We've been here before, beer and I. I started trying to find a
nonalcoholic beer that tastes as good as beer. So far, the closest they've come is "decent in a pinch." I haven't found anything that I think would rival the
average beer that I've encountered so far, but I keep thinking that one of these small breweries is going to be the place where someone finally cracks the code.
BrewDog may very well be it.
I can't express how similar the head on this beer is to a soft drink. It has the same fizzle sound, and it rises and falls almost identically. I can't adequately define what the difference is between the staying power of a beer head as compared to that of a Coke, but this beer is demonstrating that difference. This head is not that of a beer. It sits atop a very hazy, dull orange beer that may very well taste good. The aroma is not particularly promising with heavy citrus that leans on the citric acid and pine. I fear this may be one of those instances where they crank up the flavor too loud to try and overcome what's missing.
First sip is a strange dichotomy of fizzy and citric acid harshness coupled with fruit juice (not like the hop-style fruit juice that I'm used to) and a strangely sweet aftertaste. Genuinely, this almost tastes like they carbonated some fruits. I take that back. I think it is more likely they added carbonated water to fruit juice. That is closer to the sensation that I'm getting.
Tip-in is carbonation sizzle atop orange, grapefruit, and citric acid. The middle is a watery mess of fruit rinds, carbonation, and acid. The finish is where the pine comes on strong before a somewhat dry and also slightly sweet trail off.
Bottom Line: Nope. They haven't cracked the code yet.
1.5/5
