Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: arcade games, entertainment, Galaga, Tokyo* Intergalactic Fantastic Oak Aged Stout

Booze Geek – Tokyo Intergalactic Fantastic Oak Aged Stout And Arcade Games

Published Sat, 14 Feb 2015 16:00:00 -0600

by Hannah Means Shannon

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By Dylan Gonzalez

Beer: Tokyo* Intergalactic Fantastic Oak Aged Stout

Brewery: BrewDog

ABV: 18.2%

Well, this beer beat me. Oy…

Okay, let's get onto the review.

Tokyo* poured a pitch black body and created a medium head that dissipated pretty quickly. It did leave behind a thick ring of lacing. The stout gave off notes of chocolate and coffee, as well as candied dark fruit. The label says that it was brewed with cranberries and jasmine and the cranberries are very prominent.

When I drank it, right off the bat I noticed the cranberries. They gave Tokyo* a tartness that blended well with the chocolate, malt and syrup characters. To be perfectly honest, I felt like I was drinking a barley wine or Belgian quad more so than a stout with these qualities. I did not detect much, if any, jasmine. If it was in there, it was overpowered by the other flavors. It ended on a nice, roasted finish. It felt thick like oil on my palate and there was little carbonation.

If you like big flavored beers, then I strongly suggest seeking out Tokyo*. At 18.2%, this beer also knocked the crap out of me. It was distinctive from many other stouts I have had, the cranberry making it very notable.

What to Drink This To:

According to the label, Tokyo* is inspired by a 1980's arcade game from the capital of Japan. When I was a kid, despite the advent of home videogame consoles, we still loved going to arcades. Usually, we went for birthday parties or my dad would take me. We would get hooked up with $10 or $20 worth of tokens or quarters or go crazy.

If my dad was there, he could usually be found at Pac-Man or Galaga. The big arcade stands, with the big fake guns or the steering wheels drew us in like flies (I was a particular sucker for the Star Wars arcade game), but my father always zeroed in on that retro booth. Eventually, I was drawn in for a few rounds of Galaga and I just kept feeding the machine tokens, because it was so hard but so addicting.

If you can hunt down an arcade, go for it. Eat the $20 (or however much you want to spend) and enjoy the satisfying frustration of dying before the last boss. And enjoy Tokyo* when you get back because you might need to unwind.

Dylan Gonzalez happens to love beer and comic books and luckily found a place to write about both because he has no idea how to actually make money in the real world. He lives in a cave in New Jersey. Tweet him at @BeardedPickle, follow his own beer blog at http://boozegeek.tumblr.com/ or email him at dylan.gonzalez1990@gmail.com.

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