I couldn’t wait for my bottles of nostalgic Punk IPA to arrive. Brewdog have released versions of their original recipe 10 years on. I’ve fond memories of this stuff and I know for sure that it’s changed over the years. Although I was curious to know if my memories were purely nostalgic or not.
So I poured each one into an identical glass and started the test.
The 2017 version as we all know is light, fresh and hoppy. It’s clean with a bitter after taste.
The 2007 version was noticeably bitter, which I liked. However I felt it was bordering on being ‘off’. There was a rather unpleasant fusty smell. This was also reflected in the taste. I am no brewing expert but either my taste buds have matured over he past 10 years or I got sent a dodgy batch.
| 2017 | 2007 | |
| Appearance | Light and golden | Noticeably darker and slightly less carbonation than 2017 |
| Aroma | Floral and hoppy. | Not terribly pleasant. Borderline off and stale. |
| Taste | Clean and bitter. | Stale beginning but hop bitterness kicks in later. |
| ABV | 5.6% | 6.0% |
| IBU | 35 | |
| Malt | Extra Pale | Extra Pale |
| Hops | Ahtanum, Chinook, Crystal, Motueka.
8.3g/L |
Ahtanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook, Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe.
14.1g/L |
Overall I think a combination of the two would be ideal. I didn’t like the aroma of the original but I did appreciate the extra hoppiness.
Perhaps my own taste has moved on but I would not buy 2007 Punk IPA today. There are just too many similar beers available that are a lot better. It’s probably a good thing that Punk has changed to keep up with today’s tastes.