BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 006) - Duncan Taylor & Co Caol Ila 1996
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BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 006) - Duncan Taylor & Co Caol Ila 1996BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 006) - Duncan Taylor & Co Caol Ila 1996
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From:
BrewDog
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
10%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.54 | pDev: 14.97%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 07, 2009
Added:
Mar 26, 2008
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  0
Identical to Batch 001, as the casks were re-used.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by tendermorsel:
Photo of tendermorsel
Reviewed by tendermorsel from Massachusetts

4.12/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
My buddy brought this back from England.

This was pretty light in color for an imperial stout. It was more the color of a back lager. Very little head which disappeared almost immediately.

It smells like a scotch on the rocks. Slight caramel and chestnut notes. The scotch barrel aging cuts through everything else. I loved the fact that you can taste the smoked peat on the back end. It was very pronounced and quite hairy.

Whoa! This is an extreme beer. Very boozy smell and taste. Despite this is it was strangely smooth. I like scotch so I liked the peaty and smoky flavors. Definitely worth seeking out if you like whiskey or scotch. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Aug 02, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.75/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This beer pours a solid black, with very slight red edges, and a minimum amount of soapy beige head. The aroma is peat, iodine, fishy sea salt, and roasted (natch) malt. The taste is pretty much a milder version of the smell - smoky peat, the Atlantic Ocean, a decent heavy dose of toasty caramel malt, and a mild alcohol warming. The carbonation is quite mild, the body full, creamy, smooth, even with all the usual Islay suspects. It finishes sweet and unwaveringly smoky, and the big ABV is not really noticeable.

I can enjoy the malts of Islay in small quantities, so this melding of worlds is actually more drinkable than I would have thought. As my dad always said - "It's good for you - it'll put hair on your chest..."
Nov 07, 2009
Photo of Cyberkedi
Reviewed by Cyberkedi from Georgia

3.95/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Strong aroma is smoky and has a firm rubbery or yeasty underpinning. It pours opaque sable with a thick but not too persistent beige head. Flavor is strong and smoky, rather like beef jerky or barbecue sauce, and has a rubbery undertone, and not much of an alcohol bite considering the ABV. Finish has hints of coffee and nuts, and just a touch of molasses. Texture is silky smooth, but it leaves a tingle in the mouth.
Jan 15, 2009
Photo of cvfish
Reviewed by cvfish from Louisiana

3.43/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - This beer poured a dark brown color that produced a small light tan head which had some retetntion and left little lacing

S - The aromas produced by this beer were roasted malts and booze

T - The taste of this beer was a little underwhelming, roasted malts, maybe some molasses, but the whiskey sure dominates every time

M - The mouthfeel of this beer had a medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation

D - This would have been a good beer, especially for the whiskey drinkers out there, but the price on this one left a lot to be desired
Dec 02, 2008
Photo of mnapier
Reviewed by mnapier from Washington

3.38/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Serving Temperature, 50 degrees farenheit. Serving glassware, 12 ounce Tulip glassware.

A dark ale that pours without much of a foamy head, and with a non-existent clarity.
The nose is bourbon with peat smoke and molasses and with sort of humidity.
The mouth is almost aldersmoke like with bourbon and some licorice along with an almost burnt like quality.
Mouthfeel is medium at best.

Decent but I won't scream oh my god but I won't trash it.

Cheer
Nov 25, 2008
Photo of brendan13
Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.02/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
A - Poured into a snifter with only a half centimetre of light brown head, even from a fairly hard pour. The beer itself is a very dark brown colour.
S - Peaty, dark fruit & oakiness at first. Some slight chocolate and coffee hints.
T - Like the smell there is also a fairly hefty peatiness in the taste along with some chocolate hints but then a burnt wood taste comes through which is a bit unpleasent.
M - Light to medium bodied, pretty smooth with virtually no carbonation.
D - An interesting beer for sure but I wouldn't buy it again & would only recommend it to people who appreciated and understood Scotch Whisky.
The Whisky cask aging dominates far too much.
Sep 30, 2008
Photo of charlesw
Reviewed by charlesw from New York

3/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Well. Glad I tried it, you know. Oh. Hmm. Interesting. Not happy with the appearance - no head and it looks kind of muddy. Oh, that's weird. It is pretty clear. Huh. Well, just the way the light shines through makes it look pretty muddy. Suggestion: add some wheat, eh? Smells like... Well, I won't say, but it doesn't smell very pleasant. It's not really strong but it's not really good. Tastes... Well, interesting. I get the Islay bit, sure. But I also get ashes. I think I'd rather be drinking scotch. But it's interesting. Lingers in the mouth and gets smoother, mellower and much tastier as it does. Very interesting. Too thin in the mouth.

Improvements could be made through giving it head retention, filling out the middle of the mouth and giving it some bitterness. Shouldn't be too hard to add a little wheat, some caramel malts and some bittering hops. And maybe bump the mash temp up a degree or two, eh?
Sep 29, 2008
Photo of jjayjaye
Reviewed by jjayjaye from New York

3.83/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours an opaque darkness with a big foamy light tan head that decomposes in impressive sheets. Surprising seeing how heavy it is. The smell is intense and complex. The aroma has a strong black licorice coffee molasses thing that is mirrored in the taste. The flavor is also a bit smokey. Lightly carbonated, the mouth feel is medium-full bodied. The 10% ABV and the barrel aged treatment are big players in the feel and warmth. A reasonable drinker. This one is scoring points for imagination. This one from Jubilation Liquors in ABQ, NM.
Sep 04, 2008
Photo of jdubjacket
Reviewed by jdubjacket from Georgia

2.83/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from the bottle into my Stella Artois chalice. Pours a deep brown. Doesn't look as thick as I was expecting. Almost no head and no carbonation. Don't know what to do with the taste or the smell. Smells and tastes like smoked meat, and not a whole lot else. I've tried desperately to search for other aromas or flavors, but I just can't do it. The only thing I can pick out of this is smoked meat, and I am not a fan. The aftertaste of smoked meat lingers too. This beer feels almost flat in the mouthfeel, but it's still pretty smooth. This is not my cup of tea. I'm glad I only bought one.
Aug 20, 2008
Photo of irishkyle21
Reviewed by irishkyle21 from Canada (ON)

3.97/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours with a small tanned head. Very little retention and nice lacing. Pitch black color.

