Tasting Notes: Nøgne Ø: Dark Horizon: 4th Edition

Nøgne Ø: Dark Horizon: 4^th Edition (Norway: Imperial Stout:16 % ABV)

Visual: Black. Brown bubbles at the edge and dashes across the body.

Nose: Chilli/Green peppers. Coffee in a bitter and black fashion. Sour cherries. Fresh baked white bread. Subtle bitter red wine with sediment. Avocado. Slight sour tartness  touch.

Body: Caramel. Brown sugar. Treacle. Coffee. Green peppers. Madeira. Musky grapes. Spicy. Red wine and cherries. Bitter chocolate mixes with chocolate liquore. Almonds.

Finish: Bitter coffee, yet creamy. Cinder toffee. Madeira cake. Spiced cherries. Raisins. Tart grapes. A touch of chilli like heat.

Conclusion: Well…fuck. This is bloody amazing. Bitter. Coffee infused but with spiciness dark fruits and a mix of subtle red wine touches.

It opens with a bitter coffee and lightly spiced nose. Impressive, but hardly a hint of what is to come. The body is the thing. Bitter coffee and chocolate, it feels like it has been soaked in Madeira and bitter red wine. The slight spice is braced against that huge chocolate liquore and toffee sweetness.  It just feels so very full. Each element is present at the same time

With most complex beers they seem to shift from one note to the next, here it all seems full on all the time. The Madeira is infused into the cherries which seem to have been left in pepper seeds for the spice. Everything is mixed in together, nothing feels small.

The beer feels its abv, but it comes out in a spicy heat rather than a direct alcohol burn. Similarly warning, but not as off putting in other words. The texture is smooth and slightly viscous. The flavours, while all up front, are so numerous that you could be examining the beer to the last drop.  The wine feel and flavour is both subtle and yet omnipresent. To explain, it is not a distinct element of flavour but a mix of elements that call the varied wines to mind as you drink. The heavy and musky grapes mixing with sweet Madeira in the same breath.

It takes a lot to surprise me in the Imperial Stout race but this one did it. More full of flavour than most barrel aged beers, more drinkable than lower abv beers and more flavoursome than most beers full stop.

If you get the chance, drink it.

Background: Drunk at Brewdog Bristol.  The combination of odd triangular box and tiny bottle got me some odd looks, but considering the beer’s reputation I had to give it a try. From the box it sounds like they use coffee bean and Muscovado Sugar in brewing it. Half way through I was given a small glass of cold drip coffee to try, and I found afterwards that it set off the beer wonderfully making each note stand out much more obviously.  The pub had live music on at the time as well, combined with a lovely day it made for an excellent environment in which to enjoy the beer.

Tasting Notes: Baeren: Chocolate Stout: 2013 Vintage

Baeren: Chocolate Stout: 2013 Vintage (Japan: Imperial Stout: 9% ABV)

Visual: Black. Moderate creamy head of a milky chocolate colour.

Nose: Roasted. Peanuts and hazelnuts mix. Grated chocolate orange.

Body: Milky chocolate. Dry roasted peanuts. Noticeable alcohol. Big molasses. Very sugary sweet. Blue berry. Treacle. Chocolate orange. Toffee.

Finish: Gin. Bitter chocolate. Dry roasted peanuts. Liquorice and treacle. Cherries.

Conclusion: This is big and boozy. The alcohol isn’t even attempted to be hidden. It uses a  thick treacle like alcoholic middle and the gin like air to the finish to let you know exactly what you are drinking.

The thing is, that is a big flaw, but they proper kick a wodge of flavour at you with it.

The chocolate is thick and heavy, textured and flavoured like treacle, and matched with sweet toffee flavours. That syrupy texture seems to be a big element of both the alcohol kick and the flavour, and as it rides out into the bitter chocolate finish I wonder how closely intertwined the two are.  It even manages to bring some chocolate orange and blueberry complexity with it.

It is like the anti-Swan Lake Imperial Stout, where that was very smooth to the point that the flavour had to take time to build up, this rushes to show you all its charms in the first thirty seconds.

It keeps well to style expectations with lots of dry roasted nut flavours in the mix as well. The rough edges of booziness means that it definitely lacks technical proficiency but it sure is fun. For all the strong alcohol booze feel it manages a thick and slick beer in a very satisfying fashion.

