Beer Goes Nuclear

There is an arms race underway in the beer world, and a Scottish brewery has upped the ante. BrewDog, one of the newer and badder kids on the block, has gained a reputation for shocking beer drinkers with its strange concoctions. You may remember our post on Storm, the Scottish brewery's 8%-ABV Imperial IPA aged in whiskey barrels. The beer was listed on Birreria Paradiso's menu as Islay, the foggy, windswept isle that his home to Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin–some of the most distinctly flavorful (read: peaty and smoky) scotches around.

Then there was Nanny State, which you heard about from our very own Beerspotter, a 1.1% beer brewed in response to "scathing and unrelenting criticism" of the brewer's launch of their 18%-ABV Tokyo* Imperial Stout.

Well, BrewDog is at it again, this time with what it claims is the world's strongest beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin. The new record-holder is a 32%-ABV beer that began life as an imperial stout, was aged in two different sets of whiskey barrels, and was then frozen at -20 degrees Celsius. The result is an alcoholic potion that, says the brewery, has displaced a 31%-ABV German beer as the world's most dangerous brew. It's open to interpretation, of course, whether or not Tactical Nuclear Penguin even qualifies as beer anymore. It's certainly not something you should slam back with the boys while watching Monday Night Football. But, as with Storm, we're willing to give it a go.