About a year ago I posted about BrewDog’s ‘IPA is dead’ pack with four single hop IPAs. This year, I think in April, a second batch was released with four new and different ones. While last year focused on hops regularly used in England, this year they went for more extreme varieties from across the globe.

I hope they’ll continue doing this or start looking into other comparisons, maybe to change nothing the kind of barley they used to brew their IPA.

HBC
On the nose it doesn’t have that much maltiness but there is a coriander like crispness, maybe even slightly minty. The palate is really gentle and fresh, with some lemon. I do find this one a bit middle of the road. It can handle a bit more hops I think.

Challenger
A bit fuller and more thick than the other ones. The hops are less crisp and that allows for the grains to come through more powerfully. It does have a more herbal flavour than the others.

Galaxy
This is rather crisp one with lots of cereal and passionfruit. In a way it reminds me of Trashy Blonde. Some potato crisps and lime with a heavy undertone. The finish is a bit more crisp than the palate again. A bit reminiscent of the Farmhouse IPA by Flying Dog.

Motueka
This one is a little bit more bitter than the Galaxy, and a tad more sharp. Almost coriander like. You, of course, have to look into the details to find the differences. This one’s more like Punk IPA than the Farmhouse.

The differences are smaller in this pack than in last year’s, in my opinion. All four are pretty solid beers and maybe I should rate them all 4 stars to display the consistency, but you have to make differences clear in some way, right?