Rough edged but well flavoured, it you can live with a booze hit that feels Like Brooklyn Black  Chocolate Stout made ever more heavy and then some, then give it a shot.

Background: Picked up from Kyoto. Had in Takefu. Haven’t I used those words before? Didn’t know much about this brewery but decided to give it a go. For some reason it has “We don’t forget Jan 11” (I can’t see the year at the moment) on the bottle. If anyone knows why, please let me know. Anyway. I enjoy Imperial Stouts, but try not to drink them too often lest they lose some of the fun.

Tasting Notes: Swan Lake: Imperial Stout

Swan Lake: Imperial Stout (Japan: Imperial Stout: 10% ABV)

Visual: Black, brown shimmers around the edge.

Nose: Toffee, feels thick and viscious on the aroma oddly enough. Bourbon. Charring. Roasted barley and a gin air. Bitter chocolate. Fresh brown bread.

Body: Milky chocolate. Roasted nuts. Frothy texture. Chocolate fondue. Barley. Lots of roasted character.

Finish: Roasted popping nuts. Bitter Belgium chocolate. Fudge. Oatmeal biscuits.

Conclusion: It could just be the abv, or the extra large serving I got (See background), but this is a beer that grew on me as I drank it. There was an impressive aroma from the start, but the main body felt slightly thin early on. That soon changed.

Fondue chocolate flavour and a frothy texture make for an impressive mix, especially with roasted barley and nuts mixing to create a bitter but grounded Imperial Stout that has a good range. It feels its weight, not hiding the abv, but it isn’t spirity for the most part, there is just a natural heft to the beer to warm you of its strength.

Despite the roasted character the texture is very frothy and smooth. Since the Imperial Stout range is so packed with quality beers, a quick comparison to give an idea of where it stands. This is probably competing in a similar style and ballpark to Bristol Beer Factory’s Ultimate Stout. It has a similar quality, below the top range of insanely good imperial stouts, but distinctly competent and not exactly far off the top set.

A lovely call to old style roasted stouts but without eschewing the lovely smoothness that has become a trademark of the new wave of imperial stouts. It shows its weight but never to the degree that you regret it showing its weight. The minor flaw is that it seems slightly thin of flavour in the first few sips, and in such a packed competition that keeps it from the top, but in any more reasonable assessment it is a very good beer.

Background: I had a bit more for this than I planned. Drunk at the popeye bar, I was half way through my first glass when one of the staff dropped a glass in front of me that shattered. Despite none getting in my glass they quickly scooted the beer away from me and replaced it with anew full glass. Very nice, but a tad dangerous at the abv. I do like Japan. Picked as it was listed as one of the top 50 beers in Japan. I was slightly tired from jet lag at the time of enjoying this.

Tasting Notes: Brodies: Elizabethan

Brodies: Elizabethan (England: Imperial Stout: 22% ABV)

Visual: Black. Still with no head and a small amount of bubbles around the edges.

Nose: Marmite. Horse blankets. Black olives.

Body: Chocolate liquore. Toffee. Marmite. Treacle. Very smooth. Red cherries. Gin. Black olives. Black cherry. Cranberry. Coconut macaroons. Raisins. Shortbread.

Finish: Chocolate. Port. Fudge sweetness. Fruitcake. Black cherry and olives. Sweet liquorice touches. Coconut.

Conclusion: Holy shit. This thing is Tokyo*++. Well half way between a Tokyo and  Romanov Stout. Or something. It has got the chocolate liquore smoothness and the black olives that I’ve come to associate with Romanov and the real sweetness and cranberry fruitiness of Tokyo*. It is so very smooth, no alcohol burn despite the fact this should be an insanely weighty beast. Frankly that makes it dangerous.

The aroma does fool you. It is quite simple and as one friend said, slightly marmite like. There just doesn’t seem to be much going on initially, it could be that the glasses don’t suit careful nosing well but I was preparing to be disappointed.

The first sip dispels this foolish notion.

The body is chocolate liquore soaked in dark fruit and fortified wine. The word liquore is required to adequately describe it. If you are looking for a more traditional beer you wont find it here. This is one for the fans of the heavy duty experiments of recent years.  What it gives you is a complexity far beyond most of the sweet liquore concoctions can provide.

It still feels like an Imperial Stout though. Initially the power belies the complexity but then over time lovely coconut flavour comes out, an element I deeply appreciate in stouts.  It feels like it is combining Good King Henry Special Reserve with the sheer power of the craft beer scene.  This is match made in heaven.

