BrewDog Paradox SmokeHead (Batch 015)

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle 33cl. @ home.
Clear dark dark red brown color with a average, creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, heavy smoke - peat peat, stove sod. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, and a dry finish. Body is medium to full, texture is oily to creamy, carbonation is soft. This is what Charlotte say’s is a smoke beer if it is not from Bamberg and with a small man on the label ;O) [20090108]

Bottled at Stockholm Beer Festival 2008. A pitch black beer with a thin lazing orangey head. The aroma is sweet with notes of alcohol, smoke, roasted malt, and whiskey. The flavor is sweet with notes of alcohol, smoke, and whiskey, leading to a dry woody finish.

(Bottle 33 cl) Hazy dark brown with an orange hue and a rough, off-white head. Distinct aroma of stinking cordage and ropes, tar and seagull shit - holy smoke! Medium body, rather burned malts and again distinct smoky accents from the Smokehead barrel. Lightly sweet hard roasted malt accents. Quite simply one of the most extreme beers I’ve ever had. 131008

33 cL bottle, courtesy of Magic_dave6. Pours dark brown to black with a small tan head. Aroma is smoked and wooden, light roasted too. Smoked and light meady flavoured. Clear alcohol presence. Warming finish with a lingering smoke note from the back of the nose. Light chemical note in addition to this.

Bottled@SBWF2008. Deep ambery brown colour, close to black. Small off-white head, that leaves lace. Aroma is smoke, peat, mild roast as well as some oak. Flavour is smoked wood, mild roasted malts, alcohol, vanilla and some sweet oaky notes. Dry wooden finish. Pleasant and wellbalanced. Not as aggressive as some o the other Paradox’s.

Bottled at Stockholm Beer Festival. Transparently black. Evident islay smokey nose. Sweet and intensely roasty with lots of whisky. Peaty and woody with lots of licorice. Very intense and very good, but certainly not subtle.

Bottle in a hotel room in Utrecht. Black coloured with a small beige head. Roasted aroma of smoke, peat and whisky. Roasted flavour of peat and whisky with notes of smoke. Roasted finish anof whisky and smoke.
Earlier Rating: 12/27/2008 Total Score: 2.8
Bottle. Dark brown coloured with a medium sized beige head. Smoky aroma of peat with burned notes and notes of whisky, dried fruits and burned plastic. Sweet, smoked and burned flavour of chocolate, peat, dried fruits earth and whisky. Burned finish. Way to burned for me.

UPDATED: DEC 11, 2010 Bottle at KØ09. Peaty, smoky whisky aroma with a bit of plastic. Black colour, clear red shine. The flavour is very smoky, like a campfire, and with a little smoked fish note to it. Also a hint of plastic in the flavour. Quite dry finish. I like smoked beers, but this is over the top for me.

UPDATED: AUG 27, 2011
Name: Paradox 010 Islay
Date: October 13, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Appearance: black, fine tan head, bit sof lace
Aroma: big oaky aroma with lots of earthyness and smokey peat, sweet dark caramel, touch of roasted
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, touch of burnt malt, lots of the oaky scotch character, light smokey character follows the burnt malt, very earthy and peaty, long bitter finish

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+ /4

Name: Paradox 015 Smokehead
Date: October 05, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Bottleworks, Seattle
Appearance: black, scant head
Aroma: big scotch aroma, smokey peat, oak, touch of roasted malt
Flavor: rich roasted flavor, lots of scotch, nice oak, smokey peat, light bitterness, touch of dark chocolate, warm finish

Name: Paradox 015 Smokehead
Date: November 19, 2010
Mode: draft
Source: bsp
Score: 3.4 to 4.0
Aroma: huge peaty and smokey aroma, roasted malt is the clue that beer is in your glass
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, huge peaty character, very smokey

Name: Paradox 015 Smokehead
Date: August 03, 2011
Mode: draft
Source: Taco Mac, The Fred
holy cinders batman, that’s all charred wood and smokey peat, bitter dark chocolate escapes from the smoke,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **** /4

UPDATED: JUL 29, 2011
2011-07-14, batch 015, bb 10/10/10, 2-3 years old, 7-3-8-3-15=36
Very dark brown color, almost black; the carbonation is gone, and there is almost no head, just a few big bubbles. It has a quite strong aroma, of phenol, medicinals, smoke; also some chocolate and some oxidization feeling. It’s medium bodies; the mouthfeel is a bit oily, also for the lack of carbonation; quite good flavor of roasted malt and chocolate, with some vanilla, whisky, smoke; there is a pleasant mild level of sweetness. Correct bitterness, in a balanced final, not too dry, with mild roasted malts and with a pleasant peaty vein too.
Good, but not exactly well aged.

2011-02-19, batch 915, bb 19-08-16, 9-5-8-5-17=44
Black color. In the beginning there is a very strong smoke aroma, then balanced roasted malt too. Strong flavor: malt, roasted malt, liquorice, smoke. Strong bitterness, with roasted malts till the end.
Excellent.

2009-03-02, batch 016, from Ølbutikken, Copenhagen, 8-4-8-4-16=40
Dark brown color with red shades; the head is initially creamy, but disappears quickly, leaving just sparse bubbles.
The peaty whisky is upfront, then caramel and delicate roasted malt too, alcohol; it tends to disappear after some minutes.
Medium body (I would like a stronger structure), with a good mix of chocolate, caramel, light roasted malt and peat, some residual sweetness.
Good news, the hopping is very good and it manages to appear, in the end, creating an interesting final (good hop, caramel, light peatiness). Unfortunately it’s also a bit metallic, maybe still young, and the alcohol is somehow evident.
Rough, but very good.