Beer of the Week – BrewDog Kingpin

It’s time for the twenty-seventh recommendation in my series of weekly beers to seek out from Scottish producers that may be flying under the radar (the beers, that is, not the breweries). Each and every Friday throughout 2017 I’ll be shining a spotlight on a particular beer that if you’ve not had the pleasure of trying, you really should – just to see what all the fuss should be about.

This time around, it’s a beer from BrewDog – now full disclosure, I work for them – but I figured you can’t run down any list that includes all Scottish breweries without considering them, whatever that list is concerning. And when it comes to unsung beers, stepping back and looking at it objectively, one in particular is enormously under-rated. If hop-forward beers are BrewDog’s bread and butter, it is their lager Kingpin that deserves more acclaim.

27. Kingpin (4.7%)
BrewDog, Ellon
Style: Pilsner
330 ml can

Pick it up here:
At from BrewDog’s online shop (as individual 330ml cans)
At from BrewDog’s online shop (as individual 330ml bottles)

As far as I’m concerned, there are two truly great lagers that can be found north of the border – Tempest’s Easy Livin’ Pils (as previously featured) and BrewDog Kingpin. The latter is pretty much the perfect fridge-beer, with a classic grassy, slightly herbal and biscuity flavour coming through from both the malt and the Magnum and Perle hops used. There’s a slight bitterness on the finish – overall Kingpin is the ideal go-to beer and one that deserves to be considered when discussing the very best lagers in the country. It really is that good.

Beer of the Week Series:
1. Fyne Ales Highlander
2. Swannay Old Norway
3. Broughton Old Jock
4. Traquair House Ale
5. Tempest Easy Livin Pils
6. Cromarty Brewed Awakening
7. Fallen Chew Chew
8. Black Isle Hibernator
9. Isle of Skye Red
10. Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer’s Reserve
11. Orkney Skull Splitter
12. Windswept Wolf
13. Kelburn Dark Moor
14. Alechemy 5ive Sisters
15. Loch Ness Light Ness
16. St Andrews Eighty Bob
17. Harviestoun The Ridge
18. Orkney Dark Island
19. Williams Bros Seven Giraffes
20. Cairngorm Black Gold
21. Strathaven Craigmill Mild
22. Black Isle Red Kite
23. Spey Valley Spey Stout
24. Top Out Schmankerl
25. Cross Borders Braw
26. Williams Bros Midnight Sun