BrewDog "Juice Shack" Milkshake IPA

I didn't look back at the old reviews of BrewDog yet, but I am willing to bet this all started somewhere other than Ohio. There was, if I recall correctly, some big deal about them getting regular people to invest in them building a brewery there, and I guess it was successful. I admit that I have misgivings about a milkshake IPA, which is why this one sat in my fridge, waiting until the other beers I had picked up were already tried and written about (despite having and liking a different one once). 

The quite cloudy orange beer has, as you can see, a full head on top, doesn't it? That leaves a patchy webwork of lacing before it settles to an even more patchy layer of bubbles. I have heard the term "rocky top" to describe this kind of thing, and it doesn't do justice here; this is downright lunar. The aroma is tropical fruits with a very strange kind of creaminess to it that isn't smooth like a fruit smoothie, but like chunks of fruit in a glass of milk. It's a bit too rough around the edges. 

First sip is not as difficult as I expected - nor is it as smooth as I had hoped. Instead, fruit meat greets at the front, and rinds and seeds hit on the back. There is something more complicated going on in the middle of it, but it seems like it's disjointed and lacking any kind of refinement. I'm disappointed at this lackluster sip, but a full gulp might fix this all.

Tip-in is relatively smooth at first, but the citric acid seems to be combining with the lactic acid to make things all pointy (carbonation, thankfully, does not add to the mix). The middle is where carbonation increases, and a calm smoothness takes hold quite nicely. However, this doesn't last long, as the sickly, pointy tropical fruits merge with carbonation for an unceremonious trail-off.

Bottom Line: Not their best.

1.25/5