BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 001)

Formerly brewed at BrewDog
Style: Imperial Stout
Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Serve in Snifter

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330 ml bottle sampled in 2008. Close to black body with a fast disappearing beige head. Strong aroma of dark, roasted malt, peat, tar and alcohol. Flavor is as expected from aroma with roasted malt, peat, tar, liquorice, some salt, pleasant bitter and warming alcohol. Fine body and long aftertaste. Pretty heavy stuff, but very well made and delicious for sipping. Brewdog at its best.

Complex aroma, appealing appearance and a wonderful taste! [short review due to it coming from my backlog]

Bottle shared by Scopey @ Sour & Bitter, thanks buddy. Brown body with no head. Aroma is alcohol, charcoal, vanilla, caramel, roasted malt. Flavor is alcohol, chocolate, oak, roasted malt. Nice.

Bottle, generously shared by Scopey at S&B. The pour’s deep clear reddish brown with no head whatsoever. The nose is strong coffee, light peaty whiskey. Some heavy wet oak wood, caramel, molasses and vanilla. The taste is sugary wood and vanilla. Some smokey peaty sausage and spicy (paprika?) notes. Wood and plenty of bitter chocolate. The body’s full and supple, soft. While this has probably dulled with age, there’s plenty of character left in it. Interesting, but past peak?

Bottle, thanks to thewolf. It pours very dark brown, with a thin beige head. The nose is subtle whisky, toasted coconut, charcoal, vanilla, toffee, cherry, currant and fig. The taste is charcoal, roasted malt, meat, soy sauce, subtle vanilla, leather, oak, burnt caramel, some whisky, toast and spice. Medium-full body and low carbonation. Smooth, well hidden alcohol and good balance. Has held up pretty well.

In bottle at Craig’s BrewDog tasting. Pours a dark brown colour with a thin light tan head. A smoky Islay malt aroma of iodine, smoked bacon, roasty malt, dark chocolate and caramel. The Islay whiskey is quite prominent all round. Similar flavours with mild carbonation and an oily mouth-feel. Quite a meaty, nutty finish.

330mL. Flat tawny, muddy pour with no head. Sharper formaldehyde nose with mild bacon and heavier smoke. Taste is tangy, sharp, chemical formaldehyde, no real body to balance the heavy smoke. A bit too chemical for me. Still thin in palate. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

12 oz. bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks Dany), pours a dark brown with a reddish tinge with no head, just a few bubbles. Aroma of intense islay, smoke / peat like a firepit, and little else. Flavour of islay barrels upfront, lots of smoke and peat, slight roasted malt somewhere underneath and a boozy burn. Decent.

Cask@Rake August 2009 I couldn’t really stomache this one at the time, full of phenols and chlorophenols, stomping all over the beer. I hadn’t realised that they were aged in different casks and I’d enjoyed the paradox we had at Southampton ber festival.

11.2 oz. bottle best before January 1, 2010 from Five Points Bottle Shop. I normally will not review beer which is out of date according to the brewer, but this one is awesome and is holding up exceptionally well. This first batch is even peatier now than when I had some relatively fresh Paradox Islay batch 8. Lots of brine and peat in the aroma along with some oaky smoothness. It may be fair to say the malts have mellowed out a bit, judging by the other Paradoxes I’ve had, but the whiskey character, which is the focus anyway, is in full effect. That almost salty quality is everywhere with a little iodine and tasty peat smoke. Islay malts are my favorite of Scotches and given that bias this is my favorite Paradox thus far.