It’s back to BrewDog for me today – a place I’m always very happy to go! Tonight I’m drinking their 7.2% ABV seasonal Christmas IPA offering, Hoppy Christmas (also known as Voodoo Doll in Scandinavia, although I have no idea why, I don’t think they’ve got anything against Christmas).

This IPA pours amber with a red hue, and with a thick white head that lasted a fair amount of time. It’s quite gently carbonated.

It smells fairly hoppy, and very fruity. It’s single hopped with Simcoe, so that’s all you’re getting. I don’t think I’ve come across a Simcoe single-hopped beer before, but Google tells me there are a couple at least. I’ll be keeping an eye out for others.

The taste is as you’d expect from the smell, some hops, lots of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango) – not exactly festive flavours, but I don’t like to argue at Christmas time. It’s fairly bitter, and very enjoyable for a punchy 7.2% ABV.

The bottle implies it’s suitable for vegans too, although the BrewDog site doesn’t seem to make anything of this like they do for some of their other beers.

As is BrewDog’s standard, they’ve produced something a bit different, full of flavour, and very drinkable. It may only be November, but I’m all for getting in the Christmas spirit early!