Tasting Notes: Brewdog: Never Mind The Anabolics

Brewdog: Never Mind The Anabolics (Scotland: IPA: 6.5% ABV)

Visual: Burnished amber, half inch of tight clumped off white head.

Nose: Prickly hops. Caramel. Dried pineapple. Slight resin. Malt drinks. Ginseng cinnamon.

Body: Good front of bitterness. Smooth texture and slightly thick. Vegetable roots. Slight earthy hops. Malt drink. Slight herbs and spices. Cinnamon. Ginseng.

Finish: ginseng. Gravely bitter hops. Touch of malt drink with light herbs and twigs. Turnips and earth.

Conclusion: You wouldn’t think that a beer with so many odd ingredients could fail to make a major impression, but as I took my first sip of this beer that is exactly what happened.

The beer is slightly earthy, which is a good match for the herbal notes brought in by all the odd ingredients, but it doesn’t excite.  The main flavour seems to come from a kind of root and herb base which I guess is those new ingredients. There is also a cinnamon sweetness, and of all the elements ginseng is the one I can identify by name, being present from mid body to early finish.

Overall from aroma to finish there is that root thing going on, that earthy hop, but nothing that really sparkles. When you let it warm there is a bit more dominant spiciness, and that makes the base a bit more solid but still quite plain.

On the upside the texture is well done, frothing up easily and giving a nice mouth feel and delivers the bitterness well. Also, lets face it as a PR stunt it was kinda funny.

However when a beer works better as a PR stunt than something to drink then something has gone wrong. It really isn’t horrible at any point, but it just has nothing to make you be interested. A light earthy and spice touched beer, with a decent hop base but not much else.

Background: The beers name is a quite obvious reference to Sex Pistols seminal “Never Mind The Bollocks” album, so it was appropriate I drank this in the same week as I got to see Johnny Rotten with PIL at a gig. Very cool. The beer itself is a nice shot at the quite insane level of sponsors protection around the Olympics. For those who don’t know, shops near the Olympics were told to take down any sign that referenced the Olympics, it was reputed that people with non sponsors drinks could not bring them into the Olympic village and that people with non sponsor shoes would be asked to cover them. From what I hear most of this got shut down after a massive public outcry, but it’s far from the first time for things like that. In fact I’m surprised Brewdog didn’t get shafted for using the Olympic rings after a Game company in America got banned from using a 5 interlinked ring symbol that bore no resemblance to the Olympic rings.  All is a roundabout was of saying, this beer was one I was in a mind to enjoy.  It’s made with a bunch of performance enhancing ingredients that would get an Olympic athlete disqualified (creatine, guarana, ginseng, gingo, maca powder, matcha tea and kola nut).  As always I should mention I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers. If you’re wondering why ginseng the only odd ingredient I noted in the tasting, it’s probably because a workmate brought back a packet of sweets made with them and I was the only sod who would eat them despite not actually much liking them, so the odd flavour is quite familiar once I knew it was in there.