原创 Tactical Nuclear Penguins arrived at my office

A few days ago, I got a rather cryptic email from my freind, saying I should expect a penguin that was being shipped in from overseas, and which was shortly to arrive at the pleasure dome (my office).

This made me somewhat alarmed, because I don't have the room to take care of (another) penguin ... not since "the incident" (grin).

Now, your initial reaction may be to say "He wasn't talking about a real penguin, you plonker," but that just goes to show that you don't know my friends as well as I (be afraid, be very afraid).

Anyway, the local Fed Ex guy just came by my office (he is an aficionado of science fiction, especially Dr. Who, and we often trade books and DVDs) and presented me with a medium-sized box that turned out to carry a well-padded bottle of beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

This was a new one on me, so I girded up my loins and had a quick Google while no one was looking. It seems that Tactical Nuclear Penguin is the brainchild of a Scottish microbrewery called BrewDog. On Thursday 26 November 2009, the magicians at BrewDog set a new record by creating the strongest beer in the world. Weighing in at an ABV of 32%, Tactical Nuclear Penguin beat the previous record of 31% held by a German beer.

I further discovered that Tactical Nuclear Penguin actually starts life as a 10% imperial stout. It then spends 8 months aging in an Isle of Arran whisky cask followed by another 8 months aging in an Islay whisky cask.

After these 16 months of aging, the beer endures 21 days at "Penguin Temperatures." Alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water, so as the beer gets colder it is periodically decanted leaving the water ice and thereby creating more intense flavors and a stronger concentration of alcohol for the next phase of freezing. This process is repeated until the beer reaches 32%.

Wow! I cannot wait to try this little beauty, but I'm not going to rush things. Tactical Nuclear Penguin is obviously not something that you quaff like regular beer (quaffing is similar to drinking except that it's more boisterous and you tend to spill more on your chest). This is more of a "sipping beer" that should be enjoyed like a fine whiskey.

In a little over two weeks (as I pen these words), my friend "Little Steve" is coming over from England for a visit. Steve and I go back a long way – we first met deep in the mists of time when we were 18 at a university disco that was being held in one of the girls halls of residence. In fact, now I come to think about it, we quaffed quite a few beers that night (Ah, the cycle of life). So I think Steve and I will very much enjoy taste-testing my Tactical Nuclear Penguin (and it's not often I have occasion to say that) while reminiscing about days gone by and friends who are no longer with us...

As a follow up, I heard the Schorschbräu responded with a beer with 40% alcohol; BrewDog countered with a beer called Sink the Sink the Bismarck! with 41%; Schorschbräu replied with a Schorschbock that contains 43% alcohol; and BrewDog have again raised the bar with a super-strength creation called The End of History that comes in at 55% ABV (and you ought to see the packaging – Click here for more details).