32% ABV beer (Tactical Nuclear Penguin)

[carnevoodoo]

Speculation is that they're freeze concentrating the beer to up the alcohol %age.

Speculation? Did any of you read? They made a 10% beer, took it to an ice cream factory, and froze the hell out of it.

 

[Tonedef131]

I think Utopias still holds the title for strongest beer. As I recall it is not fortified or been frozen to increase the alcohol. Once you do that you enter a new category.

Exactly my thoughts, these guys just did this for all the attention. It's not the worlds strongest beer, it's just another gimmick from Brewdog. I guess you could call it "beer concentrate", just add water and carbonate to have something that actually tastes like beer.

Edit: Haha 1 Bottle Batch 2 Shipped to U.S.A. = $123. I hate Brewdog more by the day.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Exactly my thoughts, these guys just did this for all the attention. It's not the worlds strongest beer, it's just another gimmick from Brewdog. I guess you could call it "beer concentrate", just add water and carbonate to have something that actually tastes like beer.

Edit: Haha 1 Bottle Batch 2 Shipped to U.S.A. = $123. I hate Brewdog more by the day.

You hate them for doing something fun? Do you hate Dogfish Head and Stone, too? Seems like misplaced hatred to me.

 

[Tonedef131]

You hate them for doing something fun? Do you hate Dogfish Head and Stone, too? Seems like misplaced hatred to me.

I hate them for capitalizing on gimmicky unbalanced disasters that they call beer. How do you not hate a brewery that freeze distills an average strength beer and thinks charging $50 for 330ml bottle of it is okay?

 

[carnevoodoo]

I hate them for capitalizing on gimmicky unbalanced disasters that they call beer. How do you not hate a brewery that freeze distills an average strength beer and thinks charging $50 for 330ml bottle of it is okay?

It sold out, so there's a market for it. You are obviously not the demographic. To be honest, I'm not going to buy a bottle of that beer either, but I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to try it. It took a lot of effort to make that beer, and with the storage costs and renting out a freezer like that, I guarantee it was not cheap to make.

And I've had several Brewdog beers that were terrible, but I've also had some that were super interesting and fun to try. They're not all hits, but they have an audience. However, it is nothing to hate.

 

[Tonedef131]

It sold out, so there's a market for it.

That's for a preorder of one bottle of batch two directly from the brewery, not some spiked ebay price.

 

[carnevoodoo]

That's for a preorder of one bottle of batch two directly from the brewery, not some spiked ebay price.

I know. the first run sold out, and they're working on the second. It will sell out, too. Sure, it isn't your everyday beer, and you could call it a gimmick all you want, but whatever. It isn't for you. I still don't get the hate.

 

[Joe C]

To bring this back up to the top - I ordered 2 bottles.

 

[Sedge]

Haha, I'm all about some of their Imperial stuff, but I think Mr. Koch can be a bit full of himself sometimes. Of course, that's what it takes to run a major brewery and make the mass public think it's some kind of craft brewing operation.

At any rate, I'd love to get my hands on one of those Tactical Nuclear Penguins. (Really? No penguin emoticon?)

Sorry Will, but Boston Beer Company really is a craft brewing operation. They brew a crazy amount of beers, and even the ones I don't like so much are well brewed. They are the largest craft brewery, but only have about .5% of the market share for the states. The only difference between them and other similarly sized breweries like Sierra Nevada is they have tv ads.

On Topic: Someone was asking about beer bars in Philly with a crapload of bottles. There are several...Do any of these ring a bell Standard Tap, Monk's Cafe, Zot, Eulogy, Devils Den? I've asked breweries for a list of their Philadelphia accounts before and they're usually really helpful. BrewDog sells on their website, but it looks like TNP might be around $60/bottle.

 

[WillPall]

Sorry Will, but Boston Beer Company really is a craft brewing operation. They brew a crazy amount of beers, and even the ones I don't like so much are well brewed. They are the largest craft brewery, but only have about .5% of the market share for the states. The only difference between them and other similarly sized breweries like Sierra Nevada is they have tv ads.

I would love to see some real numbers on how "crafty" they are. I'm not trying to argue with you, but I've never been somewhere without Sam Adams. I've sure been places that don't carry Sierra Nevada. Also, you like their Cherry Wheat? With all that syrupy goodness? You know that they throw fruit syrup in some of their beers? Again, that came off more offensive than I meant, but I don't really know how else to state it.

