BrewDog Riptide

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

Serve in Snifter

Dark mahogany pour with an eggshell head. Aroma of cocoa, smoke, and light roasted coffee. Flavor similar with mild chocolate and subtle coffee bean finding their way to the palate. A little thin for the style.
Earlier Rating: 11/19/2008 Total Score: 2.9
Wow...after tasting the three brews I have from these guys, might pass on all other offerings. None of these are enjoyable...NONE!!! This beer is a dark mahogany pour with only a few bubbles accumulating to create a head. Burnt malt, overly sweet, and cloying. Strange sourness in the finish. Don’t waste your money!!!

Pours a deep black with a nice dark tan head. The nose smells very promising indeed. With strong coffee, roast, smoke, and light hop character. Big upfront malt body with milk chocolate and nuts up front. Finishes lightly bitter and smokey. Body is huge for only 8.2 abv. This is a suprisingly awesome imperial stout from Brewdog, a company I am rather pissed off at right now.

From bottle. Rich malty aroma with tons of molasses and chocolate. A bit of rubber-sulfur in there, but not a detraction. Coffee and smoky notes, with little in the way of hops. Dark brown-black clear with no head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation and a bit of alcohol warming. Starts sweet with tons of molasses, chocolate, patent malt bitterness, and roasted barley. Sweet chocolatey finish with some Twizzlers and coffee. Bitter after, nutty and a bit astringent. Decent stout.

Bottle; didn’t realize this was Brewdog until I looked at the bottle more closely. Poured a dark brown/black with a modest, creamy brown head. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, a bit of earth, must and a touch of fruit; chocolate was a standout. Initial reaction was that the flavor was quite robust and full bodied; good deal of roasted malt. Flavor lingers and actually morphs on the palate. Some good cocoa and fruit notes pull through with some time. Easy to drink, and the alcohol is quite hidden. A very solid beer.
Earlier Rating: 3/11/2010 Total Score: 3.5
Bottle; poured a very dark brown if not black with a rather pathetic looking brownish head that quickly diminished. Aroma of roasted oats, caramel, coffee and cocoa. Just an ok aroma. Flavor was better; a nice soft palate. Not great, but better. Roasted oats with some solid hopping in finish; citrus and earthy. Not worth the price, but still a solid brew. Nothing unique or distinct.

Black beer with tan head. Aromas of vanilla, toast, and chocolate. Moderate body with some black malt dryness. Not as much roasted character as I expected. Dry bitterness in the finish.

Bottle (rated sometime in 2008, BB Jul 09). Head is mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate, coffee), with notes of ash and cardboard. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. It’s hard to imagine this brewery ever making a decent imperial stout.

pours dark with low head aromas of oak, hints of blueberries, some coffee. sweet beginning with quite bitter ending. typ palate is actually not too bad. many stouts has that typical watery palate that this one doesnt. a good stout!

Bottle poured into snifter. Super dark pour with a soft creamy head. Aroma has hints of chocolate and toffee. Flavor is a little dry and sweet. Not all that bad.
Earlier Rating: 6/17/2011 Total Score: 3.4
Big ol bottle, not quite 750ml though. Picked up some bottles for the free Iron and Wine show in Chicago and this came along for the ride. Not quite the right choice for the 90 degree weather though. Pitch black pour, thick and fierce. Chocolate aroma with hints of molasses. Soy saucy flavor, sort of bland IMO.