Parodox Brewery

Skully 29 had plenty of diacetyl when I had a pour of it at Barrels & Bottles a couple of months back. Skully 31 was the same, I just returned a bottle.

 

So, I have only had one Paradox, Deux Ans. I liked it quite a bit. I think I rated it something like 4.3/5
I just traded a couple of Paradox away to someone so I am anxious to see what he thinks of them. One of them was Skully Barrel 10, Salted Watermelon. If you look at their ratings, they really are all over the map. For the price, it can be hard to justify buying a beer that might not be that great. However, they sure have some creative beers.

I also have Skully Barrel #31 aging in my cellar, which is salted apricot I think. Looks like all their newest beers have salt in them. 33 I think is pepitas, cheyenne pepper, and salt. For a creative pumpkin beer.

 

The salted watermelon was excellent, that was No. 15. As for your 31, maybe the diacetyl will clear up eventually. Not sure about that stuff.

 

Diacetyl sometimes clears (or at least decreases) in certain brett beers. I don't know any more than that as I'm no chemist/blender. I've heard and experienced that a few times, though.

I think the wisest thing Paradox did was to stop labeling their beers based upon styles they clearly weren't. Even if you make a world-class aged sour, it's pretty disconcerting to taste one when you're expecting a brown ale or stout.

Something I never thought about before - are the Skully beers any relation to the old Bristol Skull & Bones beers? I have no clue who's running Paradox and/or where they came from.

 

#30 is watermelon aged in wine barrels, I think salt is also added. It may be that #15 was a similar recipe.

lifted from a Google image search.

 

Number 30 doesn't actually say salted on the front label so I was confused.

 

Each Skully represents a singular moment in time... the base recipe, barrel types, fruit varietal, and/or blend parameters changes every time. Concepts are revisited but never duplicated.

Just Released:
#31: Saladitos: Salted Apricots BA Sour Golden
#32: Dry-Hopped BA Sour Red
#33: Pepitas Grande: BA Tart Brown Ale with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin, Chimayo Red Chile, and Cacao Nibs

Coming Soon:
#34: Ginger/Bosc Pear with Ceylon Cinnamon BA Sour Amber
#35: Saladitos: Salted Plum BA Sour Golden
Trois Ans: Anniversary Barrel Reserve Wild Ale

Paradox and our Skully line has nothing at all to do with Bristol Brewing or their, abandoned over a decade ago, Skull and Bones Series.

 

We permanently switched to the 500ml crown capped bottle almost two years ago for a few reasons. First, the seals on the original swingtop 750ml bottles were proving to be increasingly unreliable and this was causing irregularities. Our new bottles are thicker glass, have a champagne style punt for added strength, and use the more reliable cap closure. Finally the smaller size lowers the retail price point and makes it more affordable for sour fans to try several of our releases.

 

I can't wait for the new facility to open so I can get a chance to taste some of these without committing to a full bottle.
When is the projected opening time of Paradox in Divide? I might have to make the drive up there for the grand opening.

#34 and #35 both sound really good. I think for sour beers 500ml actually makes sense. It's enough for 2 or 3 people to get a pretty decent glass, but small enough that it is affordable as well.

EDIT: Not sure why I said #10 in my previous post, I meant 30. Sorry if it caused confusion.
EDIT2: @AIRMAN_PARADOX , when you say that the new bottles are stronger, do you believe they are more resistant to breakage when shipping?

 

I've stated previously that I'm not a big fan of sour beers, but the blueberry one I had from them a while back tasted exactly like stomach bile. Any particular reason for that?

 

No opening dates have been set for our new Tasting Room in Divide. We are still working with the County to get construction permits and finalize our retail license. We may do a few bottle release parties, but don't plan on opening for regular hours until next year.

I definitely want to encourage you to continue tuning your palate into sour beers. Stomach acid is composed hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. The acids in that beer are mainly lactic and acetic, with some citric acid contribution from the fruit. I opened a bottle of our Skully #12 Blueberry Sour yesterday, it tastes exactly as intended, and it is currently drinking beautifully.

 

I keep trying them, and I can certainly identify good ones, often by the smell alone, but that one was really 'challenging'. I'm sure I'll continue to explore them, but most often I appreciate sour beers in a utilitarian sense- to cleanse my palate when tasting lots of big stouts and barleywines!

Thanks for the insight though, Airman!

 

I've tried a few of these already, and I like them. Just picked up 2 that I've not had before.

Cheers!

 

I'm curious if anyone else gets diacetyl in #31. Just shared a bottle and there's definitely a cheesy sorta flavor as it warms but overall I didn't find it offensive. Not what I would normally deem diacetyl but maybe a little off. Nice apricot notes and the salinity adds some liveliness to balance out the lack of carb.



Cheers!

 

I'm sensitive to diacetyl, I can detect it in small quantities. The bottle of 31 that I had was overwhelming, I drank about an ounce before i decided to return it. If every bottle doesn't have that problem I would love to know.

 

I definitely want to encourage you to continue tuning your palate into sour beers. I opened a bottle of Skully #31 Apricot Sour yesterday, it tastes exactly as buttery as intended, and it is currently drinking beautifully. Hopefully you come to understand that there is no such thing as flawed beer, only a palate in need of an education.

 

I get where you're going with this but I'm going to disagree completely. There are plenty of flawed beers out there and being educated about what exactly went wrong makes it more apparent. I'm fully aware that spontaneously fermented beers are a different animal, but that's a broad brush.

 

Buttery as intended? Are you kidding? Fuck that shit.

 

I can't tell if the post you were referring to was serious. I thought he was taking a stab at the Paradox post from earlier, either way this is awesome.

 

Has paradox ever brewed anything other than experimental sours?