Strongest beer in the world....

It's been almost 2 years since I've updated this, and I would like to start doing it a lot more. So for my first review in forever, why not start with a bang? The strongest beer in the world...

The beer is called Sink the Bismarck. It is a 41% ABV Quadruple IPA (as they describe it), by the Scottish brewery Brewdog.

This is actually the third time I have had this beer. However, this time I sampled it while watching an indie flick called "The Human Centipede". On the initial taste, you pretty much get hops and bitter flavors. And I don't mean just a little. If you think Bells hop slam is bitter, try this beer. There is a bit of an alcohol burn on the front end, but as you swallow it goes away. Since I'm watching the human centipede I don't want to think about swallowing too much...if you have seen the movie you will understand... Anyway, you aren't left with much burn at all, which is surprising for a beer with such a high ABV. The hoppy flavors I get are mostly citrus and grass. There's a bit of a pine note in there as well. Almost as if you are crawling along on all fours and eating grapefruit off the ground...not that a human centipede would do that.

It isn't as thick as you might think either. However, I imagine there is pretty much no sugar in the beer that hasn't been converted to alcohol, so it kind of makes sense. It almost makes me think of a hop infused vodka, with a little bit more body. Which also makes me want to create a hop infused vodka. Since I have some extra hops in my freezer I think I may just try this... Damnit this movie is just inspiring me to create a beast without thinking about the repercussions.

All in all, this is a pretty fantastic beer. It's not worth the price tag (roughly $70 a bottle), but if you can split it amongst some friends, it is definitely worth trying. This is like no other beer I have ever had, and I've tried some pretty extreme beers. It leaves you tasting the flavor in your mouth for several hours, much like the film "The Human Centipede", sticks in you conscience.

Some updates

Well, I've done a LOT since my last update.

-Almost completely finished my keezer
-Brewed another APA (same recipe. I was closer this time with an OG of about 1.04 but still not where I'd want to be).
-Bought enough grains, yeast, and hops for 4 more batches (Watermelon Wheat, Apricot Wheat, Scottish Heavy, and Oktoberfest/Marzen.)
-Bought some more equipment (3 Better Bottles, siphon, some CO2 gauges)

I plan on brewing the apricot wheat tomorrow.

The apfelwein has been pretty tasty. It's a bit strong and tart. People don't really know what to think of it at first, but I think it grows on you.

I tapped the APA, but it could probably use a bit more time conditioning. It's not bad, but hopefully the second batch is better.

More rhizomes

We added Cascade and Nugget rhizomes to the hop garden today.

First All Grain

I brewed my first all grain beer last Weds (6/10/08). A few things went wrong, but I think they will be easy to fix. My mash was a few degrees too high, and I think that is what caused me to miss my OG. It was 1.03 instead of 1.05 (aka WAY off). My siphon didn't work well (or at all), and I had to go to using the spout on my kettle. This cause quite a few things to happen, the worst being not getting much of the hops out. I think to fix this next time I am going to use a hop bag. I only got ~3 gallons out of it.