I Hardcore You - BrewDog

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, amber orange color with pretty good head retention and minimal lacing. The nose is very impressive, showcasing considerable skunky simcoe (I assume) hops. There is leather, tobacco, dry citrus, pepper, and a dank weediness that is attractive. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this dry IPA, though the alcohol is a bit more noticeable than I normally like to see. Still, I appreciate the amount of flavor this beer delivers, and there's nothing at all wrong with the long, dry, bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a long, bitter finish. Drinkability isn't bad, though the noticeable alcohol in the finish detracts just a bit.

This beer is very similar to a lot of other IPA's I've had from Mikkeller, but for all that, it's a pretty decent, well crafted IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2010 19:40:46 | More by johnmichaelsen

claspada

New Jersey

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aromas of fruity citrus, passionfruit, mango and grapefruit hops. Definitely one of the top 5 hop aroma beers I have ever consumed. It is so so so inviting from the aroma. I totally love beers with this full citrus hop aroma.

The taste is totally different than the nose. It makes you think initially that it will be bitter and hop centric but then the malt character makes a huge stand and controls the main flavors your tongue perceives. It is quite pale malt dominated and I really appreciate this because overly resiny beers make me gag. The initial bitterness fades into a glorious clean/dry finish. I Hardcore this beer (apologies for the cheesy reference). I could pound this to no end which is dangerous considering the ABV, lucky it is quite high in $$$ so this will limit my consumption.

This is a very tasty and simple straightforward DIPA.

Nice malt presence, resounding hop presence.

Serving type: on-tap

12-11-2010 00:53:52 | More by claspada

Vdubb86

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a snifter on tap at The Firkin

This beer is poured a nice hazy burnt sienna with some decent lacing of the white foam head. The aroma is a mixture of the various hop varieties, tangerine and brown sugar for sweetness. The taste is interesting as well. It comprises of bitter hops and light caramel which work together pretty well. It wasn't overtly bitter, but the hops were strong enough to be noticeable in the mouthfeel. This was rather average to drink, it was a very good beer that I tended to care less about.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2010 06:54:39 | More by Vdubb86

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter at The Firkin.

Dropped in at the Firk following a trip to the homebrew store and spotted this little guy on the chalkboard. Very little time deciding to order. It pours a cloudy amber-tawn' topped by a finger of tannish-cream foam. The nose comprises white grapes, mandarin oranges, grapefruit, caramel, and pineapple. The taste holds notes of minty pine, grapefruit, light caramel, and orange peel. The body is a heavy-leaning medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, one of the better brews I've had from the BrewDog guys (that wasn't a barrel-aged stout)...perhaps a freshness issue? Either way, this is a darn solid DIPA, and I'm glad I was able to try it.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2010 02:40:38 | More by TMoney2591

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.1/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

On tap at Georgetown Pizzaria Paradiso.

A: A different color than your normal IPA I would call it Brown tinged red. Small head with good lacing. Interesting.

S: A Mix of malt and hops at the same time, niether one dominates the other. Some grassy hop notes, medium-dark fruit as well. Also interesting, not terrible, just different.

T: Nice tiers of flavor: Sweet malt up front, a small hop bite in the middle thats much less aggressive than US citrus/pine hop but still definitely there (maybe by my hophead American terms), and than a bittersweet finish. Caramel and Toffee flavors in there as well. It's nice.

M: Creamier than your normal IPA, almost like it was from cask. Excellent palate coverage, really good.

D: Solid, but different IPA thats way different than a west coast IPA and even midwest/east coast IPAs. You can feel the 9.5% so you have to be careful, but its a great brew.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2010 13:36:24 | More by Dreadnaught33

glid02

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Brick Store.

Pours a slightly hazy copper-orange color with a half-finger slightly off-white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of sticky caramel malts with good amounts of pine hops. Also present are slight amounts of herbal hop aromas.

Tastes very similar to how it smells. Robust caramel malt flavors with lighter pale malts kick things off. Joining in almost immediately are large amounts of sticky pine flavors. Midway through the sip hints of herbal hops work their way into things, fading out into a moderately bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a very smooth thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass without any problems and could have another.

