There appears to be an arms race for “World’s Strongest Beer”

Way back in November, I posted about the Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a new beer by BrewDog, in Scotland, which claimed it was the world’s strongest, at 32%.

I’m afraid I have to yawn at that, now.

The Germans, you see, wanted the title — so a German brewery called Schorschbrau released a beer that has an alcoholic content that’s the same as vodka or rum. That’s right, the Schorschbock clocks in at a staggering 40%.

Not to be outdone, BrewDog has struck back — a brew called “Sink the Bismark” (clever) is described on their website as “a quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times to create at a staggering 41% ABV.”

Oh my.

I really hope that this competition is as good-natured as this video from BrewDog makes it out to be:

Of course, at 40-plus per cent, I don’t think this is a beer you buy a case of, and shotgun. No, this is a sipping beer. And I actually find it interesting to see how these two breweries are playing with the perception of beer, and “distilling” it down to its essence.

(Oh, and good news: Beer apparently is good for your bones.)