BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 008)
Bottle; Special.
NOTE: Marked batch 008 on the bottle label. Matured in a Bowmore 1987 cask although this is not detailed on the label.
This Imperial Stout has been matured in specially selected Islay Malt Whisky casks.
This aging process infuses into the beer all the threatening smoke, the encapsulating peat, the Atlantic essence and raw power of Scotland’s most distinctive Whiskies.
NOTE: Marked batch 008 on the bottle label. Matured in a Bowmore 1987 cask although this is not detailed on the label.
This Imperial Stout has been matured in specially selected Islay Malt Whisky casks.
This aging process infuses into the beer all the threatening smoke, the encapsulating peat, the Atlantic essence and raw power of Scotland’s most distinctive Whiskies.
3.7
176 reviews
Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Community reviews
SÖF 25 year feast at Haket 2010-11-13 Göteborg
AP: pitch black, dark beige head stouty head
AR: smokey, coffey, chocolate (bitter)
F. chocolate ( a bit metalllic), medium + bitterness, loads of carbonation, roasted malt, vanilla, a bit oily concistence, round flavor 3,6
Room temp: sprity, richer chocolate flavor 3,9
Bottled. A deep red-brown beer with a thin brown head. The aroma has notes of islay whisky, roasted malt, and wood. The flavor is sweet with notes of alcohol, whiskey, smoke, roasted malt, and wood, as well as light notes of vanilla.
Bottle. Pours black with light tan head. Nose of chocolate, motor oil and whiskey barrel. Taste of chocolate, vanilla coffee, roasted malts and light whiskey finish.
7/30/10. 12oz bottle. Black pour with red on the edges. Sweet malty aroma followed by peaty smoke and a good dose of alcohol. Sweet grainy flavor with a nice smokey finish that’s almost dusty and chocolatey. A little more one dimensional than I was expecting, but pretty good.
Bottle. 12 oz. Batch 008. Pours shiny opaque black with absolutely no head. Flat, reflective black surface. Aroma of wet moss, peat wood, soil, slight chocolate, and hints of turpentine. Surprisingly moderate body for an Imperial stout. Mouthfeel is clean, round, and a tad smoky. Finishes with a touch of whiskey warmth. I like the concept, and the beer was brewed very well, but the mixture of peat with the roast/maltiness of most stouts is a mistake. Instead of complimenting or highlighting other flavors, the peat simply serves as a distraction. Definitely looking forward to trying the rest of the Paradox series, however.
Black with a fizzy tan head. Smokey roasted grain, chocolate, and whiskey aroma and taste with a very smooth finish and well hidden alcohol.
pretty sure this was the 008 batch .. . pours a oil black, some wispy but sturdy foam .. . tar and burnt molasses with a sweet touch of peat.. . nice but wait.. . stupid babies need the most attention!
Bottle. Onyx pour with tan head. Nose is dark malt, chocoff. Tastes dark malty, with earthy, spirit, and some hop and scotch notes (hopscotch if you will). Late heat, and if anyone could tell these apart blindly, I’d give them a million bucks.
While it says batch 008 on the bottle, it also says that it’s aged in a 1998 Bowmore cask. Warm aromas of floral velvet peat, baking chocolate and amber honey. Dark and slick in the glass, small fluffy head from a vigorous pour. Toasty hay, wet soft charcoal, graphite and has a floral finish like the aroma of a tulip.
Bottle pours like flat Coke with a risdual surface haze ring of fine bubbles. The aroma is clearly malty, vanilla, Single Malt, and slightly roasted. The flavor is quite sweet, vanilla, slightly sour in the finish, and slightly coffee like. The palate is more lively than the pour leads to believe. Overall, very nice.
21st September 2008. Very much like batch 001 (tasted at same time). Smoky peaty whiskey and a little lactose sweetness. Contrasts with batch 001 only in as much as there is a little less peat and it’s not quite as sweet.
Bottle. Pours a dirty dark brown with a faint wisp of a tan head. Aroma has strong peaty notes, just as expected, but a solid backing of deep roasted malt with hints of licorice and cocoa. Soft mouthfeel, not as full as I like from impys, but still nice. Flavour doesn’t have the overpowering smokey-peaty whallop I was anticipating - it’s definitely in there, but it’s intermingled with notes of wood, charred malt, bittersweet cocoa, even some raisin and prune. I went in expecting - and hoping, really - for a full-on Islay whisky attack. I didn’t get that, but I still wasn’t disappointed - despite those characteristics being more restrained, it was still a very good beer.
11.2 z bottle. Okay why do I keep buying these over priced Brew Dog beers when I find them average at best but normally they seem to be below average. Once again this is just an overdone beer from Scotland’s substandard Dogfish Head. This one poured with a thinner looking black body sitting underneath a small bubbly head that made this one look more like a glass of cola then an Impy Stout. Aroma was over the top whiskey. Flavor is so hot and whiskey forward that if you were to tell me I was drinking a bolier maker I wouldn’t doubt you at all. Ugh how money did I throw away on this whiskey.......er I mean beer.
Bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of madmitch76. Pours a clear orangey brown with a beige head. Extremely smoked aroma - peaty smoke. Full-bodied with sweet burned malts and lots of peaty smoke and medicinal accents. Smoky, malt bitter finish with some alcohol. 270609
Whoa, killa beah. Got this bottle a few months ago at Sam’s in Chicago. Poured it aggresively but had a small tan head and no lace. Virtually opaque with slight deep garnet highlights. Aroma is divine: malty, roasty, caramel, peat, vanilla, coffee, dark chocolate, whisky, and leather. Flavor’s about the same but with a little bite or tang. Lovely bittersweet and mouthfilling. Body is ok, nothing special but not bad. Very boozy finish. A sipper, not a session beer.
