BrewDog Riptide

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

Poured from bottle into a snifter. Opaque dark brown with minimal head but has nice lacing lines down the glass. Aroma of chocolate, licorice, alcohol, roasted malts. The smell becomes very subdued after a couple minutes. Dark chocolate and licorice backbone, with some fruitiness (BrewDog says cherry, I’ll go with that). More bitter and smoky than sweet. Especially bitter at end, likely due to both burnt malts and hops. Very low carbonation, full body, very smooth, and very dry for an Imperial Stout. Not syrupy or oily as some big malty beers are, but way too flat. Very nice, late evening sipper. Overall, much more bitter than typical for the style, but that is part of the appeal.

Deep brown, almost black. Almost no head at all. Delicious combination of roasted malt, raisin, and dried fruit aromas and flavors.

Bottle from Johns Marketplace in Portland, OR. Pours a very dark ruby brown with a good tan head. There is a rich dark fruit aroma along with toasted/burnt malt and coffee. A pleasant aroma. Full bodied with near chewy carbonation. Flavor is a bit of tar, very, very smooth burnt malt, and coffee. With time chocolate is detectable. Then it all coalesces into a well balanced and sturdy stout. Soft and smooth it is. Also very tasty.

Pours a nearly opaque black with dark copper edges and a thin, spotty-lacing light tan head. Aroma of lightly sweet caramel malt with some roasted notes and a healthy dose of peat. Starts a little thin for the style, but has a decent amount of dark malty sweetness with some strong roasty bitter balance before a smoky, peaty, dark chocolate finish. Pretty smooth, yet complex and very drinkable. An interesting take on the style.

(22.4oz bottle, best by 7/7/09) Small tan head atop cola dark brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, coffee/roast, some bittersweet chocolate, anise, light cherry. Taste is moderately sweet, roast/coffee, some smoke, faint anise. Some alcohol in the finish. Low carbonation, medium-full body, some stickiness. Very nice take, not as brash as the style has tended toward in recent years.

Very black. You look at this and say ’’How much more black could this be?’’ and the answer is ’’None. None more black’’ Any way, smells like chocolate and coffee, with cofee being slightly more prominant. Flavor is coffee and chocolate, but also nuances of plum, fig, and red wine. As it warms, the red wine becomes more noticable.

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.

Bottle... NFL Day at dchmela’s in O-Town... Pitch black with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head. The aroma is a collaboration of chocolate, vanilla and tree nuts. Full-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Chocolaty and a touch boozy. Big, burnt bitterness. Lengthy, chocolaty, bitter finish.