Like Romanov the olive elements ground it so the sweetness is not the only thing, and so gives it a base from which it aims for the stars. Of all the insane abv beers this is the greatest. Sweet, indulgent, liquore like and fruitcake rich. No hop character  I can detect, this rides all on its soothing nature.

Maybe I am biased by the effort it took to get access to this but an alcohol burn free indulgent and rich beer is bloody lovely.

Background: Rate Beer says this is an English Strong Ale. Possibly, the style is wide enough that it could come under it and at such high abvs style definitions do tend to break down. However on drinking it I couldn’t help but view it as an Imperial Stout, so that is how I listed it. This beer is one of Brodies legends, brewed very rarely, some say once a year on Brodies anniversary, I couldn’t confirm. We had heard it was on over the Easter Bunny bash when I was down for my friend’s birthday. It wasn’t on when we arrived but we were promised it should be ready any time now. So we kept asking every half an hour odd on if it was on yet. Apologies to the staff if we were driving them mad. Finally it came on, at 22% it was only served in thirds and I grabbed what I could for the table. So you might say I was quite anticipating it. Maybe just.  The marmite notes were first noticed by a fellow drinker then I couldn’t unsee them.

Tasting Notes: Evil Twin: Even More Jesus

Evil Twin: Even More Jesus (Denmark: Imperial Stout: 12% ABV)

Visual: Thick black with a viscous sheen around the glass. Dark fudge brown froth that writhes across the body then vanishes.

Nose: Nutty. Bitter coffee. Touch of cloying sour cream and chives. Touch of smoke and iodine.

Body: Very thick. Medicinal touch and salt that warms into heavy fudge and chocolate fondue.  Black cherry. Thick caramel. Bitter and roasted elements below. Condensed cream. Nougat. Chocolate cake, Slightly oily. Marshmallow.

Finish: Bitter chocolate. Fudge. Twix biscuits. Roasted nuts. Sweet chocolate cake. Praline oil. Brown sugar.

Conclusion: This is a big one to take on. Ok, let’s go. This thing is seriously thick. The texture is weighty and creamy, mostly smooth but tingles down your throat to warn at its strength.   Fondue textured and gives a great grip to the flavour.

It is hard to imagine that the beer started so unassumingly.

Well, maybe not started, the pour gave a hint. A viscous sheen over the glass and the pouring liquid looks motor oil black and opaque even in mid air.

What I’m referring to then is the aroma.  It didn’t tell me very much at all. Roasted, sour cream and chives. Touch of iodine like it had been Island whisky aged.  Nice, but nothing that the Bristol Beer Factory Stouts didn’t do better.

So to sip, perchance to dream, we face forceful medical and salt up front. Nothing special but with a weight beyond initially expected.

Then, hold the liquid, let the weight slip down and with it the force and let out chocolate, fudge, nougat and marshmallow. The fudge is the real winning element, sweetening moment upon moment and thickening until becomes caramel like as a capstone to the flavour.

When you release, swallow and let the bitter chocolate and biscuits reclaim the tongue. Belgium bitter chocolate, both stylish and harsh in its bitterness and returning roasted character. This things bitterness reminds me of Speedway Stout in its intensity here, but after a far more complex body.

The thickness and bitter flavours mean that it is a beer of enforced slow indulgence, if drunk fast it would not have time to let its flavours seep out so would be far duller and noted primarily for the mild alcohol burn.  Instead the weight forces languid sips to let the oils come out and with it the richness and complexity.

A heavy luxury that makes you appreciate it on its terms. Fights and earns its place at the top tier of the Imperial Stout league which is a hard won context if ever there was one.

The slow food of beer drinking and worth every moment.

Background: The Evil Twin Brewing, from the tales I have heard so called because it is the evil twin of Mikkeller. They follow the same procedure of brewing in rented breweries around the world rather than having a brewery of their own. In fact from a quick search it looks like the name is more literal than I first thought and that the main men of the two breweries are literal brothers. Anyway, I picked this up just before Christmas mainly because it was called ” Even More Jesus” which amused me at that time of the year. Hey, at least I’m honest about it. Since I had so many stouts and Imperial Stouts in the cupboard at the time I decided to save it for drinking later in the year. Drunk while listening to Nine Inch Nails “The Fragile. Yes again. The music seems to suit heavy beers well, slow and heavy but not intrusive. Sets a very good atmosphere for relaxing and letting strong beer seep through you. Maybe I should make it the official heavy beer drinking music of the site.

