Equity for Punks

As I talk to more and more craft beer folks, I am finding that Brew Dog's "Equity for Punks" program is not as widely discussed as I imagined.  Long story short?  Brew Dog is  was, raising capital by selling equity (stock) in an online IPO.  This not only gets money to Brew Dog, but gives a feeling of involvement to craft beer drinkers, and a neat way for dedicated customers to feel better connected to the business - a business that they have now helped build.  

This is different than Green Bay Packers "stock" in that GBP stock is not an actual stock nor does it have any monetary value (nor is it transferable).  Equity for Punks, on the other hand, is actual ownership in the company, which can grow in value and be sold after a one year holding period.  They even throw in discounts at all their bars and their online shop AND make certain beers available to you that are rare, early releases, or both! Check out their promo video.

Since they're based in Scotland (hence the cool accents in the video) there was some issue regarding a exchange from dollars to euros.  I wasn't able to purchase the stock with a credit/debit card online, but instead had to send a wire transfer to the UK.  In any case, things finished up nicely.  I got a nice certificate that indicates how many shares I now own and just this last week I received a rather ominous looking, black, plastic envelope in the mail.  Much to my surprise it was the S.W.A.G from Brew Dog  that they had promised for investing in Equity for Punks.  Very cool!  What's in the packet?

A pencil.  Though a #2 wouldn't be very punk.

A sweet keychain/bottle opener

A lapel pin

A temporary tattoo

A big ol' sticker

A small poster

I don't show this because the spoils were so extravagant, but because craft beer is about sharing.  If you weren't able to participate in this Brew Dog experience, that's OK.  Feast your eyes on some items that not everybody gets to see!  This is what my experience was.  Well, this and hopefully a ton of return on my investment.  They didn't even have to send anything besides the stock certificate, but they did and that's pretty cool.  Thanks Brew Dog!

Brewdog & Stone - bashah

In the interest of full disclosure, I'd like to first say that I am the proud owner of some Equity for Punks!  If you don't know what that is yet, check it out here.  After finally taking the plunge last week after a near immediate blessing from my surprisingly understanding and slightly dismissive wife (quoth her email, "Just go do it"), I find myself doing something new, exciting, and a bit helpful to the craft beer community.  With my new investment in mind, I figured it was time to break out this bottle that had been sitting in my beer fridge for quite some time.  This bottle is called "bashah" and is the collaborative effort betwixt our friends at Stone and Brewdog.  I know!  It DOES sound good.  My only concern was that the bottle might be a little too old considering this is supposed to be a black Belgian DIPA.  To be specific, this bottle is from batch 352 and was bottled on 12/19/2010.  Under a year should be fine for a beer this steeped in hops and darkness, right?  Is that not the story behind imperials and IPAs?  That their strong flavors preserved them?  One way to find out if that legend holds true.  Let's pour!

Aroma 7/12
Granted, this is an older bottle, so it should come as no surprise that the majority of the aroma is cocoa with no detectable hop character.  There is some Belgian yeast sweetness that makes a faint appearance, as does some coffee and some roast, but the IPA goodness (let alone the Double IPA goodness) has died out a long time ago.  At this point, it smells like a pretty tasty stout.  I find that the roasted malt appears as the beer continues to warm.

Appearance 2/3
Not pitch black, but very very dark. The traces of mahogany are only visible along the edges when held to light.  The khaki-colored head was small and lasted as long as it had to, but where it touched my glass it left a rather impressive lacing that indicated lots of good pitting.

Look at that lace!

Flavor 19/20
For a beer with a less than impressive smell, this beer still has what it takes to knock your socks clean off!  Initial flavors are the sweetness of malt, raw sugar, and caramel.  Then the backbone begins to rush in and this beer gets big in a hurry!  Lots of coffee, hop bitter, dark caramel, roasted chocolate malts, and a light saltiness that I have had in other dark beers (notably Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch), but can never seem to place.  This is big and complex - a great combination.  The finish is very bitter, hints at the former sweetness, and drys the mouth quickly.  Maybe those hops did not disappear completely after all!  This beer leaves a great inky, hoppy bitter aftertaste way on the back of the tongue that seems to skulk about like some sort of great, black predator crouched in the back of its lair.  It lives back there.  It belongs there.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Its carbonation is barely present without feeling flat; I love that in a dark beer.  The body is not as heavy as one would expect from a beer this dark and with this much flavor, which is a nice surprise when you're finished and not weighed down.

Overall Impression 9/10
This is a damn good beer, but I felt I had to dock a point for not being at all what is on the label.  It claims to be "The Black Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale."  Granted, that's a pretty tall order to fill, but it can (and has) been done.  The black is definitely present, but the rest gets lost.  Any Belgian characteristics are slight at best.  The hops offer no flavor nor aroma (in a bottle this aged), even if they certainly have their say in the finish.  Those DIPA hops really come out in the aftertaste, too.  The beer that was present was a delightful, hoppy stout that was good enough to score a nine here.  Big, complex, bitter, and not heavy.  What more do you want?

Total 41/50
I thought this was going to be a brief review. I respect Stone and Brewdog a LOT and when I first smelled this beer I was ready to be disappointed by the rest. It smelled simple and weak. I didn't even really want to post a crappy review about two breweries I like so much, but figured I might be able to get away with it if I screamed loud enough that this was an old bottle.

Then I tasted it.

Wow! What a complete 180! While it's not the style on the label this is still a damn good dark beer that I keep wanting to call a stout. I don't want to rehash the beer description, but I can't reiterate how much this beer redeemed itself. To reward such a redemption, I'll stop calling it a stout and begin calling it my "bête noire." Cheers and kudos to the boys at Brew Dog & at Stone!! You boys can get together for a playdate any time you like!

The legend held true.