For what happened last time round – Fanzine, the thirteenth edition
BREAKING NEWS: Fanzine is changing to a monthly subscription. Personally, I’m quite happy about this for the following reasons:
- I have enough beer already – my fortnight delivery is forcing me to put other new brews aside!
- Hopefully it will allow BrewDog longer planning and production times, so there will be less “versions” of previous beers – I want variability in this subscription box.
- £11 for a subscription is a reasonable cost, but £22 a month adds up quickly over time!
All 330mls, the latest set of Fanzine beers were as follows:
- Totem
- Straight Up
- Dogtoberfest
Mandatory “Totem” Facts
- Untappd Rating: 3.6 (at time of writing)
- ABV: 7.3%
- IBU: 45
- Style: Red Ale
- Tagline: Imperial Red Ale
- Descriptive Comment: Take pole position
Another novel design, atypical of the usual Fanzine cans, which truly reflected the name “Totem”. I was expecting this to be a “rebrew” (i.e. a returning favourite), but I couldn’t find it whilst searching the internet, so it appears to be new! It poured a deep red colour with a slim, tan foam head, giving off a slight caramel aroma. It had moderate carbonation and a wonderful malt base, which turned into a sharp resinous note. There was a light finish with a hint of toffee and surprisingly little bitterness. The alcohol strength was subtle, not overwhelming the delicate flavours present.
Diagnosis: 4.0/5. “Totem” is a great resinous red ale, with far more pine than I’ve become accustomed to within this variety, though it’s certainly a flavour I desire in beer.
Mandatory “Straight Up” Facts
- Untappd Rating: 3.46 (at time of writing)
- ABV: 6.5%
- IBU: 65
- Style: IPA
- Tagline: Single Hop Antanuum IPA
- Descriptive Comment: Unadultered hops
This was the lightest, but haziest of all the beers poured; I really liked using a beer flight for a direct comparison. I got the inspiration for this following this year’s #Collabfest2018. The beer itself had a moderate white foam head, with the main aroma of grapefruit. The flavour was subtle with a sharp foretaste. It was quite a hop-driven beer, with some pine notes too.
Diagnosis: 3.25/5. “Straight Up” is a very drinkable beer, though if I never see it outside of this Fanzine box, then I wouldn’t miss it… Whilst I don’t mind this beer, I think the intensity needs to be turned up: something that I don’t often say about BrewDog’s beers!
Mandatory “Dogtoberfest” Facts
- Untappd Rating: 3.36 (at time of writing)
- ABV: 5.3%
- IBU: 25
- Style: Lager
- Tagline: Märzen-Style Lager
- Descriptive comment: Vorsprung durch Geschmack (Leading through flavour)
A can celebrating the world’s largest Volksfest… hardly a surprise that it occurs during beers’ greatest month, October. This poured a bit darker than “Straight Up”, though was remarkably transparent. It smelled of a really sweet malt base. It did taste a little artificially sweet initially, but this evolved into a malt backbone. As would be expected from a lager, it was light and smooth, with a slight crispness. There was little bitterness and it finished cleanly.
Diagnosis: 3.0/5. “Dogtoberfest” comes across artificial initially but is certainly drinkable. Again, another that I would willingly consume, but not seek out.
Box Rating: 3.41/5
Fanzine Rating to Date: 3.44/5
Do you want to join the Fanzine experience AND want a £10 voucher for the BrewDog website? The sign up to via the link below, select referred by a friend, and use “Dr Beer” in the referral section! The associated email is: thebeerbloguk@mail.com
For more Fanzine stories, hit here to see the complete journey to date.
This fanzine was sampled on the “Drinkstuff” beer flight: a thin wooden palate that comes with three 1/3 beer glasses. The board held the glasses securely and it was great being able to compare all of the Fanzine beers at the same time. Although it functioned well, I personally prefer other styles of glasses in comparison to these mini pint-style glasses, but I appreciate that there are limitations when it comes to designing what will fit within a flight board.
Is it something I’ll use often? Probably not, but if friends are over and a few beers are being sampled at once, then this will do the trick!
If you want to get your hands on the beer flight, head over to Drink Stuff’s fesitval range for this and many other beer items.
Diagnosis: 3.75/5. Drinkstuff’s beer flight has stackable glasses and a thin board, preventing this novel server from taking up too much room at home. Does as advertised, but the design is slightly boring in my opinion.