I definitely agree that the TNP is a gimicky beer, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to try it. 32% ABV? As long as it gets me drunk.... :rockin:

 

[Sedge]

Ask and you shall receive. You can google 'boston beer company market share' or the like to get their figures. Here's the first hit: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Boston_Beer_Company_(SAM) I'm at work so I can't do the digging properly. I remember numbers from a few years back being under 1% overall market share (with Sierra Nevada, Yuengling and a few others nearby in the third tier range) and something like 20% of the craft beer market. Here's another hit from CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/07/magazines/fortune/beer_koch.fortune/index.htm

I do not like the Cherry Wheat, but I don't hold them at fault for brewing it. As for the fruit syrup, there are plenty of worse things going into commerical beer as well as homebrew. Magic Hat, for instance, uses apricot flavoring for #9 with much success, and the canned fruit purees that work so well for homebrew are far from fresh fruit.

As for distribution, being on the east coast I do find Sam pretty much everywhere, with not much of the other guys. But when I visit my brother in CA, Sierra Nevada is just as prevalent (althouth they have Sam as well). They've been around for a couple decades now and have had plenty of time to get their name out there. Again I'll refer you to them having tv ads, and Sierra Nevada (and everyone else) relying on word of mouth, festivals, and trade publications.

If you read/listen to some Jim Koch interviews (there are plenty of them out there), he comes across as a really humble guy, and all their employees seem to love working for him. I find that to be craft brew all the way.

 

[WillPall]

Ask and you shall receive. You can google 'boston beer company market share' or the like to get their figures. Here's the first hit: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Boston_Beer_Company_(SAM) I'm at work so I can't do the digging properly. I remember numbers from a few years back being under 1% overall market share (with Sierra Nevada, Yuengling and a few others nearby in the third tier range) and something like 20% of the craft beer market. Here's another hit from CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/07/magazines/fortune/beer_koch.fortune/index.htm

I do not like the Cherry Wheat, but I don't hold them at fault for brewing it. As for the fruit syrup, there are plenty of worse things going into commerical beer as well as homebrew. Magic Hat, for instance, uses apricot flavoring for #9 with much success, and the canned fruit purees that work so well for homebrew are far from fresh fruit.

As for distribution, being on the east coast I do find Sam pretty much everywhere, with not much of the other guys. But when I visit my brother in CA, Sierra Nevada is just as prevalent (althouth they have Sam as well). They've been around for a couple decades now and have had plenty of time to get their name out there. Again I'll refer you to them having tv ads, and Sierra Nevada (and everyone else) relying on word of mouth, festivals, and trade publications.

If you read/listen to some Jim Koch interviews (there are plenty of them out there), he comes across as a really humble guy, and all their employees seem to love working for him. I find that to be craft brew all the way.

Thanks for the links. That's some good info. Having been a student, Yuengling is pretty much the standard for everyone I know. I had no idea it held such a low market share. Maybe it's just the ads for Sam Adams where Koch looks full of himself. He smiles too much.

 

[mmb]

Thanks for the links. That's some good info. Having been a student, Yuengling is pretty much the standard for everyone I know. I had no idea it held such a low market share. Maybe it's just the ads for Sam Adams where Koch looks full of himself. He smiles too much.

His job is, arguably, to brew beer.

I'd smile all the friggin time too.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

There is no definition of a craft brewer. To me, I don't think craft brewing has anything necessarily to do with size. I think it has to do with what you are brewing. If you brew a wide variety of beer, are trying new variations all the time, and are using good ingredients then I'd call you a craft brewer. Sam Adams seems to fit my definition.

The problem is that the larger a brewer gets, usually the more they have to standardize their beer in order to keep their market share. People often form a bond with a given product and don't want it to change, so that means little change when you're trying to deal with a large group of people. This leads from craft brewing to what I call manufacturing brewing - brewing a couple products in mass quantities consistently and little/no innovation in the product.

 

[Joe C]

My two bottles

 

[iddqd]

I hate them for capitalizing on gimmicky unbalanced disasters that they call beer. How do you not hate a brewery that freeze distills an average strength beer and thinks charging $50 for 330ml bottle of it is okay?

Don't like it? Fine, don't buy it then, and quit whining about it. Sure, it is ten times more expensive than the beer it's made of (Paradox), but then again, it probably takes at least four bottles worth of Paradox to make one bottle of TNP, it's been oak aged for a longer time and the freeze distillation process probably costs a few bucks as well.

