Tasting Notes: Brewdog: Hunter Foundation Pale Ale

Brewdog: Hunter Foundation Pale Ale (Scotland: American Pale Ale: 5.4% ABV)

Visual: Light banana to grain with a whitish froth head and low carbonation.

Nose: Grassy. Maybe lemongrass. Pineapple. Nice hop character. Apricot. Slight attic or damp wood mustiness.

Body: Lemon sherbet. Hop bitterness. Quite dry Fluffy hop feel. Dry white wine. Sour tang. Dried apricot.

Finish: Slight smoke and dry bitterness. Wet wood. Egg plant. Still slight sourness. Peppermint.

Conclusion: A very drying one this. The highly attenuated feel common to a lot of American Pale Ales seems to be quite pushed forward here. The resulting dryness results in an urge to sip again as soon as you have swallowed. For study though I have resisted, to take my time and appreciate the beer.  Because I am dedicated, not because I am a tight Yorkshireman and want my drink to last longer. Honest.

The bar staff described this to me as like a reigned in Punk IPA and I can kinda see that, though it has very much a swing of its own style. The simcoe hops show their influence in the highly placed bitterness and some slight greenery styled flavours.

The flavour range is not as wide as Punk IPA, with more made of the beers texture than it’s flavour. Bitter roughness, sour sharpness and white wine dryness all have their place, combining for a simultaneous thirst causing and quenching experience.

I think the pale ale dryness does put me off tad, but that’s more between me and the style than the beer itself.  Overall a nice rounded feel to this bitter hop sour dry beer. I Imagine in a way it is like the Japanese foods that seem to emphasise the feels over the flavours.  Would probably go well with Japanese food as well.

I can’t call the beer a favourite, but it is a good investigation of feel and texture. Personally I prefer and bit more forthright flavour, but that is my own view speaking.

Not bad, more and experience than a great beer, but hey it’s for charity. Lets have one more then.

Background: Noticed this at Brewdog Camden the morning after seeing a Garbage gig (that is the band is called Garbage, not that the band was shite). The bar staff helped me with my confusion, since I had not heard of this beer before. It is an amarillo , simcoe and citra hop made beer and was made with the aid of the Hunter Foundation, a philanthropist organization set but my a very rich Scotsman. Two quid from every pint sold goes to the charity, which is a fair wee shake I feel.