BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 001)

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

Powerful, powerful, daunting nose. Pours oily black with no life - more of a threat. And then the flavour. God damn. It’s freakin amazing. Vinous, rich, deep, dark, and the whole underpinned - unsurprisingly - by a peaty whiskiness that nigh on brings a tear to an old Islay peat dog’s eye. Elements of fresh grass battle with clods of tombside earth to produce a beer that challenges rather than kowtows - and ultimately rewards one for the effort.

<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 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.

Bottled. Deep black coloured pour with a small fast disappearing brown head. Really really nice. Roasted and malty with notes of chocolate, liqourice, dark dried fruit, dark bitter chocolate, smoke, berries and hops. Yum.

Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is heather, smoked, coffee. Flavour is powerful, whiskey, coffee, hop, smoked. nice body. Wonderful beer.

12-oz. Thanks, Rene! Pours black with caramel highlights. Thin but fairly sturdy tan head and lace. Big enormous seaweed and peat nose. Creamy medium body. Roasty, salty, briney. Peaty and seaweedy. Tons going on here. Gets a little phenolic at the end, along with being a little bit bitey and boozy. Very powerful but even some of the odd bits all seem to work together. Then again, I’m an Islay whisky freak, so I probably expected to like it.

Been looking forward to tasting this beast for quite some time. Pours a burnt brown, some red glints, with hints of black along the base. The aroma is unmistakeable. Peat, smoke, iodine, sea salt, heather, leather, oak, toasted bread. The flavor is more intense than I imagined it would be. A full on attack of smoke, peat, ash and wood. Good God it is intense.

Bottle, Batch 006. Pours dark black with a thin brown head. Smells of toffee and smoke. Tastes of smoke, peat, burned molasses... and many other ones that keep appearing as it warms. Very smooth, not thick at all. Excellent, easily one of the best, most complex stouts I’ve had.