BrewDog have finally, after much pestering, re-released Chaos Theory for a limited summer run and I picked up my order earlier today. I drank a lot of it last year and considered it to be the best beer that BrewDog made, at that point. It was just a riot of tropical fruit with a great bitterness and just seriously drinkable, I really wanted to see if it was as good as last years.
I popped the crown cap off and without waiting shoved my nose into the top of the bottle. I couldn’t wait until I’d poured it into a glass to smell the aroma I’ve been waiting months for. It poured a copper colour with a large easily formed fluffy white head, the head didn’t last though and dropped to a covering.
It’s funny, but I was expecting more, just more aroma, more taste, everything just seemed, different. There’s an upfront bitterness, but there appeared to be a big malty component initially as well, I can’t remember that from last year. It’s strange though, just as I’m half way down the glass and loosing hope, it changes.
There’s suddenly more fruitiness to the taste, less of the maltiness, it appears to be more alive. It’s still not what I remember, where have all the lychees and mangoes gone, but as I get to the end of my second bottle, I’m starting to quite like it. There’s a subtle grapefruit thing going on and a slight soapiness that I’ve seen in Amarillo heavy beers.
I know that hops vary from year to year and that BrewDog may very well have had to adjust the recipe since they last brewed it, but I can’t help but feel a bit deflated. I’ve got another ten bottles to try, but I’m not going to rush through them, just in case they improve a little. Am I glad it’s back? Yes, but it’s not the same as it was before…
BrewDog
- Chaos Theory, 7.1%, 330ml
“It’s funny, but I was expecting more, just more aroma, more taste, ”
The more the hype (and there’s been ALOT) the bigger the disappointmets. However if BrewDog have been responsible for one thing its getting beer noticed again AND by younger people.
It’s not really about hype though, I’ve been pestering BrewDog for ages to make more Chaos Theory. The disappointment is due to it not living up to my memories of last years version, which was all tropical fruit. There wasn’t any of the lychee and mango fruit salad of last year in the two bottles I’ve had so far.