BrewDog Riptide

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

22.4oz bottle. Random, right? Very dark brown with a light beige head that dissipates. Licorice, chocolate, and wet paper aroma. The flavor has sweet licorice, lightly roasted malt and modest bitterness. Pretty mellow. Medium bodied with light carbonation. Not much going on here, but I can see why this would be a good barrel candidate.

Taste courtesy Hopscotch. Blackish red pour with little head. Roasty grain aroma with sweet malt and just a hint of whiskey. Roasted grains, chocolate malt and hint of hops in the taste. Big and ballsy very assertive malt and very much like an after dinner drink.

Pours like coffee in a cup that hadn’t been properly rinsed of it’s soapy suds. Very English and very short lived is the head froth and very little lacing. I smell molasses, chocolate, and coffee. Very light in body with watery carbonation. I have mixed feelings about this brew. On one hand it surely doesn’t compare to the usual kickass over the top specimens that I have come to crave. This one is more subdued (the title says ’’twisted merciless’’...over statement city) and refined. But on the other hand I can’t deny the overall complexities it offers. OK, so it has a bad head on it’s shoulders but the aromas is delightful and so is the flavor. Like I said, this is refined with flavors of roasted coffee bean, molasses, cake bread, cocoa, and a little English toffee. The finish lingers forever with a solid bittering component. I really could drink this all night. I would classify this as a Foreign Stout though.

33cl Bottle from Cracked Kettle. Dark brown to black colour, almost no head, only after a vigorous pour. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee and liquorice. Flavour is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and massive amounts of liquorice root, giving it an earthy and dusty dry finish, but also a nice sweetness. Medium to fullbodied, syrupy mouthfeel.

On cask at Spuyten Duyvel. Pours a dark cola with a tiny light beige head. Aroma of roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate. Taste is much the same as the aroma.

Bottle. Aroma a bit smoky with anise, orange peel, very bitter chocolate, raisins, charcoal, very complex and enticing. Flavor has tons more of that bitter chocolate, pure, baker’s chocolate, with lots of sweet malty and sticky fruit notes, some butterscotch, and ample amounts of roastiness. Dry, bitter finish despite the feeling at all other points that it’s going to lean toward the sweet side. Entertaining, complex, and a nice big but not big stout.

Cask @ Bon Accord. Nice and surprising to have had this one in Bon Accord, probably the first IS I encountered there! Hopefully there will be more coming along. Black colour, creamy tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, vanilla, sweet tarts and coffee. Flavour of bitter coffee, roasted malts and chocolate. Slightly bitter finish.

Pitch black. Again, kind of weird. Aroma of caramel and chocolate milk. Flavor is almost of brownies. Alcohol very apparent in the finish. Nice flavor, but not sure I’ll be able to finish the bottle. Mouthfeel is nice for a great ale. PS, I made it through the bottle. Re-Rate: Alcohol mellows with a bit of age. Develops a bit of pleasant sourness.