Last week I went on a drinking and eating expedition through Scotland, a journey that ended my last night in the country at BrewDog’s Edinburgh tap room. The small bar is the brewery’s home in the city, and there you can find a number of BrewDog beers on tap, a few guest brews from around the world (including Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist), and even a bottle of BrewDog-select Eagle Rare (a gem I noticed on the menu and my bartender actually hasn’t realized was even there).
The first beer I had on tap was the company’s Pump Action Poet. It’s technically an IPA, but this one is packed with fruit flavor. Pineapple, juicy peach, ago, and nectarine all mesh together with this one. The fruit is prevalent on the nose, and at first sip, you get a lot of that tropical fruit with a backbone of pine from the hops.
The brewery used Simcoe, Amarillo, and Citra with this one, giving it a unique flavor that puts in more on-par with an IPA you’d grab in America than a European brew. That said, it’s not exactly your typical IPA either. Fruit lingers on the palette after each sip, making this seem more in line with a fruit beer than your standard run of the mill IPA.
Despite its hefty 7.5% ABV, I could see this being one you might take with you in cans to a summer picnic, as well as something that would make for a nice nightcap after a big night out. If you happen to run across the brew on draft on in cans, grab one while this seasonal is still available.
Brewery: BrewDog
City: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Style: White IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Availability: Seasonal. Draft, some cans