Off the Shelf- Brew Dog Bashah + Tokio Beer

I decided to bring home a few micro-brews to my father, a long-time beer drinker. By "long-term beer drinker" I mean that he has little experience in the world outside of the mainstream beer companies. Growing up, there would be a variety of Miller Lite or Busch in the fridge awaiting him after a hard day's work. Although, I do give him some credit: in recent years he has become a regular drinker of Yuengling, which is a fine everyday lager. Yuengling being designated as "America's oldest brewery" and NOT captured by the Big-3 beer companies (Busch-Miller-Coors). I had 4 beers on the informal tasting menu: Paulner Lager (Germany), Hoegaarden Wit Beer (Belgium), and 2 Brew Dog beers from Scotland. It's the Brew Dogs that I'll concentrate on my review today...



Now, I have had the Brew Dog Punk and Hardcore IPAs before. I highly recommend both. They are slick and well-balanced. The two beers that I put forth to my father were a little "out of the ordinary" for his palette, and for anyone else's for that matter. The first is called the Bashah. It is labeled as a "Black Belgium style Double India Pale Ale." Additionally, the bottle brands the Stone Brewing Company winged demon because it is a joint collaboration between the two international brewers. The Bashah is quite nice. It pours a dark brown and has a good roasted coffee aroma up front. The first taste to hit your tongue is indeed like a Belgium sweet flavor. However, it is quickly followed by a pleasantly bitter IPA flavor that leaves a nice dryness on the tongue. When drinking this beer, I couldn't help but be reminded of Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale...a beer that I reviewed on this blog years before. The difference is that the collaboration is a little tamer- a little less coffee nose and a little less hops. At 8.6% ABV this beer is no minor leaguer, but the higher alcohol content is well blended and not very noticeable.

The second Brew Dog selection is a high roller beer: the Tokio. At $12 for a 11.2oz this beer is certainly for special occasions only to most beer-drinkers. It is labeled as an "intergalactic fantastic oak aged stout, ...brewed with cranberries and jasmine." Wow. That's a lot going on. I haven't got to the most shocking part: an ABV rated at 18.2%. Yeah, that's right- 18.2%. There is nothing subdued about this beer. This also includes the flavor. The beer pours a dark brown, with a reddish-orange tint to the dark beer. The cranberry flavor is most present. It's in the nose and hits the tongue hard. With the first few sips, it's almost a cherry elixir sort of flavor. The high alcohol content doesn't really help as it amounts to a flavor that's sure to throw you back to those restless nights when you were a child and your mother gave your Dimetapp for your cough. After you get past the cranberries, there is a slight oak finish. I could not find the alleged "jasmine" flavor really anywhere in the beer. There might be a slightly floral aroma to the beer, but that is quickly swamped by the cranberries and alcohol. Overall, I wouldn't necessarily give the beer a standing ovation. Compared to the other Brew Dog beers, this bottle is not quite as balanced. However, if you are looking for a pleasant way to get a great buzz without drinking a sixer of Miller Lite, or a case of Natty for that matter, then try it out! One of these little bottles and you'll be set. In fact, I am writing this blog post BEFORE I finish drinking the rest of the bottle, lest I fall out of my chair and black out without any recollection of how this beer tastes.