BrewDog Riptide

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

Bottle while in San Diego on 08/01/2008 for the RBSG Friday Pub Crawl. Dark brown body with a small off-white head. Chocolate and roast aroma. Roast malt and caramel flavor. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry and Blankboy, courtesy of Hogtown Harry. Pitch black, small off-white head. Mild roast aroma. Good roast taste, almost tartness if that makes any sense - there is just that much roast. Slight acidity. Full flavoured and bodied with a hint of chocolate. I liked it, but because of the overwhelming roast (and maybe because of the quality of other impy’s we had at this session) it did not really make that leap from good to great.

Bottle: The aroma consists is loaded with chocolate with lots of dark chocolate and cocoa powder and some light roasted nuttiness. It pours a dark brown with red highlights that borders on transparency when held to the light. It has a moderate beige head with good retention. The flavor starts with some light cocoa powder. The finish turns to moderate dark chocolate, roasted nuts, and just a hint of fruit. Medium bodied with mild carbonation. This really seems like more of a stout than an Imperial Stout.

Appearance: Rolls out a dark brown, near black body with a smallish, bubbly, beige head. Smell: Roasted malts with hints of unsweetened chocolate, licorice candies, coffee, and an all-around earthiness. Rich, vinous fruitiness present. Minor blip of higher alcohols. With some slight warming, the coffee notes deepen to give a touch of Kahlua. Taste: Dark, roasty malts with flavors of baker’s chocolate and espresso with a more restrained fruitiness. An earthy roastiness pairs with the lightly herbaceous hops to provide a moderate amount of bitterness. As with the nose, a bit of added warmth helps to bring out more of the chocolate and coffee tones. A bit chalky and a touch of alcohol warmth on the roasty, bitter finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Leans towards being relatively mild and easy-going as opposed to other stouts that are bold and brash.

Batch 4. The beer pours to a dark cola colored body with a large soap bubble-like off-tan head. The aroma is very grainy and brownie like. Oatmeal and lots of liquid chocolate. Very distinctly dessert like. The flavor is rich chocolate syrup, oatmeal, rye, and lots of Scotch like things going on. Tastes like an organic beer but its good unlike most organic beers. Very clean flavors. Palate is nicely refreshing and not heavy. Very nicely subtle dry roasty malts and subtle hops.

Bottle batch 006 best by 12/12/09. Decent oatmeal aromaalong with somesweet notes. Black flat head a can of RC has more of a carbinated head just to flaten out. Aweful thin body texture for an Imperial Stout. Sweet roasted oats and somedrycoco bittering. More like a sweet stout imo.

Dark brown coloured body with a one centimetre tall lighter brown head. Some cola colours and larger bubbles show when held up to a light. Aroma of roasted malt, cereal, molasses, vanilla and raisins - strong and potent. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong assertive roasted malt up front with oatmeal, coffee, oak and vanilla strong behind. Aftertaste shows molasses and prunes tucked in with some alcohol and metal. Overall, a good and strong stout, lighter than most other Imperial Stouts, but a welcome alternative! I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from the Utobeer Market Stall in Borough (London), England on 13-December-2008, sampled at home in Washington (on the other side of the pond) on 07-June-2009.

Bottle.
Pours a rich, void-of-light jet black with a nice cream head. Aroma is marshmallow, chocolate, cocoa, and a hint of roasted malt. Flavor is ta,e sweet peaty chocoloate powder and bitter roasted malt. Nice mouthfeel but it fails to leave a lasting impression. Not shabby, but could use some more assertiveness.