BrewDog Paradox Grain (Batch 013)

Brewed by BrewDog
Style: Imperial Stout
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

330 ml bottle shared by Enniskillen! BB 2 2 2010. Nose is chocolate and scotch with a touch of roastiness. Clear very dark brown with a very small beige head. Flavor of chocolate, bourbonyy alcohol, and very light bitterness in the finish.

Pours a thin, but dark coca cola body, no head. The aroma is slight roast and some coffee. The flavor is somewhat watery - but still good. Notes of coffee, caramel, and roast. No trace of alcohol, arguably a man’s man’s session beer.

Black with a thin tan head. Aroma is light smoke, chocolate, roasty, toffee, alcohol. Taste is toffee, light caramel, alcohol, scotch, light chocolate, roastiness. NICE!

Bottle at KØ09. Mild coffee aroma, hint of smoke. Black colour, seems hazy. The flavour is roasted, vinous. Mild coffee, sweet liquorice. Mild carbonation.

Another charcoal color brew that produces a pancake head that slides down swiftly to nada. Smells a bit sour. Medium full nectar with soft carbonation. German chocolate cake comes to mind with the cocoa and coconut essence. A mild roast component is appreciated. Tastes more like Cognac. A warming brew with not unusual attributes.

Darker brown with a grasty, grainy aroma that feaures some light roast and chocolate. Flavor is roasty, grainy, and lightly coated with chocolate. Below average for a brewdog stout IMHO.

Bottle. Pours dark raw umber with a very, very feint buff head. There seems to be minimal carbonation. Swirling will create a somewhat lasting fine layer. The aroma is very malty with strong hints of bourbon, wood, and some light smokiness. The initial flavour is of oak with some whiskey, cocoa, and some smoky notes. As the brew sits on the tongue, the whiskey notes strengthen along with the smoke and cocoa, but doesn’t become overpoweringly strong. It’s well-rounded. Molasses creates some light sweetness. Vanilla starts to emerge. As the brew passes, the whiskey flavours strengthen even more bringing the vanilla with it. A light bitterness strikes emphasizing the more abrasive qualities of unsweetened cocoa and thus subduing the molasses sweetness. Smoky notes become slightly more apparent and brings more of the oak to light. The finish is smooth with the bitterness suppressed, but still noticeable and rather long-lasting. Malt is very prominent with bourbon and vanilla following close behind. Molasses becomes more apparent and highlights the smoother qualities of the cocoa. One thing I don’t mention in this review up until now is the coffee flavour. The reason is that while the other flavours fluctuate during the experience, the coffee flavour stays constant. It’s very noticeable but not at all overpowering. And towards the very finish, while the other flavours fade, coffee persists.
This is very, very good. Though, the only problem I have is that this doesn’t seem to be too viscous and the flavour isn’t quite the intense blast to the taste buds that I would normally expect from an Imperial Stout. However, while more subdued than I would generally like, it’s quite flavourful.

Sampled via 330 ml bottle during Dark Lord Day ’09 at table 1 and shared by cgarvieuk. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a thin beige head that quickly dissolves to a thin off-white ring. Aroma of toasted dark malt, some cocoa, coffee, a hint of whiskey, and a touch of vanilla. Taste is smooth, thick, some carbonation with flavors of toasted dark malt, chocolate, sweet dates and coffee. Finish is smooth, with a slight whiskey aftertaste and dark toasted malt flavor.