BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 001)

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

courtesy of fiulijn - very dark brown colour with some ruby hue; irregular beige foam formed of big bubbles; typical aroma of iodine and band-aid of the Islay whiskies; smokey with notes of dark chocolate; very oily and sticky, solid malt body, a rather low carbonation and a decent late bitterness which tries to balance the strong sweetness; the Islay characteristics appear again in a smokey and chocolatey finish which also makes some place for vanilla and alcohol notes - bold and powerful but not without a certain subtility

Bottle. Thanks Tom. Well, if you like whiskey, you’ll probably like this beer. Quite heavy on the whiskey notes. Hidden underneath the woody, whiskey flavours are some nice roasted malt notes and very small touches of bitter, dark chocolate. I thought it was pretty tasty, but perhaps a more subtle whiskey character may have made it better. Well, it was still extrememly tasty in my eyes and i’d quite happily drink this again. Well done.

A VERY big thanks to Tom Seems black, but with orange-foxy reflections. Ink, walnutpeel, liquorice, liquorice extract, strong coffee, Schwarzwaldcake, woodstripper and gouachepaint aromas. Islay cask - not a shade of doubt - iodine, smoked, dry - oh, wow, this is fabulous. Full bodied? It’s bl**dy solid! Viscous as motor oil, giving a nice afterburn. As Tom says, an Imperial Stout is different stuff, but maybe, the Danish & American IRS brewers ought to have a sip of this, to steer their beers from the formidable towards the truly refined.

Black colour with a beige head. Smokey, light roasted aroma with dark fruity and whiskey notes. malty, light roasted flavor with notes of smoke and fruit. Light fruity sweet finish with again some smoke notes.

My Bottom Line:
Portentous iodine and smoke rise from the damp earth of this Imperial Stout-like roasty creature. A stunningly unique experiment from BrewDog, but one which I cannot deem entirely successful due to its abrasive, inelegant nature.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A slice of foam tops the deep ebony.
-Carbonation is active enough to render drinkability to this monster.
-Alcohol heats up the palate, but is but another perception amongst the sensorial explosion.
-Roasted malt bitterness appears in the finish alongside the intense whisky character.
-The body is almost frail for a beer this size; surely the barrel had something to do with it.

Bottle.

Bottled. Batch 006. Pitch black coloured. Light brown fluffy head. Tart, cordage, light cocoa and heavy smoke. Is quite balanced and has some oaky notes. Flavour is dominated by the cordage and tarty notes. Is heavily smoked and has some fruity and oaky notes. Alcohol notable. Again a nice balance. Is smoky and tarty in the end. Dry. Some alcoholwarmth on the palate. Funny one.

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)

Bottle@chris_o. A very strong medicinal and peat aroma. Very dark brown color, beige head, fair lace. Bitter, medicins, peat, salty, medium body. For me, this is a drain pour as I don’t like peat at all and this is very very strong peat. Other probably think otherwise.