BrewDog Riptide

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

Bottle. Poured black with nothing but a watery gurgle of to top it off, a disappointing start. But the manly aroma gets me reinterested and on the first sip I’m completely turned into a fan. Rich with flavor, this is a delicious brew -- full of dark fruit, coffee, and a nice bitter finish. (#3596, 11 July 2009)

12 oz. bottle. Pours almost black with ruby highlights and a very small, very light tan head. The head dissipates very quickly. This one has a roasted nose with light fruit undertones and a bit of coffee. Medium carbonation with a medium mouthfeel. Dry and bitter for sure. Overwhelmingly bitter. Roasted malt, a little caramel, mineral notes, and come coffee on the palate, but all of that is quickly washed away by an acridic bitterness that is like chewing on aspirin. A long, bitter finish. The overwhelming bitterness just ruins the enjoyment and surely makes this a beer I have no desire to return to.

Lots of UK yeast strain permeates this Imperial Stout. Orchard fruit undertones buffer the coffee/choco flavors that reside in the middle of each taste. A sugary spicy finish ends up completing the thought, with spot on bitterness, whilst leaving one’s palate slightly moist for the next gulp. Alcohol presence is less than detectable for an 8% stout, but overall mouthfeel and viscosity is a tad underwhelming. Slightly thinner than I’d enjoy, with less carbonation than most comparable brews.

Bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a very dark brown with garnet highlights and a medium sized beige head. The aroma is very sweet malt with fruits. What seems to be missing is the roasted malt. The flavor does pick up a nice roasted quality. It is still on the sweeter side with dark fruits, chocolate, char and light smoke. This seems a bit thinner than most imperial stouts. Enjoyable; much more so than any of the Paradox beers.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a paperthin light tan head that diminishes quickly to nothing. The aroma is a sweet roasted malt with chocolate and coffee. Thin mouthfeel and very watery on the palate with a light roasted malt and a bitter finish. Hides the alcohol well making it easy to drink. A decent Imperial Stout from BrewDog.

Bottle: Dark brown color, creamy, coffee-brown color. Aroma is full of cacao, some coffee, dark fruits and some alcohol. Flavor is fruity, light sourly, alcoholic. Some coffee, dark chocolate and much roasted malt. Pretty good.

Poured out a super dark brown brew with a mid sized brown head tat is retained as a skim and good lacing. The aroma is of stinky coffee, dark fruit (light), raisins, faint chocolate and faint spice. This stuff definitely lacks a strong aroma presence - don’t want something that is HUGE, but give me a little more. The taste is a decent mix, nothing overpowering which is nice, good balance early on. The coffee flavor is sweet and cleaner than the aroma, lots of dark roasted malts, some spice, hardly any alcohol. Pretty enjoyable when warmer. Good bitter bite. There are better brews out there for sure. Creamy mouth feel, full bodied with a nice bitter finish which is softened by the malts. For an 8% stout, this is pretty good. However, I find myself torn between being disappointed and enjoying it as it is quite different. I’m still not sold.

Four oz sample from a botttle at the 3 sons beer tasting. Black and dark but not opaque. Typical attractive stoutish aroma. Some visible carbonation in there. Strong but it takes a couple of moments for the strength to set in. Alky impact follows, some warmth down the throat. Over the top yet smooth in its own way. Long bitter roasted complex finish typical of most stouts of this genre.