Smells of dark roasted malts, coffee, some smokiness, fruits, licorice and scotch like booze.

Tastes of alcohol (scotch), fruits, dark malts and oak. I found it a little thin, but still a unique and interesting beer.
Jul 03, 2008
Photo of DarkerTheBetter
Reviewed by DarkerTheBetter from Minnesota

3.88/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This beer pours a deep dark brown that I can see quite a bit into, but not all the way through my pint glass. The head is a pale tan collar that left some nice lacing at the top of my glass.

Smells of Scotch, but it's more of the band-aid and tire rubber take on the style. Preferring a more smooth and less petroleum based smell, I found this a bit hard to deal with, but I'm pretty sure it would drive a few die-hard scotch fans wild. There may be a grainy caramel behind this, but it's hard to tell, as the scotch is so powerful.

The flavor starts with a woody caramel and woody grains but then takes on the same scotch from the smell, but it's far more subdued and not so plasticy. It picks up a sour oakiness near the end and finishes out with a touch of ash. Not bad at all. Unique to be sure.

Feels slick and clean with a speckleing of carbonation.

If you know someone who digs the band-aid and rubber scotches, they'll flip for this one.
Jun 26, 2008
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Brew Dog Paradox
Stark ebon, slim brown head.

Peaty scotch whiskey malt dominates the nose.

Thick and boozy, all aspects of stout are subsumed and taken over by the scotch.
What, there's a stout under here? Honestly, it's all scotch. That's neat and all, but where's the beer?
It's all scotch, with an underbelly of brew, to hold it up
This is crazy...good, but crazy.
A bit hot, this. Ten percent alcohol rips all over the palate.
Gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of dripping whiskey over a beer and losing all qualities of that beer. I'd rather have a glass of whisky next to great stout. That's where I stand. But, I had to try it, so there we go.
Jun 19, 2008
Photo of Naerhu
Reviewed by Naerhu from Japan

2.35/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5
When I read the label that says: "This beer is not fainthearted, Morris Dancers, or adults who read Harry Potter books"

Three things ran thru my mind:
i. They must have been impressed by the Arrogant Bastard bottles;
ii. What the hell is a Morris Dancers; and
iii. If its not for adults who read Harry Potter books, is it for kids who read Harry Potter books?

Thanks to RobBeer for bringing out this beer all the way from England to Tokyo.

A - This ale is an evil black, something about the black is especially dark, with almost all no head.

S - This smells like whisky, Islay, peat, and scotch. Sweet, peat, burned earth.

T - Brutal. Like the thickest islay, but bitter to boot. Sweet, peat, burned earth.

M - Between all the chaos and power of the flavor, I cant recognize a body. Without the carbonation, it is smooth, though.

D - Sad after taking a sip of this beer, had this with a scotch lover, and we couldnt finish a half a bottle between us.
May 05, 2008
Photo of MAB
Reviewed by MAB from Canada (AB)

3.67/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
If you like scotch, then you will like this beer.

At a recent scotch tasting, I discovered that I was NOT a big fan of any scotch (of the six I sampled, only one was palatable).

This beer, on the other hand, tasted of scotch (the earthy, peaty, smoky, wood flavors) but the malts and sweetness of the beer, and probably the alcohol- at a more tolerable 10% compared to 50%+ for scotch- made for a really nice sipping beer.

The beer is made in actual Islay scotch barrels, so the flavors are not at all surprising.

A nice treat, and a good beer to give to your dad or father-in-law, who thinks that you're "a bit obsessive" about micro-brewed beers and wonder why you turn up your nose at common lagers & lite beers.
Apr 29, 2008
Photo of IronDjinn
Reviewed by IronDjinn from Canada (AB)

4.4/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
The Paradox Islay, batch 006, aged in Caol Ila casks, apparantly refills of the batch 001 edition.

Appearance is a complete black hole to light, the room gets darker as this stout devours whatever light there is around it. Opaque is not even the word for it at this point, maybe nebulous...

The aroma is a slice of paradise. Well, for a scotch enthusiast at least.... Rich grainy and peaty alcohol emanates up from the glass, sweet and oaky. Dark roasted malt sits behind all of this, barely apparent from the scotch aroma.

Wow, those barrels really worked their magic on this double stout in the flavour department. Peat and dark malt up front, a wonderful marriage, mild wood and warming alcohol. The finish is faint, yet a woody and smokey character rises up in the aftertaste. Smooth all the way!

Mouthfeel is on the thin side, but does not detract from the full experience, in fact helps make this more palatable and focus more on the robust flavour.

A science experiment well done and well crafted, I'm eager to track down other batches of Paradox now and stock on more of this one, very impressive results!
Mar 26, 2008
BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 006) - Duncan Taylor & Co Caol Ila 1996 from BrewDog
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 15 ratings