BrewDog Paradox Speyside (Batch 010)

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

330ml Bottle: Aroma of light caramel, slight molasses, slight peat, light vanilla, and a hint of wood. Poured very dark brown in color with no head to speak of. Clear. Not sparkling. Flavor is lightly sweet. Tastes of malts, oak, slight caramel, light caramel, slight peat, and a hint of whiskey. Medium body. Lightly oily, slightly chalky texture. Soft to average carbonation. Malt, slight caramel, slight vanilla, slight peat, and oak finish. 10%ABV is barely noticeable.

Bottle at Spuyten Duyvil - thanks to puzzl for sharing - kind of light in color for an imperial, which I remember the base beer being - minimal head - lightly doughy and fruity aroma - not picking up much of the whiskey there - the flavor, however, is quite earthy and peaty - you can taste the roast and sweetness of the base beer, but the whiskey becomes more and more noticeable as the beer warms - it never becomes overpowering, though - just a nice soft peaty character - pretty tasty.

Bottle shared by someone at Spuyten... hell, it may have even been me. Big whiskey aroma, sweet and plummy, some salt. Sweet body, but a bit ashy from the barrel. Medium bodied and gentle, chalky with mild seaweed. Enjoyable and subtle but doesn’t have the complexity or delicacy of the best Paradox offerings.

Bottle at Spuyten Duyvil: Pours deep brown with a wispy bubbly tan head. The aroma is earthy, raisiny, some cocoa, and light oak is there. Slick and light on the palate. Dry-ish flavor. Light raisin sweetness underneath a smoky/peat note and oak. Pretty good, just lacking some nuances that other Speyside batches have had.

11.2oz bottle, courtesy of argo0. Thanks, Aaron! We did a side-by-side of four of these (Islay 009, Speyside 010, Macallan 011, Glen Grant 003), and they looked nearly identical: dark, murky brown color; thin, light-tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of intense candy sugar, dried dark fruits, and caramel in the aroma; stout beneath is much more apparent in this one than the Islay 009; chewy and pleasant. Relaxed carbonation. Loads of chewy dried dark fruits (raisins, dates), caramel, and sweet red fruits; medium-to-full mouthfeel: like a barley wine more than an imperial stout; very chewy, generous, with lightly toasted malts and very light barrel / scotch character. Minimal, at least following the Islay. Lengthy finish: toasted malts, very dry, with lots of dates and raisins.

Sampled at the RSBEG08 grand tasting. Dark copper brown with medium beige head. Soft roasted notes with a touch of alcohol, and clear notes of whiskey and wood. Medium bodied and smooth. Good balance.

Bottle, thanks to Magic_Dave. Thanks! Pours a deep, dark red with a thin head. Aroma of dark fruits, whisky, tannic sourness. Taste is dryer than expected... whisky, dark fruits, pepper. Medium bodied... quite nice.

Pours a dark and translucent mahogany brown color with a small, bubbly, tan colored edge. Minimal, spotty lacing rejoins the body. The aroma shows a chocolate and caramel malt base, with notes of long-since dried dark fruits and a kiss of peaty, smoky whiskey. Flavors reveal more choco-caramel, a good dose of vanilla, molasses, and permeating, woody whiskey. The alcoholic heat runs about average for the Paradox series, which is formidable, to say the least, but I believe that is what they are going for here. The mouthfeel runs a little thin for the style, but is indeed silky smooth and lowly carbonated, as it should be. Overall, a very enjoyable brew. Par for the Paradox course.