If you are not into home brewing beer, then we have good news for you. At least 400 bottles of a notorious, 32% alcohol by volume Scottish beer are headed for your shores. The subtly-named stout, Tactical Nuclear Penguin, will be sold in New York and California. You will be able to find it at, oddly enough for a company with a healthier-than-thou reputation, select locations of Whole Foods.
The Tactical Nuclear Penguin line was launched last November by Scotland’s BrewDog, and roundly criticized for for its alcohol content.
It had a brief reign as the world’s most potent beer, until another European company released Schrosch Bock, with a terrifying 40% concentration. Of course, BrewDog couldn’t let this insult to Scottish pride stand, and quickly released Sink the Bismarck!, an even-more-leg-wobbling 41%. ( Running £40 it can only be bought directly from BrewDog.)
Tactical Nuclear Penguin takes its name from BrewDog’s controlled process, given as:
“For the big chill the beer was put into containers and transported to the cold store of a local ice cream factory where it endured 21 days at penguin temperatures. Alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water. As the beer got colder BrewDog Chief Engineer, Steven Sutherland decanted the beer periodically, only ice was left in the container, creating more intensity of flavours and a stronger concentration of alcohol for the next phase of freezing. The process was repeated until it reached 32%.”
Time Magazine pontificates
“Even if these brands end up being carried by more bars and retailers, [some] firmly believe[s] that the beer’s high price will prohibit unsophisticated drinkers (read: high school kids at a kegger, or college students on spring break) from just picking up the stuff and chugging it. But you can’t deny that if the beer becomes more widely available in stores, or other brewers mimic BrewDog’s strategy, it could become hazardous. Since most drinkers don’t check alcohol levels on the label like the expiration dates on a milk carton, some unsuspecting soul with too much money to spare could sip a little too much strong stuff.”
Here are some frequently asked items of interest about beer:
How do they make beer? With hops, barley and lots of love.
Can you do it at home? Yep, It’s not easy but is pretty straightforward.
Who first came across beer? At over 10,000 years old, beer has been with us a long time. While the exact inventor is lost in the mists of history, scientists have determined that Noah loaded beer on the Ark! Even our founding fathers quaffed a few( have you read anything about John Adams?)
Uh,number of calories in a brew? Not small - It can range anywhere form 100 to 400 calories – that’s quite a workout to get rid of them!
What total percentage alcohol is in a beer? Depends on the beer – do you have to ask?
The alcohol stays with you for, uh, how long (not that I’m driving, of course)? On average from 6 – 10 hours.
Which beer has the largest alcohol content? Tactical Nuclear Penguin by BrewDog Brewery in Scotland. Sip carefully (although this was surpassed in February by a beer known as “Sink the Bismarck” also from BrewDog.)
How many beers are in a keg? Somewhere around of 165 beers in the keg ( with standard 12 ounce cans as a measure).
Which country puts down the most beer? Texas? Actually, we found that the Czech Republic consumes 156 liters of beer per capita, far more than any other country, but closely followed by Ireland and Germany.
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This post was written by wine on April 16, 2010
