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Whether you’re a fan of the brand or not, it’s hard to deny that Brewdog produces great beers. So how would its alcohol-free offering measure up? Non-alcoholic porter or stout is a field I’d desperately like to see executed with greater success, because it’s one of the niches that is most often glossed over, even among breweries that have demonstrated an interest in N/A beer. Perhaps this is because they believe consumers expect an even fuller body in porter and stout than they would in other styles, or a higher level of residual sweetness—particularly at a time when pastry stout has come to be so intimately associated with the term “stout” in general. Those aspects may make it even more difficult to make effective non-alcoholic stout than with other styles, but as time passes we’re seeing a few more attempts at N/A dark beers. I’m hoping that trend will continue. complex malt profile that combines notes of dark, toasty, roasty, caramel and rye like flavours. (If you have had the Brune DMC I reviewed over here a little while ago you’ll recognise a few similarities here) Nanny State pours like a standard ale with a good head. But it’s more ruby in colour than your classic pale ale. Please note: BrewDog recommends that you only drink this beer whilst wearing the necessary personal protective equipment and in a premises that has passed a full health and safety risk assessment for optimum enjoyment.
The taste of the beer doesn’t quite live up to the smell, though. Taking a sip, I get a burst of intense bitterness – and not too much else. I was expecting more of a citrus flavour from the hops, but it seems like the bitterness has swamped it. So their heart is in the right place when it comes to providing great options for low and no alcohol free beer. Great – but what we really need to know is what it tastes like, right? There’s no denying it—Britain is a nation of beer lovers. The beverage has been brewed for centuries and shows no sign of losing its appeal, and with both multi-national corporations and smaller establishments offering a huge variety of British beers and ales you’re certainly not short of options. In your glass, you’re going to find an amber-brown coloured brew with a slightly red tinge to it. Colour is largely dictated by malt profile and in this case, the use of darker profiled malts like Dark Crystal, Chocolate and to an extent Amber and Rye all give a higher Lovibond and in turn darker profile. Yet, it’s still a decent drop. And because it’s likely to be available through Brewdog’s current sales channels, it will make a nice option when faced with limited alcohol-free choices in supermarkets and pubs. Punk AF versus Nanny State
Often, when I review a drink like this, it is one from a smaller brewery, or one that has just been released. However, with this drink, you don’t just have to take my (highly trained and professional) word for it. Nanny State has regularly polled at the top of non or low alcohol free beer top 10 lists, and it is not hard to see why. It’s a great drink, and one of the pioneers for the industry in this country. It is made with 5 types of hops and 8 different types of malts – the idea of this is to give it as full a body as possible, and that is definitely apparent, even from just pouring it into a glass. They have helpfully given us the IBU rating, which is 45. For the uninitiated, this is the International Bitterness Scale, and a rating of 45 puts it towards the bitter end of the most common section of the scale. One element of the punk ideology Brewdog definitely does embrace is non-conformity. Raising much of its capital through crowdfunding rather than bank loans, Brewdog built its business on brewing mid-ABV American-style craft beers when it seemed like every other brewery in the UK was producing only traditional cask ales.
It’s the malts that come to the fore in the taste assisted by herby, grassy and mango flavours. There’s a dash of bitterness, which is all it needs.Brewdog’s “Nanny State” is a low-alcohol (0.5%) pale ale with malty and plummy flavours and a tropical aroma. Read this review to find out what it’s like. There’s also info on calories and where to buy it. You’ve probably guessed that this is going to taste hoppy, and it is, almost excessively so. I say ‘almost’ because BrewDog have done a great job of blending the flavours they’ve used. It’s still very bitter, and I know will not be to everyone’s taste. Rather sharp pine seems to dominate the taste, with malt not really making an appearance, except for a slight teasing of coffee/chocolate. Brewdog is almost as famous for its controversial marketing stunts as its beer. It’s apt then that its alcohol free offering, “Nanny State”, began life as a response to the hysteria that surrounded the launch of its 18.2% ABV beer “Tokyo” in 2009. Two men. One Dog & a mission to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as they were are is how it all started. A full flavoured craft beer at 0.5% ABV
bright and vibrant carbonation that puts up a bit of a wall between the malty base and the hop-driven body Some might even say that partnering with multinational supermarkets and Wetherspoon pubs goes against the punk ethos. Then again, it’s not like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols only sell their music in independent record stores. I’m sure you’ve heard of BrewDog – they exploded onto the scene in 2007, and by the end of 2008 they had already become the largest independent brewery in Scotland. Their rise has been intrinsically linked to the rise of ‘craft’ beer – they have been at the forefront of the widespread availability of this new genre of beer, with their flagship product Punk IPA becoming one of the most widely recognised beers of its type. Since then, hundreds more non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers have come into the market. Now Brewdog’s adding to that list with its third alcohol-free beer, a 0.5% version of its flagship IPA, “Punk”. How Punk AF is made You may have noticed that I have often referred to ‘low or no alcohol beers’ in this article – that is because Nanny State has the official rating of 0.5% abv. While this, obviously, isn’t alcohol free, it should be viewed in context. A ripe banana contains around the same amount of alcohol.
Key info – Brewdog Nanny State
We’ve officially hit the time of year when beer and spirits writers are now bombarded with samples and press releases about non-alcoholic and low-alcohol offerings, and for me it comes at a fortuitous time.
Rather than remove the alcohol after fermentation, Brewdog produce a wort that’s low in fermentable sugars to make its Nanny State beer. And it looks like that’s what they done with Punk AF. The contrast between the light and sweet fruity notes, with the harsher bitter and malty aftertaste really balances perfectly. You end up with a wonderfully refreshing drink, but a sophisticated one – it is made for people that love ‘craft’ beers, and I think it would satisfy even the most fussy of craft beer drinkers. Nanny State is an ale with the flavour of an IPA. It probably started out as a ‘joke’ beer, but BrewDog have refined it into something that is drinkable, though I can think of at least a few people who would turn their noses up at it. I find it refreshing, and at about 20 calories per can I don’t feel guilty for downing a few of these in an evening. Buy BrewDog Nanny State One of the problems with Scottish brewery Brewdog’s “punk” ethos is it keeps doing stuff that’s, well, just not really very punky. The aroma – and the hype – behind Punk AF promised so much. But, despite that gorgeous and varied aroma, it falls a bit flat.
Verdict
Plenty of work went into making this beer – a lot of tinkering and experimentation to get it to what it is today. While it worked perfectly as such, they do not see Nanny State as simply a publicity stunt – they care about offering people low or no alcohol alternatives. They have even opened an alcohol free bar in Old Street. Nanny State Taste Test This leads to Wake Up Call perhaps ultimately reading more like “iced coffee” than it does coffee stout, per se, which isn’t such a bad thing for a non-alcoholic beer. It might not specifically scratch the “stout” itch, if that’s what you’re craving, but it certainly delivers on the coffee. Unlike these other beers, this might be one I’d be reaching for not when I really wanted a stout, but when I wanted a twist on iced coffee. Overall, the taste is nicely balanced yet feels like it’s missing a vital element and ends up a little flavourless and watery. Verdict
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