BrewDog Riptide

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

Black colour with a thin beige head. Roasted, coffee bitter aroma with vague fruity and chocolate sweet notes. Roasted, coffee bitter flavor with chcoolate sweet notes. Light dry finish with fruity notes.

Bottle: EXtremely dark ruby-amber coloured, small - but stable - tanned foamy layer; solid dry aromas of roasted malt & molasses on one dide, balanced by sweet dried fruits on the other side; full bodied, mellow instead of merciless, moderate to solid sweet-bitter flavour; increasing bitterness in the robust sweet (fruity) - bitter (roasted malt, molasses) finish, lingering dry malty bitterness in the aftertaste. Good chunky brew...............

(bottle, 33cl) Clear, mahogany colour with a beige medium-sized foamy head. Moderately sweet and roasty malty aroma with notes of anise, caramel, berry fruits and a tinge of noble hops. Roasty bitter flavour with a present and rounded malty sweetness, full bodied with a soft carbonation. Robust roast-malty, slightly molassy taste with caramel, chocolate and a tinge of anise spice; sweet and roast-bitter finish with warming alcoholic notes and a light but aromatic hoppy tail. Complex and superb brew. 24.XII.09

Bottle, thx to KnutAlbert. Pours an almost black body, with a small, tan head. Molasses, coffee, mocha and some salty licorice in the aroma. Really pleasant. The flavor has a slightly salty touch, with molasses, coffee, mocha, some chocolate and lots of delicious, hoppy bitterness. Full-bodied, silky and smooth in the mouth, finishing both hop-bitter and coffee-bitter. Delicious. Rating: 8-4-8-4-16-4. (080216)

Bottle. A really dark brown beer with a minimal beige head. Chocolate, some coffee and some hops in the background of the aroma. The flavor is coffee-bitter, with chocolate, roasted malt and some hoppy bitterness. Medium body and a finish with both coffee and hop bitterness and some chocolate. The beer is quite nice, but doesn’t stand out. Actually, it felt a bit boring. (080620)

My Bottom Line:
This Imperial Stout’s lean and loose mouthfeel somewhat detracts from the enjoyment to be had of the chocolate, caramel and roasted malts, marzipan hints and lingering earthy, leafy hop bitterness. It’s a balanced and very drinkable example of the style, but it needs a lot work imho to play with the best in its league.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A thin ring of foam circles the auburn-rimmed dark brown.
-The low carbonation may emulate what you get on cask, but then again the body is not well developed enough to withstand this vacuous atmosphere.
-Fruity vanilla-like sweetness morphs into marzipan every second sip.
-The finishing bitterness is not overdone, but it sure clings to the tastebuds for a long time.
-Alcohol accompanies the hop bitterness.

Bottle; batch #123, best before 10/02/2010.

Bottled. Dark reddish brown coloured. Fluffy small light brown head. Light chocolate, ligth alcohol, light roast, light cocoa. A bit subdued. Chocolate, liqourice, light herbs, light prunes and roast. Nicely balanced. Medium to full bodied. Quite dry. Sweet and fruity roasted end. Has some alcohol warmth on lips and palate.

Deep brown colour. Aroma is a bit strange. Lightly briny and salty. A bit of peat with a touch of molasses. Flavour is oddly thin and watery. A touch of coffee. Meh... pretty bad.

500ml bottle pours purple brown with a lot of light at the bottom. Dusty nose comes off as a strong dry stout - milk, dry dusty malts. Flavor is creamy and rich fudge and chocolate. Disappointing overall. Weak smell, dusty dry malts, fudge-heavy and astringent. Meh.