Pours dark brown, with minimal head. Smoky scent. Very different from any other imperial stout I have tasted. Peaty, earthy flavor. Very smooth. Can’t tell the ABV is 10%. I’ll finish it only because it cost me a lot for the bottle.
Bottle courtesy of MagicDave06. Pours dark brown with a thin white ring of bubbles. Smells of smoke, roasted malt, oaky. Tastes of smoke, scotch, dry, boozy. Minimal difference between this one and batch 002.
Bottle. Um whats the difference between this and Springbank. Not much. Flavor is slightly more enjoyable in my opinion but for a rating look @ batch 017 plus .1
Bottle thanks Vic for the share. Don’t ask me to ever tell any of these beers apart blind tastes just like batch 017. And looks identical too. Dark fruit woody dry chocolate and sawdust. Its fine.
From the Bottle at Tom’s Ultimate Glasgow Tasting, Blackfriars 01/12/2007
Smoked whisky aroma. Dark coloured strong in alcohol and woody with a bitter and dry warming whisky finish.
Bottle. Muenster mentioned during our tasting that it pours kind of like Coca-Cola. I think it’s just a little bit darker, but rather accurate about its appearance. The prominent aromas are whiskey and molasses, peat is noticeable and some hints of dark chocolate. The initial flavour is of the dark chocolate and the molasses. As you let the brew sit and warm on the tongue, peat emerges with hints of whiskey. Passing the tongue the dryer notes of peat and dark chocolate become dominant with a nice nuttiness and light smokiness. Whiskey trails close behind with molasses fading. The finish is smooth chocolate completely fades, whiskey is slightly noticeable, all that remains is smoky peat and that persistent subtle molasses. I’m really enjoying this.
Bottle provided by BossHossBikes. Looks like Coca-Cola. The aroma doesn’t get my hopes up too much. Not a lot of smoke or peat or whisky, really. What is here is licorice, soy sauce, seaweed, and black chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium, not very heavy, but works alright. Now, I am definitely digging the flavor. An explosion of peaty smoke is found which I certainly wasn’t expecting from the aroma. It’s nutty and chocolatey with lots of seawater, brine, and peat smoke. This is a great sipper. I love me some peat.
Bottle. Pitch black with a small fainting cappuccino coloured head. Aromas of chocolate, peat smoke, caramel and tar. Flavour of burned malt, sour smoke and ash.
pitch dark, small yellow head
aroma is mild smoked peat, aroma resembles laphoraigh a lot,
flavor is licorice, roasted grains, chocolate, caramel. ends roasted and with a alc. burn. i think the aging (best before dec 2008), has added a little off-flavor (sort of oxidized).
Bottle.
Clear brown coloured with a small off white head.
Roasted aroma of whisky, smoke and peat.
Roasted flav our of whisky, smoke and peat with notes of liquorice.
Roasted and smoked finish.
Black with a medium beige head. Aroma had loads of smoke, wood, tobacco and burned malt. Flavour had loads of smoke, burned malt, dark bitter chocolate, coffee and whiskey notes. Finished sweet and smoked with warming alcohol. Not bad.
obody should smell this and want to willingly drink it.
Colossal heavy HEAVY smoke aroma decimates everything else. HUGE peat, slight licorice pipe candy smell, the smoke is thick and wet, I feel like I have a helmet filled with this shit, cigarettes! damn! just cigarettes! slight candy, cherries, no, raspberries...this is coming out as a faint smell as it warms. it’s all smoke and peat and cigarettes. Wow. Oh, beer is a super dark red / brown with a small brown cap and seemingly endless retention at a rim level with silty, spotty, slippery lacing. The taste early on is solid smoke. Heavy roast, peat, dry dirt, earth, coffin, etc... LOL. So intense. chocolate, maybe cherry? dates? wood? tar? (thx ante, I see it now). I’m finding that this is even more smoky than the 006 version and that I am not enjoying as much despite the fact that it blows me away. Too much smoke, and now that is it room temperature, the smoke, burnt quality and bitterness isn’t working for me. The 006 toned down, this has not, Smooth, where is the alcohol? Full bodied. Aftertaste of smoke, peat and cigarettes. Slight burn under all that heavy flavor and a bit of severely burnt malt. At one point, the smoke and bitterness combined to annoy. I don’t know what the hell to give this beer. Over the top smoke and peat. Too mcuh to be exceptional despite the amazing process.
***now that I love heavily peated scotches I think I’ll need to re-review this.***
Black with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, smoke, tar and peat. Dry, roasty flavour with a little ash, and overwhelming, cloying peat.
Bottle from Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. BB 06/06/09. Pours an opaque brown/black with a wimpy tan head. Sucker just wreaks of peat smoke. Near full bodied with mild carbonation. Flavor is peat smoke, burnt malt. And peat smoke. As the tongue dies, the flavors seem to moderate into mild peat smoke. A bit of anise peeks out. It’s mouthwatering. Might be the best Paradox I’ve had. Does get a bit ashy with time.
Bottle @ Scheffel. Pours black with a small creamy bubbly brown head and lacings. Nose is roast, coffee, cigaret smoke, meat, rubber. Smooth palate. Damm...