Overall there wasn't anything overly exciting about this beer but it's nicely done. Worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

11-01-2010 00:11:44 | More by glid02

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A deeply resiny-bitter IPA with a more substantial malty body than classic Imperial IPA's.

The pour brings a rusty hazy hue of deep amber and light brown. A dense froathy foam stance shows a great deal of retention and leaves sticky rings of lace as the beer fades. Other than the thick haze, the beer has a superb appearance.

Pine and citrus piths provide a sharp but clean scent with a hearty caramel/bready background provide the bulk of aroma. Mildly estery, the beer favors the sharp spruce and citrus notes over tropical flavors and ripeness.

Again, very resiny bittered with the majority of flavors representing white grapefruit zest, pine sap, and earthy/grassy flavors- a good blend of clean citrus and complex earthy balance. Bready malts have a mild biscuity quality along with medium caramel and light syrups. Any ester profiles are largely lost in the hops. Acetone flavors give rise to the alcohol taste in the finish.

Full and creamy textures hold onto their structure until deep into the finish where the hop dryness crispens the beer and allows for ease of drinking. Alcohol strentgh gives a minty cooling and a growning warmth.

Overall, this is a very good Double IPA. It's richness and malty sweetness prevents the hops from shining as world class IPA's do. A brighter and riper fruity hop profile would add the complexities of tropical (pineapple, tangerine) that makes standout beers of the class.

Serving type: on-tap

10-16-2010 17:51:52 | More by BEERchitect

Gobzilla

California

4.1/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured an amber brown with yellow highlights that had a finger of head and left bubbly lacing sticking to the glass. the piney hops citrus grapefruit were quite noticeable on the first whiff along with some sweetness are from the malts but it did have booze that wasn't trying to be hidden. upfront on the palate the poney hops struck fiorst with citrus grapefruit helping intensify the bitterness factor but had slight apricot accents and a pretty good malt backbone that helped out on the balance as well. like the nose booze was there but not as potent on the taste. the brew was nedium body with a good amount of carbonation which had a sweet, piny, hoppy, and slight boozy oily finish. it drank pretty good but not as good due to the booze which was not well hidden; still damn tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

10-16-2010 02:51:18 | More by Gobzilla

Monkeyknife

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured on-tap from 33 a deep bronze with orange highlights and three-fingers of off-white head.

Rich aroma of grapefruit, pine resin, and deep caramel malts.

Hoppy bitterness upfront with grapefruit and pine balanced with sweet caramel malts. Finishes with a warm glow from the 9.5% alcohol.

Medium-to full bodied and smooth with a light carbonation.

To me, nothing is more enjoyable than a top-notch Imperial IPA. I'm glad I found this one on-tap.

Serving type: on-tap

10-10-2010 17:18:31 | More by Monkeyknife

birchstick

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - poured a hazy dark yellow with a nice creamy head

S - smells od really sweet caramely malts with a ton of grapefruit hops and something a little funky

T - loads of grapefruity hops with a solid caramel malt backbone. This is very sweet overall.

M - nice full body that goes down smoothly

D - Very delicious DIPA...loads of hops make the style obvious. Nice example of the style. It's a tongue bruiser, but my tongue enjoyed the beating.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2010 01:23:08 | More by birchstick

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours amber with a decent head and sticky icky lacing

smells mostly of pine sap and grapefruit rinds. Some other tropical fruits and malt balance is also present.

Tastes much of the same, but sweet and bitter with a great balance that I did not expect. the tropical fruit and malt base more evident in the taste. Much heavier on the malt profile than I thought but it works for me.. Still very hoppy and sticky on the tongue. It goes down with a slight and pleasing warmth towards the end.

M/D -Sticky and chewy, heavier than most DIPA's but still very drinkable and one that I would get again.

I Hardcore You is a collaborative effort between BrewDog's Hardcore IPA and Mikkeller's I Beat You. After the blending, the beer was then dry hopped another couple times. Which makes it VERY hopped up! I enjoyed it and hope that you'll be able to get it fairly fresh.

Serving type: on-tap

08-17-2010 21:39:07 | More by thepeter