BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 009)

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

Dark brown with a smoky aroma of roast, chocolate, vanilla, and wood. Flavor is roasty with some wood, roast, chocolate, and light bitterness. I wasn’t crazy about this one at first, but it really shaped up nicely as it warmed.

Bottled. Poured clear, deep brown with a swirly, short-lived cap of tan head. The aroma was smoooookey with oak and peat over darker chocolates and caramel.. the second wind brings sweet whiskey and vanilla.. this really came together well. The flavor opened with sour oak and peaty whiskey with caramel, dark chocolate, and a little coffee coming in behind.. more oak, vanilla, and smoke on the back, becoming a bit too bitter right at the end. Medium-ish bodied with lower carbonation on the palate.. a lot of the barrel character (sourness, sweetness, and flavors) worked great, but the bitterness at the end wasn’t a good closer. All in all a tasty brew.

Name: Paradox 009 Islay
Date: April 03, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Roadtrip
Appearance: black, wispy tan head, bits of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet dark caramel aroma, lots of scotch with peppery alcohol, roasted malt, dark chocolate
Flavor: sweet scotch flavor, lots of the woody scotch enhanved by the sweet caramel and vanilla, roasted brings it in balance, oaky character adds to the bitterness, rich chocolate shows upon warming, scotch finish
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+/4

Poured black as night with no head.Lots of smokiness on the nose as well as the taste.It was close to like someone extracted the smoke from meat and bottled it in this brew.I really like this brew.

Dark thin pour. Aroma of wood, meat, and alcohol. Slightly sour smell as well. First sip was total liquid smoke. Holy cow. Too intense for me. Smoke and alcohol over powered all other flavors for me.

very black pour with a creamy light mocha colored head...good retention and light lacing. very scotchy aroma with some vanilla, peat, wood, chocolate, dark fruit, and a slight medicinal aroma. flavor is very peaty and also a touch medicinal. very creamy mouthfeel with a smoky, woody warming finish.

Thanks to tytoanderso for this. Pours black with some highlights peaking through and a kinda small tan head. Aroma at first is a whallop of scotch, all the peat, smoke, seaweed and iodine you’d expect from Ardbeg. Also, leather, coffee,wood, dark chocolate, burnt toast, and roasted nuts. Yum. Tastes a little less scotch-forward with plenty of chocolate, caramel, roast, and coffee flavors to balance all the sea, salt, smoke and leather. Finishes mildly bitter for the style, linger flavors of wood, roast, and a Islay malt characteristics. Creamy body, not too heavy, but it’s got some thickness and it coats the mouth thoroughly. Since imperial stouts are my favorite beer and Islay malts are my favorite whisky, I loved this. Perfect mix of my favorites, though I don’t know how wonderful the base beer would be....

Bottle (B009). Pours black with a tanned head. Smoked malt and wood aroma. Flavour is peat smoke, chocolate and wood tones. Oily mouthfeel, smoked and bitter finish. I liked it.