BrewDog Riptide

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

Serve in Snifter

Nice and smooth impy stout but lacking some of the complexity of some of the big guns. Aroma is mostly bittersweet chocolate with a tinge of plum. Flavor is roasted malt, coffee, chocolate. Relatively quick on the finish and an almost too hopped bitterness. Creamy texture is nice.

Pours a near-black body with an off-white, quickly disappearing head. Nose is very hoppy and fruity, compared to most other stouts, with some notes of coffee thrown in for good measure. Taste is equally hoppy, with strong parts cough syrup and coffee. Rolls nice on the palate, with that little characteristic hop sting in the aftertaste that has become BrewDogs trademark "bite" on almost anything they have. No great discoveries, but a very decent brew indeed.

Strong, smoky aroma has firm tones of molasses and chocolate as well as hints of licorice and caramel. It all but screams "Drink me!" to a lover of good stouts. It pours a dark, slightly reddish sable with a thick, fluffy, and fairly persistent tan head that leaves heavy lacing. Mouth-filling flavor has smoky, chocolate and molasses tones with hints of coffee and caramel. It is slightly sweet, which balances a subtle bitter tang. Full-bodied texture is smooth as almond milk and just fizzy enough to let you know this is beer. Very satisfying.
Earlier Rating: 12/18/2009 Total Score: 4.7
Aroma is strong, oily and smoky with an undertone of fine roast coffee and a hint of molasses. It pours a dark-chocolate brown, opaque and nearly black, with a fairly thick and somewhat persistent head. Rich flavor fills the mouth with roast coffee, molasses, unsweetened chocolate, caramel and even a bit of hops. Texture is jagged, fizzy and lively. This beer is NOT for the timid!

Clear dark brown pour and no head. Gave me a bit of a "hiss" when I opened it but it clearly has lost some of it’s intended carbonation. At least, I hope is has. Dark fruity and roasted aroma, sour and dark roast flavor. Thin bodied but smooth and silky. the carbonation is lacking, as I mentioned and that cost it a few points. If I see it locally later I’ll give it another try. A bit disappointing, this.

Wow! Great beer. Got this bottle at Sam’s in Chicago a few months ago. Poured with a nice light tan, medium head with lotsa lace. Color is an opaque dark brown to black. Aroma is very malty, cocoa, licorice, dark ripe fruit, roasty, and a bit of toffee. Flavor’s the same, but with the licorice in the finish, plus some hints of berry and lemon/orange. Great body and carbonation. Good rich finish. In spite of its robust strength and character, it’s still so good, it’s almost (but not quite) a session beer.

A good stout but not great. It has no head at all even with a hard pour. Nice taste of roast malt, molasses, chocolate which is very similar to the aroma. A bit of hop bitterness at the end.

Bottle: Pours a very nice black beer with a small beige head that disappears slowly. Smell a lot of hops, some roasted ingredients and some bitternes (good mix of hops and roasted ingredients). Taste is very well balanced and a good mix of roasted ingredients, hops, coffee, some bitter chocolate, a small hint of wood and some hints of roasted sugars. Starts as a pretty fresh and complex taste which changes quick into a bitter and roasted taste and than changes into a bitter and coffee after taste. Even a bit of a viscous. Very well balanced and low carbonated high light of Brewdog.

In bottle. Black beer with a thick tan head. Nice coffee aromawith some caramel. Flavours of coffee, biter chocolate and roasty malt. A little sweet but this doesn’t overpower the malt character. A respectable beer.