Comments on: Tasting Notes: BrewDog Tokyo*

By: Ed Ashby

Ed Ashby — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:27:34 +0000

Sampled this yesterday, and not wanting to be irresponsible and incur the wrath of the Portman Group I shared it with my brother. We both agreed that, as noted by Darren and Tim, the alcohol, while certainly noticable, is not all as pervasive or cloying as we would expect from a beer of this strength. Bro reckoned it would go well accompanied with a fine single malt whisky. He’s not a beer connoisseur and missed out on a lot of the subtleties, so the rest of the comments are my own impressions.

I found the aroma quite interesting, quite light and fruity for an imperial stout. First impressions on tasting were surprising as well. As noted before, the alcohol was well controlled, even better than some I’ve had at half the strength. Then as tasting continued – malt, treacle, molasses, those cranberries, vanilla and oak notes from the toasted chips, some chocolate, nicely balanced bitterness, just a hint of floral from the jasmine, and buried in there I picked up on a touch of mango and apricot. Wonderfully complex stuff indeed.

It’ll be interesting to revisit another bottle or two when they’ve been in storage for a while so I better nip off to GapWines and hope they still have a few left.

By: Darren Turpin

Darren Turpin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:50:09 +0000

Tim mate, very glad indeed you liked it. I’m extremely tempted to blow £35 on a six-pack before it sells out. Want to go halves? I can deliver your bottles to you at F’Con…

By: Tim Lebbon

Tim Lebbon — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:53:38 +0000

Darren, I waited until I could truly enjoy my bottle of Tokyo* and I’m glad I did. What a remarkable beer. A whole raft of tastes come through, from first sip to the wonderful afterglow that remained for some time. Caramel, coffee, and a wonderful hint of spice that rang through the whole tasting. It left a tingle on the tongue, and you’re right saying that the high alcohol content didn’t interrupt or intrude too much. The strength was there for sure, but the tastes were rich, varied and complex, and not overpowered by it. A beautiful beer … a work of art … I wish I could drink some more.

And of course, now the Portman Group is sticking its nose in again. But to hell with them – this is a splendid beer from a fine brewery, and one that I’ll remember for some time.

By: Darren Turpin

Darren Turpin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Hi Ally, Adrian – Thank you very much indeed, glad you liked the Notes. And this really is exactly the sort of incredible, truly remarkable beer we should be celebrating as an example of the creativity and energy that can be found in British brewing these days.

You really do gotta love what BrewDog are doing, and the best news is they’re not the only ones, either.

By: Adrain

Adrain — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:34:09 +0000

Awesome review.
I agree with you on the beer.
Probably my favourite beer ever too.
Gotta love what they guys are doing at BrewDog.

By: Ally

Ally — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:33:30 +0000

I need to try this stuff. I hope it hasn’t sold out on the site! Reading this review reminds me of how awe-some beer can be– the infinite nuanced flavors and the way they can make us feel. It’s nice to meet a beer like that every so often that reminds you that no matter how many you try there will always be something lovely and new brewing somewhere! (Probably at Brewdog. Haha)