BrewDog Riptide

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

Tasted 05/05/2008. 330ml bottle from Rumble’s. Inky black, as you’d expect, with a tight tan head that fades to virtually nothing. Very good but lacking a depth of character in the mouth. Fruity espresso on the nose - hints of berry couli, dark chocolate, caramel, burnt toast and alcohol. Subdued esters, American yeast? Roasty, toasty notes dominate the mouth front front to back, with a nice underlying caramel note and a very light lick of diacetyl. Medium weight, medium-low carbonation. Lingering astringency. A very nice beer but it lacks the finesse to incite poetic ravings...

Dark brown color with a smaller hot cocoa head. Lightly toasted and roasted malt in the aroma. A touch of salt water toffee. Not a strong scent, but nothing askew. Light sweet licorice in the start. Quite enjoyable for a professed licorice hater. Middle is full of sweetened coffee, Toasted, hearty whole grain bread, blackberries and a hint of pencil eraser (resin?). Very light carbonation. Finish is lightly sweet and linger is of sweet roasted malt and some mild honey roasted nuts. I find no trace of alcohol. A very enjoyable stout.

Bottled. Near black. Striking roasty licorice aroma. Salty with solid, dense malt, notes of tar and coffee. Almost full bodied with tarry salty finish.

Bottled 330ml. -Courtesy of and shared with Doggythedog (thanks!). Batch No.164
Almost black with reddish glare, small tan head, notes of chocolate and cocoa in the nose. Roasted coffee, chocolate and some hops with notes of dark fruits. Alcohol is well hidden. Bitter finish and pleasant long-lasting aftertaste. Enjoyable stout.

3rd LCRBM. A fast rating, because the end of the session was near. Somewhat smoked aromas and flavors detected through the roasted malt. Good stout, although I preferred the aroma to the flavor. Bottle @ home. 29.12.09. Deep dark brown color. Raisin, dried fruit and oak in the aroma. Full bodied, low on carbon. Oaky tarry flavor. Hints of peaty smoke. Dried fruit and raisin. Fairly well balanced mix of peaty tarriness and dried fruit. Could use more carbon, though.

Bottled. A deep red beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet alcoholic combined with notes of roasted malt and citrusy hops. The flavor is sweet with notes of roasted malt, and hops giving it notes of grass and grapefruit, as well as an alcohol note, that burns in the throat.

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)

This is not the kind of in your face imperial stout that most american beer nerd palates have come to expect, which is why I’m surprised it’s still rated so high - it’s more like a slightly more aggressive take on the traditional british version of the style - dark brown, with a soapy, lasting lace - aroma of lactose, chocolate, coffee, intense roast, a tiny bit of alcohol - very smooth mouthfeel - the flavor is extremely roasty, with a lot of coffee character - some sweet chocolate malts ride through the middle, with a bit of plum and dark berry fruitiness as well - but a strong bitterness comes from behind that, making the other characteristics aside from the roastiness disappear from the palate pretty fast - the bitterness lasts quite some time through the finish, and the alcohol becomes fairly evident, adding a warming character - the dryness and bitterness work well in this one, and I kind of find it refreshing to have an impy that isn’t so over the top.