Brew Dog: Sink the Bismarck! (the world's strongest beer)

Last week I lucked out.  My fraternity big brother, Jared, brought a bottle to our Super Bowl party and he shared it with Warren and I.  Jared owns a production company that has a lot of clients who brew beer (he's done videos for Stone and Anchor Steam among others).  The guys at Brew Dog shoot footage and mail it to him, he edits it, and that's how they get their video content.  Brew Dog pays him, but they were kind enough to send him a complimentary bottle of Sink the Bismarck!  I had read about this beer, and knew it got a lot of coverage but never thought I would be drinking it.

Brew Dog is a brewery in Scotland, and they made a beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which at 31% ABV was supposed to be the strongest beer in the world.  Then, Schorschbrau came out with a beer that was 40% ABV.  Brew Dog retaliated.  This beer is 41% ABV, making it stronger than any other beer in the world.  Actually, that makes it stronger than most hard liquor.  Brew Dog gets it that strong by lowering the temperature so ice crystals start to form and they can then remove the frozen water leaving the beer more concentrated.  Somehow they add hops to it four times (they call it "quadruple hopped") by kettle hopping it, dry hopping it, and freeze hopping it.  In terms of IBU's, this makes Stone's Ruination with 100+ IBUs taste like just a regular IPA.  This beer comes in 330 ml bottles which is about 11 ounces.  Just one bottle will set you back about $100.

Just smelling this beer is like no other beer, it smells hoppy but sweet.  Sipping it is like sipping hopped brandy.  Its smooth and the hops make it taste sweet and fruity.  The weird thing about it is that since it is so strong you don't feel it in your stomach and it feels like it goes straight to your head.  This is definitely a beer that you want to share with others both because of the price and the potency.  This beer is so rare that I recommend trying it if you're ever lucky enough to find it.

Cheers!