Abstrakt thought – a vertical tasting

Three years ago this April, BrewDog released the first beer in their ‘concept’ Abstrakt range – AB:01. A 10.2% vanilla bean-infused Belgian-style quadrupel, we rather liked it at the time, naming it one of our best new beers of 2010. The first half of that particular year was an interesting one for the (then) Fraserburgh outfit, as AB:01 appeared at the very high-point (or, low point) of the abv-war with Schorschbräu. As one definition of ‘abstract’ is ‘to dissociate from a specific instance’, I often wondered if this was more than mere co-incidence.

Once the freeze-distillation equipment had been mothballed, the Abstrakts continued, another appearing every few months or so. Arguably, the highlight of the series was AB:04, an imperial stout brewed with cacao, coffee and naga chillies. I recall Martin Dickie saying it was the best beer that BrewDog has made – which is probably why it was reprised later (more or less), as DogA. Even though the Abstrakt brand is marketed as each edition only ever being brewed once, popularity can win out over concept, it seems. And why not?

As we head towards the series’ third anniversary, the most recent release is AB:12. Over time, the number of bottles released of each has steadily risen; according to the Abstrakt website, AB:12 had a run of 9500, compared to the original AB:01’s 3200. Despite this profligacy, however, I’ve not tried any for a while – AB:07 being the last I’d actually sampled. Luckily for me, the newly-opened Appellation Wines in Comely Bank held their debut beer tasting last night – a run-through of all recent Abstrakt’s – from AB:07 to AB:12.

So it was I found myself hurriedly bolting a smoked sausage supper outside the bottle shop, ten minutes before the tasting began (a rare insight into the blogging lifestyle, there). The amiable, wispish BrewDog sales rep Jonny was on hand to talk though the six beers on offer, at the event hosted by Appellation’s Ash – a copper-plated titan of the Edinburgh drinking scene. Over the next hour, we flashed through the AB’s, knocking them back almost as fast as the chippy I’d demolished beforehand…

Abstrakt AB:07 (12.5%)
Whisky-aged Imperial Scotch Ale
(released September 2011)
First up, the only one of the beers on offer that I’d actually tried before. I remember AB:07 as being massively alcohol-forward – often a criticism (or point of praise) levelled at recently-released Abstrakts. With a year and half having passed, as expected everything had calmed and mellowed, with the whisky hum being replaced by soft, sweet marzipan, dates and oak. Slightly treacley, with an edge of the Ovaltine about it, the passing time had really worked wonders to number 7.

Abstrakt AB:08 (11.8%)
‘Deconstructed’ Blonde Imperial Stout
(released December 2011)
Seconds later, a hovering bottle of AB:08 appeared, floating over the newly-empty glass. We were on to the next one. When poured, it looked every inch the session golden ale – rather than the 11% imperial brewed with oats, ginger, liquorice root and cacao, then aged over coffee beans. To be honest, it smelled very similar to opening a box of Sugar Puffs, only slightly vegetal at the same time. However, over the next few sips, the oatmeal really came through and it improved, albeit still whilst tasting breakfasty.

Abstrakt AB:09 (17.1%)
Cranachan Imperial Stout
(released April 2012)
Blonde depleted quickly, it was on to deep red. The next Abstrakt released was a monster, the 17%abv raspberry-based imperial stout. Cranachan is the wedding-friendly dessert incorporating Scotland’s most abundant fruit, alongside cream, oats and whisky. At first, there wasn’t a huge amount of fruit noticeable in AB:09 – other than on the nose – but once the sweet, boozy molasses died a little, the beer sharpened very nicely on the finish. Another one well aged (2:1 so far).

Abstrakt AB:10 (11.5%)
Red Wine-aged Imperial Brown
(released June 2012)
Left for 6-8 months in sweet, sherry-like red wine casks, number 10 was, in a word, sublime. The nose was just incredible – soft, sweet, juicy and with a background hum of alcohol. Extremely porty, in every respect. According to Jonny, the brown ale was brewed to be very bitter to compensate for the expected sweet pickup – and as a result, everything has married together beautifully. My standout of the night, and an Abstrakt almost on a par with AB:04.

Abstrakt AB:11 (12.8%)
Black Barley Wine
(released September 2012)
Tastings being what they are, there’s no time to linger over a passed love – it’s time to get back into the saddle and move forward. As a style, ‘black barley wine’ sounds completely ridiculous, but AB:11 was infused with ginger, chipotle and raspberries to make it even more outré. Again, it had a fantastic aroma – ageing these releases doesn’t half produce some fantastic combinations. Ginger and earthy chilli smoke. Tastewise, it was exactly like eating a chocolate-covered piece of candied ginger. A delight (4:1 now, scorewise)

Abstrakt AB:12 (11.2%)
Oak-aged Black Belgian IPA
(released December 2012)
The most recent Abstrakt arrived just before Christmas, and is the only one still readily available. A black IPA, brewed with Belgian yeast, it’s aged in Invergordon casks with blackcurrants, blackberries, raspberries and tayberries (Scotland’s most Scottish fruit). The over-riding result for me was blackberry jam – really juicy and sweet, before the switch to bitter whisky burn on the finish. Really interesting, but (and you might already be ahead of me here) it could do with a bit longer, maybe.

I’ve heard various conspiracy theories about the Abstrakt range – and BrewDog’s barrel-ageing programme in general. Beers are ‘rescued’ by ageing, then ‘badged as something else’. They are ‘lost’ then ‘found’. Their PR and marketing is such that you can’t really be sure what is true – but then, as a company they are built on their fans not caring about the minutiae. As long as the beer is good, that’s all that matters.

And that has been the recent problem with BrewDog. It’s been a while since they made a truly stunning beer (although Cocoa Psycho has been getting rave reviews). These Abstrakt beers, though, were wonderful. Other than AB:08, all showed exactly what ageing a beer can do to the flavours. Whether you think that’s cool, a gimmick, or a con – buying a beer that time renders complete is extremely BrewDog, and very abstract.