BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 001)

Formerly brewed at BrewDog
Style: Imperial Stout
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Bottle. Body-still cola body. Nose-light bourbon, wheaty, malty, grassy, flat hops. Taste-BBQ meat, bacon, smoke, tastes like Woody’s Smokehouse in Centerville, Texas, sausage. I have never had a beer with this much smoked meat flavor, salt, watered down scotch, smoked rye, just a touch of metal. The ,eat/smoke is done very well. A very well made enjoyable beer. Almost perfectly done, even though my score may not reflect that.

Bottle, as #006. A beautiful looking beer, black and clear-looking, topped by a tan head. Licorice, smoke and peat dominates the aroma, but also the alcohol is quite evident. Peatish flavor with salty licorice, smoke and a coffee-like bitterness. Full-bodied, still with an almost watery feeling. The finish lasts forever, with the same flavors found initially. Are there some bandaid too? A lovely beer, dangerously easy to drink. (081128)

Bouteille de 330 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Légère odeur de café, de petits fruits et de vernis. Apparence: La couleur est noire opaque. Présence d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Léger goût de fruits et de venirs. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est mince avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de vernis en arrière goût. (Rating #2170)

Pours black with some white head, there is much dot lace later. Aroma is crate woody, with some roast and whiskey. Taste is woody first, chocolate and whiskey secondary. Yeast and coffee and chocolate add some thickening. Good though overrated, I could get a bomber of a great RIS from the USA or Canada at the same price. Still, enjoyable. As with their other barrelled, its an old wood aftertaste; at the ready to remove splinters. Boutip trade seven.

Brown bottle, 330 ml, best before 03/03/10, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (directly from the brewer’s personal reserve as we had ordered too many cases!), savoured on January 9 2009; eye: black, opaque, tiny ring of cappuccino head, slight lacing; nose: lots of peat and smoke, powerful, roasted almost burnt malt; mouth: peat, smoke, roasted almost burnt malt, light wood, slight hops, light pepper, light saltiness, very long finale in peat with a good presence of smoke, medium-full body, inky feel, lightly bitter, light astringency, lightly oily texture, not much carbonation; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 330 ml, meilleure avant 03/03/10, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (directement de la réserve personnelle du brasseur car on en avait trop commandé!), savourée le 9 janvier 2009; œil : noire, opaque, très petit anneau de mousse cappuccino, très légère dentelle; nez :beaucoup de tourbe et de fumée, puissance, boisé, malt rôti presque brûlé; bouche : tourbe, fumée, malt rôti presque brûlé, léger boisé, très léger houblon, léger poivre, léger salé, très longue finale en tourbe avec une bonne présence de fumée, corps moyen-corsé, sensation d’encre, légèrement amère, légère astringence, texture légèrement huileuse, peu carbonatée; en résumé : très bonne

Bottled: Very similar in appearance and aroma to the other Islay batches with similar rich smoky peaty flavor and good dark chocolate and caramel malty notes. Incredibly drinkable given its complexity. A nice and flavorful beer, regardless of the batch number.

<i>Scotland Rating #50.</i> Don’t usually celebrate a ’50’ marker, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to 100 for Scotland. Courtesy of BDR. Near black color with no head. Moderately peaty aroma. Definitely there, but not screaming like a Lagavulin. A little roasted malt. Peat smacks you up front, but again, not as harsh as the Islay south shore distilleries. Slightly salty. Chocolate and caramel malts. Sweet and slick. Yum!

A dark brown color with faint head. spectacular peat aroma with faint hints of chocolate. Peat peat and a little more peat dominate the malty body. A little saltiness in the finish. Very nice.