BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 001)

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

One of the most smoky tasting beers I’ve ever had. It is a relentless attack on your taste buds. Tar, tobacco, liquorice and whiskey are the dominating tastes. The aftertaste is mainly sharp smoky whiskey. It is not a beer you would drink two off but in small doses an excellent beer.

March 2007Chris_o Shindig. Lots of hop bitterness introducing a smokey burn. Some cut grass left in the damp for a couple of days. Oaky with whiskey notes. Balsamic vinegar and imperial stout notes with savlon and dentists room. An interesting beer - though perhaps too much happening and not quite enough pleasantness. OK though. [3.4]
Feb 2008330ml bottle from Gretna Green. This is a filtered product, but not pasteurised. It tastes like what you’d expect from an Imperial Stout that had been left in a peaty whiskey cask for a while. The extra flavours and aromas the peat whiskey adds to the base beer certainly add interest and pleasure to what feels like a fairly run of the mill Imperial Stout. It’s like it needs the extra character of the whiskey to lift it out of the ordinary. However, full credit, it does lift it out of the ordinary. Not quite into the realm of something special like Harvey’s Imperial Stout or the Courage Russian Imperial Stout, but certainly higher than average. It’s a shame that the beer is filtered because the lack of living yeast character is noticeable - the beer itself is pleasant, but dull. The whole thing is certainly highly, highly enjoyable - and I feel I got a little more pleasure, flavour and satisfaction out of this sample than I did during the hurly burly of the sampling at the Chris_o Shindig. [3.6]

Name: Paradox 001 Islay
Date: 10/02/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta

Appearance: black, thin beige head, bits of lace,
Aroma: big scotch aroma with a strong woody and smokey character, dry dark roasted malt,
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, lots of bitter dark chocolate, complex wood character, lots of smokey scotch, the dark chocolate and scotch combine with the wood for a long bitter finish,
Overall: a bit over the top with the scotch

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4

(Bottle, Batch 001) Pours a dark brown body with a small beige head. Aroma of peat, sausage, roasted malt, dust, black pepper, and salty. Flavor of roasted malt, peaty scotch, wood, ash, and bitter dark chocolate.

Bottled. I found this difficult to rate given that I’m not keen on Islay whiskies. It is very peaty, with lots of iodine that tends to drown the beer slightly, preventing the intense stout flavours from being recognised. Stil, if you like Islay, you will like this.

(Bottle 33 cl) Courtesy of Myrup. Comes as Batch 006. Clear, dark, reddish brown with a small, rough, off-white head. Distinct aroma of peat smoked whisky. Surprisingly only medium-bodied with lightly sweet, hard roasted malt and then a somewhat sharp whisky note. Plenty of peaty smoke and tar and then an ashy, burned malt finish. 291107

330 ml bottle from Bieropholie, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. Batch 001, BB 03/03/10.

App.: Deep black with a surprisingly frail, small light tan head. Aroma: Great Isla scotch smokiness, quite peaty with some iodine, the deep, fruity malts work in harmony, some licorice and molasses, chocolate, some very light tangy notes, a very inviting nose. Palate: Medium-ish body and almost no carbonation, a bit powdery. Flav.: Similar to the nose with a nice blend of oily scotch peat with deep fruity, chocolate malts, a bit of iodine; somewhat sweet with a fair bit of warming alcohol and a slightly metallic Scotch-like finish softened with a little dark malt.

The body was lacking but this was still a very enjoyable brew.

bottled, at bon accord, glasgow. close to black, steady beige head, aroma of marinated chicken, hints of peat, light vanilla sweetness, caramelised soy sauce, extremely salty which nullifies some of the whisky character, still quite a curiosity