Sink the Bismarck! from BrewDog on Vimeo.
Scotland's Brewdog brewery made headlines early this year with Sink The Bismarck!, a 41-percent ABV quadruple IPA that surpassed German brewery Schorschbrau's 40-percent ABV Schorsbock 40% as the world's strongest beer.
Schorsbock 40% had earlier one-upped Brewdog's 32-percent ABV Tactical Nuclear Penguin as the world's most alcoholic of beers, which explains the bellicose name of Brewdog's 41-percenter.
Since then, Brewdog surpassed its own record with The End Of History, a 55-percent blond Belgian-style ale limited to a run of just 12 bottles, 11 of which were sold (for hundreds of dollars) in stuffed rodents -- as if to mock any buyer who would make the mistake of taking the beer seriously, no matter the cost.
Unlike Samuel Adams Utopias, a version of which once claimed the World's Strongest Beer title, Brewdog and Schorsbrau both achieved their high ABVs through the eisbock or ice distillation method, which involves exposing the beer to sub-freezing temperatures and removing the frozen water, thus concentrating the alcohol and flavor.
Like Utopias, though, these extreme beers are rare and expensive. Luckily for those beer drinkers who have both the curiosity and the expendable income to try them, Brewdog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Bismarck! are both available at stores in Dallas as well as at tastings in Dallas -- including one tonight.
Beginning at 5 p.m. today, The Common Table offers a $45 tasting that includes a 1.25 oz pour of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 1.25 oz pour of Sink The Bismarck! and a 10 oz. pour of Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 10 -- another hard-to-find and extremely strong beer.
If you can wait until New Year's Eve (or if you like it so much that you want to have it again), the Meddlesome Moth is offering a $65 four-course prix fixe dinner with beer or wine pairings culminating in an optional grand finale of Sink The Bismarck! ($16 per oz) or Tactical Nuclear Penguin ($12 per oz).
Or if you just want to buy a bottle and try it on your own time, liquor store chain Sigel's is selling both, with 24 bottles (12 of each) divided among the Elite, Addison, Richardson and Greenville Avenue locations. As of this afternoon, five of Bismarck and seven of Penguin were still available, though which stores had how many which was unclear so it would be wise to call before making a trip.
