medium carbonation and a nice bite in the finish that is quite gentle under all that malt.

D - Nice brew, too cold and obviously it loses some of its nuances, and while one could long for a broader hop side this is quite pleasing.

Notes: Much derided, but this is a actually a pretty good DIPA. Sure, it is not the extreme hop bomb it promises on its labeling, at least not for US palates, but it is pretty pleasing. And while the hoppy profile is not particularly pungent it is there doing a more than acceptable work. If one cuts the hype this is rather commendable.

*Had this again on tap, in early Feb 2011, and unfortunately I was short of notes to make a full review. But it felt mighty good, with truly shiny hops, pungent and deep. An entirely different beast that would have deserved a ranking in the high As.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 00:24:54 | More by Daniellobo