Stormy Tropic Thunder

Since my last blog post on Waitrose and Thornbridge’s Home Brew of 2016 I discovered that Tesco had also collaborated with a large brewery to run a similar competition. BrewDog founders, James and Martin first made success by entering a competition run by Tesco in 2008. It seemed only fitting that they would collaborate to run the HomeBrewDog Competition which awarded the 2016 title to Tropic Thunder by Tom Doyle. 

This 7% stout boasts that it has orange peel added to the final boil to give it a tropical flavour and on the first pour I was struck by the sweet smell of orange which instantly made me want to taste it. This beer certainly delivers on the orange peel as the first tasting notes are that of the tangy citrus fruit. Quickly the coffee and bitter dark chocolate flavours come in that are typical of a good stout and the hint of malty toffee helps smooth out the finish. The tasting notes on the label mention hints of liquorice however I couldn't really detect it as I think that the other flavours are so powerful that it perhaps gets a little lost. For my personal taste I would have liked the orange to last a bit longer, particularly as it is headlined on the front of the bottle.

This is quite a light and easy drinking stout of all the types I have tried before. Being a fan of a milk stout which can be quite decadent it was nice to try something with a thinner mouthfeel that still delivers on flavour. I could see this stout being a nice after dinner drink without worrying about it feeling too heavy on the stomach. 

After trying the Thornbridge/Waitrose winner Raindrops on Roses and HomeBrewDog’s Tropic Thunder I noticed how very contrasting the styles are. Raindrops on Roses was very quirky and had quite a complex flavour profile. Tropic Thunder feels like it has taken a much more traditional approach to the flavours used and because of this they compliment each other well. I think its great that large breweries are offering opportunities for budding home brewers and will continue to support them by buying their beers!