Today, I'm reviewing an American Amber called 5AM Saint from the brewery Brewdog.
Malts in this beer: Extra Pale, Caramalt, Munich, Crystal 150, Dark Crystal. Hops: Cascade, Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe, Ahtanum, Centennial. Yeast: Wyeast 1056 - American Ale.
5AM Red Ale is 5 malts, 5 hops and 5% abv. But that’s where the order ends.
Jump in and you’ll find berry bouncing off marmalade clashing with caramel cosying up to chocolate buzzing off spice sizzling with toast laced with lychee and colliding with biscuit.
As malty as it is hoppy. As anarchic as it is structured. Bitterness and sweetness, all neatly messed up in a triumph of pure chaos.
Brewdog was founded in 2006 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie. From April 2007 to November 2012, the brewery was located in Fraserburgh. In the fall of 2012, they moved to a new larger brewery in Ellon. It is Scotland's largest independent brewery. In 2006 they had only 2 employees and produced 105,000 liters of beer, in 2015 they produced around 13.5 million liters of beer and had 540 employees.
Late in November 2009, Brewdog presented a new beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin with 32% alcohol, which was then considered the strongest beer ever brewed. The high alcohol content had been reached by freezing distillation.
Appearance: hazy amber color with a small white head.
Smell: caramel and a little bit of hops.
Mouthfeel: medium to light body, medium carbonation.
Taste: caramel, fruity, hops, quite sweet, long bitter aftertaste.
One of my all time favorite beers. I don't know what it is, but I've always liked American Ambers and Brewdog's 5 AM Saint is one of the best out there in my opinion. I especially like the bitter aftertaste.
I'm a home brewer and I think I will try to clone this beer next. And you know what? Brewdog has released all their recipes online which makes it a lot easier! ;)
I have realized one thing though, it's really hard to find this beer in stores nowadays. Is it the same in your country?
