By special request from @Beerfaff on Instagram, with my extra cans of Brewdog’s Punk IPA, ALDI’s knock-off “Anti-Establishment IPA” (which also seemed to lift the Fourpure logo in the process), and the new, hotly discussed Brewdog beer brewed specifically for ALDI (ALD IPA) that I had purchased for podcasting, I conducted a bind taste test of the three! Going in blind would not only give me a bit of a challenge and allow me to see how well my expectations matched up with the reality, but would also allow me to taste these beers with a slight bias removed by not knowing which was the Brewdog and which was the imposter. I had my husband help by pouring each of the beers into a glass while I went into another room and he arranged them in a random order with the cans/bottle hidden under a box for me to reveal which was which once my tasting completed.
(Apologies for the dirty glass! This was filmed at an Airbnb in Whitby and I didn't have my own glasses let alone beer clean glasses! Shame are you must, but this is not my usual set up, I had to roll with the punches)
To set the scene, I did two rounds of guessing – one based on looks only and another based on smell and taste. I will be honest and say that it was easy to identify which of the three was ALD IPA as it is very distinctively different in appearance than the other 2 and I’ve seen a lot of photos of it within the last few days because it’s been such a hot topic across all the forums. It almost felt like cheating as it was a freebie, but I’ll take the win all the same.
My guesses based on appearance alone (from left to right) were –
1. Anti-Establishment IPA (ALDI)
2. ALD IPA (BREWDOG)
3. Punk IPA (BREWDOG)
As mentioned, it was obvious which was the ALD IPA as it was very light in colour (almost similar to a darker white wine). It would be what I’d describe as a pale, straw colour and there was little to no head retention. There appeared to be a very small amount of carbonation bubbles moving around within the glass and it was crystal clear with no haze.
The other two – #1 & #3 – were very similar in appearance. They were both golden in appearance with #1 being slightly darker than #3. There were a fair few carbonation bubbles racing wildly around glass #1 with glass #3 having none that I could easily make out. Both were very clear in appearance where you could see straight through. The biggest difference I noticed, however, was that #1 had no head retention while #3 has had a ½ inch sliver of head resting on the top of the liquid, causing me to decide that one must be the Punk IPA. My expectation was that the true Punk IPA would be the one to have the better head on it.
I then moved on to taste and smell… My guesses changed slightly to the following –
1. Punk IPA
2. ALD IPA
3. Anti-Establishment IPA
For glass #1, the aroma was mildly fruity and floral with a hint of sweetness, but no real hoppy or grainy smell. I knew the second I tasted it that it had to be Punk IPA as it had that bitter bite you get from west coasts – which stood out as the Double Punk I had recently was all bitterness and triggered my memory to decide this must be the OG. Aside from that, there was a slight dryness in the taste and it was more hoppy in taste than in smell. I was fairly firm in my decision that this was Punk, but it would all come down to how glass number 3 tasted.
#2 was still very clearly ALD IPA in my mind and that was just proven even further as I took in the sulfuric smell that was like nothing I’ve ever experienced in any recipe variation of Punk IPA to-date. Believe that scent is what I would typically get from beers containing guava – if I’m remembering the correct fruit. #2 was lighter in taste with a taste that matched the sulfuric smell in an identical fashion. It was very clear to me that this was not aiming to replicate Punk IPA in the slightest – though I know others might disagree as their taste buds will pick it all up differently. For me personally, it wasn’t a massively pleasant taste as I’m not typically keen on guava-heavy beers. It still had a dry quality in the taste that seemed to linger and there was far less carbonation in it than expected. My decision that this was ALD was firmly set in stone.
The third glass filled with my updated guess of Anti-establishment IPA had a sweeter, maltier scent to it that carried through to the taste alongside a heavy dose of hoppiness. There was bitterness but it was more a lingering taste than the first glass (which was there from the start to the finish of each sip). There was no real floral element that I got in glass 1, but I did faintly get a nondescript fruit flavour. Also, admittedly, it did make me burpy.
Before revealing the finals, I wanted to note that I did prefer glass 1 first, then glass 3, followed in third place by glass 2. While I didn’t really find any of them sessionable for my palate as they were all almost too “meh” for me to want to casually sip on them, the only one I wouldn’t really choose to have again was option 2 and I think that was due solely to the strength of the guava smell and taste, making it unappealing to me and my personal preference of beer. It doesn’t help that my session beer preferences have suddenly become nothing lower than a 5%ABV it seems (from what point in time, I haven’t a clue), so perhaps I’d feel differently if I were earlier on in my craft beer adventures.
With the box lifted and the order revealed, the final order was …
Punk IPA
ALD IPA
Anti-Establishment IPA
I can’t pretend I wasn’t at least a little bit proud of myself and the fact that I managed to get 3 for 3 correct.
I will admit that before I tried any of the beers, I was under the impression that the ALD IPA would be attempting to be similar to Punk in the ultimate piss take from a brewery who doesn’t hold back when it comes to using their beer to express their thoughts. I didn’t look up anything about the flavour profile or any comments about ALD IPA in terms of the beer itself outside of the overall “twitter beef” and the response from Aldi (including trees that will be planted for each case sold) - all of which I’ve saved for discussion on an upcoming podcast episode of A Woman’s Brew (shameless plug, you can find us on all podcast platforms, ask Alexa to play us, or watch us on Youtube under the Love Beer Learning banner!).
What I’ve found through this blind taste test is that I was completely wrong with my gut expectation of ALD IPA and that it is completely different to Punk IPA. I can see how Anti-Establishment appears to have been an attempt to replicate Punk, where they were both similar in appearance and not too far off each other in flavour profile but I also know others would disagree and that is part of what makes individual’s taste buds so interesting. I am excited to see comparisons done by other people to see how their results varied and to find out what my co-host Joanne thinks of each of these and how they stack up to one another (with an added benefit of also having another contender or 2 added to the lineup).