BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran (Batch 016)

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

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a thin beige head. The aroma of roasted malt and liquorice with notes of coffee and whiskey. Sweet, roasted and slightly burnd flavour with hints of oak and whiskey. Medium-bodied. Good imperial stout.

Pours black with brown around the rim, head is beige, loosely packed & settles down very quickly leaving decent lacing. Nose has chocolate, dark bitter roast & peat with the slightest hint of smoke & honey. Palate translates well with low carbonation. Seems a touch thin though. Finish is long wit dark roast lingering. Overall another good spin on an IS from these guys but to be honest probably one of the weaker ones in the series, just seems too thin compared to the power of the malt & whisky notes if anything. Don’t get me wrong, its still a really good beer.

On tap at the Blue Palms Brewhouse. Pours black with a small white head. Chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon, and whiskey on the nose. Full body, viscous brew with plenty of hops, roasted malts, cacao nib, prune, vanilla, grass, really smokey.

Clear almost black with a tiny tan head. Rich aroma of port, prunes and milk chocolate, very slight hints of oak and vanilla, hardly any sign of whiskey unlike what I’ve found in other batches of this gear. Smooth, silky mouthfeel, well balanced between heat, bitterness and roast. The flavours show a little more roast, with some strong dark chocolate and vanilla, a fair malty sweetness exists towards the increasingly warming finish. Overall it’s a extremely, smooth, dangerous imperial stout.

11.2 oz. bottle. Pours very, very dark ruby, not quite black, with a thin light brown head that completely disappears after the first sip and leaves no lace. The aroma is this beer’s strong point and is filled with malt, caramel, oak, vanilla, plums along with some vapors of scotch whiskey. The flavor falls back quite a bit from the aroma and includes roasted malt, alcohol, caramel and some mild earthy oak. A bit boozey towards the finish. Very low carbonation. Light bodied, especially for an imperial stout. Based upon the aroma, I was expecting something more luxurious and textured. There are elements of this beer I enjoyed very much, while there are others that I found a little disappointing. I’ll call this one a mixed bag.

My Bottom Line:
Toasted wood and caramelized cereals benefit from fennel-like peat notes, as vanilla spiciness and alcohol warmth diversify this classy Imperial Stout.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the brownish black.
-The scotch is nicely integrated to the rest of the brew.
-This is not nearly as brash as other Paradoxes I’ve had.
-The body is almost lean for the style and the carbonation is quite low, making for easy sipping.

Bottle.

Very well-balanced. A nice beer with a nose of chocolate and some coffee. Flavor of chocolate, caramel, and with a nice hop kick that dries it out and finishes strong. Malt sweetness and hop bitterness exist in perfect harmony. An excellent brew.

Bottle [330ml] shared with HogTownHarry & garthicus -- c/o tupalev. Pours a very deep ruby with an average size diminishing off-white head. Slightly roasty aroma along with chocolate, a hint of whiskey, wood and some sweetness. Nice flavour of malt, cocoa, wood, some peat and alcohol. Average bodied.