Breakfast Beer Tasting: Brewdog Galaxy

This is the second in Brewdog’s series of IPA is Dead single hop beers. As all the basics remain the same as the first beer, I’ll skip right into the review. Galaxy is an Australian hop that is a relative newcomer to these shores. It’s got strong characteristics that when added late in the boil produces a Citra like effect, but with more passion fruit. It’s certainly been put to good use by some brewers, but what’s it like on its own?

It poured amber with little carbonation and a small off-white head. The aroma was pine resinous heavy with a little tropical fruit peeking through. The mouthfeel was quite heavy; with pine and a lot of astringent bitterness. If Motueka tickled your tongue and cleansed the palate, then this battered it into submission.

This was quite disappointing. The malt backbone was totally swamped and this tasted for what it was: an experimental IPA. Astringency on this level makes for more difficult drinking than one should expect. Interesting, but not great for a single hop IPA and clearly second division when compared to Motueka.