BEER COMPARISON

Matuška Raptor IPAvsBrewDog Punk IPA

THE HOPIQ TAKE

Czech craft versus Scottish craft — this is the comparison for IPA drinkers who suspect there's something interesting happening in Central Europe that they might be missing. Matuška Raptor is harder to find, higher ABV, more aggressive on the bitterness. Punk IPA is the one everyone knows, consistent, tropical, excellent value. If you stumble across Raptor, order it — it's one of the great Central European IPAs and it's doing something different with American hops than the Anglo-American schools of thought. But if Raptor isn't available, Punk is never a consolation prize.

SIDE BY SIDE

	Matuška Raptor IPA	BrewDog Punk IPA
ABV	6.4%	5.6%
IBU	55	35
Colour	Golden amber, SRM 8	Golden amber, SRM 7
Finish	Resinous, assertive, very bitter	Tropical, citrus, clean bitter
Brewery	Pivovar Matuška	BrewDog

FLAVOUR PROFILE

Matuška Raptor IPA

Bitterness72

Sweetness28

Body52

Carbonation60

Aroma80

BrewDog Punk IPA

Bitterness52

Sweetness32

Body45

Carbonation62

Aroma82

TASTING NOTES

Matuška Raptor IPA

From Broumy, a small village west of Prague, and this Czech provenance shows. The hop aroma is intense — tropical fruit, citrus peel, pine resin all fighting for attention and all winning. The bitterness is assertive from the first sip and builds throughout; at 55 IBU it means business. The malt is there to support, not compete — a clean, neutral base that lets the hops perform. The finish is long, resinous, and drying. A beer that makes Punk IPA feel like a warm-up.

BrewDog Punk IPA

The one everyone knows and keeps coming back to for good reason. Tropical, citrusy, clean. The bitterness is present but well-integrated — aggressive enough to satisfy IPA drinkers, accessible enough not to scare everyone else. Lower ABV than Raptor, which makes it more session-appropriate. The consistency is remarkable given the volume brewed. Still one of the best mass-market craft IPAs in the world.

WHEN TO CHOOSE WHICH

Choose Matuška Raptor IPA when…

→You want the most expressive, aggressive hop experience of the two
→You've found a bottle of Raptor and should absolutely not miss the opportunity
→Food pairing with intensely spiced food where the bitterness stands its ground
→You want to see what Czech craft brewing is doing with American hop varieties

Choose BrewDog Punk IPA when…

→Reliability and availability — Punk is everywhere, consistent, good value
→Lower ABV session — 5.6% vs 6.4% matters across a long evening
→Introducing someone to IPA — Punk is more accessible on the bitterness scale
→You want the tropical character rather than the resinous-bitter style

Matuška Raptor IPAvsBrewDog Punk IPA

THE HOPIQ TAKE

SIDE BY SIDE

	Matuška Raptor IPA	BrewDog Punk IPA
ABV	6.4%	5.6%
IBU	55	35
Colour	Golden amber, SRM 8	Golden amber, SRM 7
Finish	Resinous, assertive, very bitter	Tropical, citrus, clean bitter
Brewery	Pivovar Matuška	BrewDog

FLAVOUR PROFILE

Matuška Raptor IPA

Bitterness72

Sweetness28

Body52

Carbonation60

Aroma80

BrewDog Punk IPA

Bitterness52

Sweetness32

Body45

Carbonation62

Aroma82

TASTING NOTES

Matuška Raptor IPA

BrewDog Punk IPA

WHEN TO CHOOSE WHICH

Choose Matuška Raptor IPA when…

→You want the most expressive, aggressive hop experience of the two
→You've found a bottle of Raptor and should absolutely not miss the opportunity
→Food pairing with intensely spiced food where the bitterness stands its ground
→You want to see what Czech craft brewing is doing with American hop varieties

Choose BrewDog Punk IPA when…

→Reliability and availability — Punk is everywhere, consistent, good value
→Lower ABV session — 5.6% vs 6.4% matters across a long evening
→Introducing someone to IPA — Punk is more accessible on the bitterness scale
→You want the tropical character rather than the resinous-bitter style