 

[robp7787]

The freezing and concentration process is a long standing tradition. "Gimmicky" seems to imply that some people here think the entire Eisbock category is crap, I guess. Picking on a brewery for charging more money for putting out more effort seems ridiculous.
And, since people seem to be arguing over Sam Adams, here's something to consider-- until 1997, almost the entire production for Boston Beer Company was made through contract brewing. Neither Jim Koch nor any of his employees brewed a single bottle that any of us ever drank. Someone at Pittsburgh, or a handful of other breweries made them under contract. Nothing wrong with that, but it certainly makes you question Mr. Koch's "street cred."

 

[bknifefight]

There is no definition of a craft brewer.

Yes there is, and you are right, Sam Adams is craft. They are the largest craft brewery but they still fit the definition.

http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/craft-brewer-defined

 

[BrianTheBrewer]

Sam Adams is still a craft brewery. They make many many different brews that most people dont ever get to try. Most people have never even seen or tasted their Pale Ale.

 

[Kaner]

To bring this back up to the top - I ordered 2 bottles.

Do you remember how much the shipping was on two bottles? I was thinking about ordering two (splitting with a friend) but wasn't sure if shipping would push us over our price budget.

 

[defenestrate]

Just out of curiousity, how much does a bottle of Utopias cost, and how much does a case of Sam Adams Imperial Series cost?

There are two awesome bars with over 500 kinds of beer in stock. They are in Philly, owned by the same guy...they should definitely pick those up. I'll be damned if I can think of the name of the places though. Someone on here knows what I'm talking about though. Their list of brews in stock is literally a book.

you would be talking about the foodery and the foodery II in philly. unreal selection. the foodery II is right next to standard tap.

 

[Sedge]

standard tap has a nice list as well. There really are a lot of places with a crap load of beers in Philly. Monk's Cafe has the 'Beer Bible' list.

Sam Adams Imperial Series is around 10 for a 4 pack in Delaware at Total Wine. I'm not sure about Philly cause of the case laws and crap. Probably will get charged a little more than normal for a bottle.

 

[brewagentjay]

I agree on this although I like beer to be stronger around 8 to 10 % after 15% or so it's not beer anymore it's wine on the edge of liquior........... However I'm always up for trying the utopia and penguin at least once. To ensure proper opinion.

 

[bkov]

taste one yet joec?

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Resurrecting this thread because I called Binny's, the Chicago beverage chain, and the location near me has couple bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink the Bismarck (41% abv).

I'm think of pulling the trigger on one of these two mostly because I'm depressed and I hate winter. Has anyone tried either of these beers yet? Are they any god at all?

 

[AKnewbrews]

Just picked up a bottle of the Tactical Nuclear Penguin for $80 up here in Alaska. They only had like 4 or 5 bottles, and I think thats all in the entire state. They also had the Sink the Bismarck for about $110 a bottle. I figure I better at least try it, of course with some good friends!

 

[Bradinator]

How was it? I found that there is 3 bottles here in Calgary but at 65 bucks a bottle...

That can buy a lot of other craft beer.

 

[Ravenshead]

The thread lives.

We just tried our 2010 TNP (i think) version. I really couldn't drink it even as a sipper. It tasted like charred caramel to me, really smokey. I think the freeze distillation concentrated the oak barrel tannins way too much to be drinkable. You could use it to make a very good (and expensive) steak sauce though.

 

[AKnewbrews]

I had both the Tactical Nuclear Penguin Imperial stout and Sink the Bismarck IPA last weekend.

Personally, I think the IPA tasted better. It was very bitter, and for being 41% ABV, it was NOTHING like a whiskey. We had some scottish whiskey last weekend as well, and that was whiskey. THe IPA was beer. Uncarbonated, strong alcoholic beer, but it was definitely beer.

Same goes with the TNP, but it had a licorice/roasted coffee flavor to me that was OK, but not awesome IMO. Similar to a Jager but not nearly as sweet. I hate Jager!

The strong alcohol taste was apparent in both beers, but not overwhelming like a whiskey can be. I don't drink whiskey, or any other hard alcohol for that main reason. I expected it to be alcoholic, how can it NOT be? I also expected no carbonation, which lended it to more of a wine/barleywine comparison, but I still think they pulled off these two beers quite well and kept the flavor profile in the beer category and less in the barleywine/liquor category.

 

[Corey_SS]

Personally I don't see how eisbocks are considered beers, because they're basically just distilling but with freezing instead of boiling.