Tasting Notes: Bristol Beer Factory: Imperial Stout Aged In Whisky Cask

Bristol Beer Factory: Imperial Stout Aged In Whisky Cask (England: Imperial Stout: 10.5% ABV)

Visual: Black, creamy beige froth that descend quickly to islands over the main body.

Nose: Roasted. Raspberry and Blueberry. Milky coffee. Smooth. Slight washing  up liquid early on, dissipates quickly. Twigs. Spirity. Salted toffee.

Body: Bitter. Hazelnuts. Big chocolate. Salted toffee cheesecake. Blueberry hints. Cloying feel. Chalk touch.

Finish: Raw chocolate and bitter. Roasted hazelnuts. Cheesecake. Cloying cream. Toasted teacakes.

Conclusion: So what to say, here at the end of the 12 stouts of Christmas 2012? A fine thick yet slick texture, that cloying touch toned down so it has only just a hint of Russian porter style in there. Big chocolate bitterness and roasted. The base beer rides the style with excellent aplomb.

The whisky influence is interesting. There are berry hints, not too heavy, but sprouting from the beer when you least expect it. You have that layered against a salted toffee cheesecake dryness, so yes very interesting. This tart against dry over a heavy base means from moment to moment you could get anything from refreshing to viscous to lingering mouth drying character. A ride to be sure,

Heavy and sinks down into your belly, seems to leave the flavours in weighted dregs in its passing. The remains bloom into new flavour in the extended finish, resurging again and again to keep the beer present long after the last sip.

Spirit touched, tingling alcohol prickles promise warning of its punch, but never hurts the beer by becoming burning.  For all the added elements the whisky gives, the beer keeps very much to the thick and heavy feel of a traditional stout, avoiding the liquore like smoothness that a lot of new wave Imperial Stouts use.

The traditional weight is a boon to me, the extra grip for flavour makes it easy to examine, and lets you take your time with it.  For all its range it doesn’t deviate too much from its core concept in strong heavy flavours. This makes it initially less impressive, but helps reinforce its excellent character over time.

A beer to take your time with and allow it to flow through you.

Background: Whisky cask, whisky cask, could you generic up that a bit for me? Actually the bottle blurb is a bit more helpful, listing it as Speyside whisky but still no further details. This is the final of the 12 stouts of Christmas Beers!  Only took me a quarter of the year.  Still, been a worthy run so far, I’d say in general just slightly higher quality than last year, though the first run had the advantage of being a completely new idea and thus has more of the spark of the new. Now just to wait for next year’s run.  Drunk while listening to Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile. It seemed to match well to the beer. Especially Starfuckers inc.

Tasting Notes: De Molen: Hel en Verdoemenis 666

De Molen: Hel en Verdoemenis 666 (Netherlands: Imperial Stout: 10% ABV)

Visual: Black. Sud like bubbles around the edge but not really a head.

Nose:  Roasted. Bitter chocolate. Cherry liquore. Combined they seem like Belgium chocolates. Marzipan. Sherry trifle. Chocolate cake. Smooth. Gin spirit air.

Body: Treacle. Chocolate liquore. Cherry liquore. Toffee. Gin undertone. Port.

Finish: Bitter chocolate. Cherry liquore. Roasted. Mint touch and gin. Spiced cherry. Rum. Slight hop bitterness. Almonds. Rye bourbon.

Conclusion: Holy hell this is like a Belgium chocolate filled with liquore. No really. Despite being an Imperial Stout the closest thing it reminds me of is the barley wine “Old Numbskull”. There is the same feeling of dragging cherry sweetness over Belgium style bitter chocolate in a luxurious way. Despite being aged with cognac wood chips the finish ends with spiced rum and port like touches, and a dry but flavoursome element that makes it heavier and richer.

The style feels like a black barley wine, with a spiced and sweet element. The Imperial Stout is there, but there is so much spirit like elements added in and sweetness that it doesn’t seem to naturally fit the expectations of that style.  In fact it feels like the inverse of AB08. That was a so called blond Imperial Stout that felt like a barely wine with stout dropped in. This feels like a black barley wine with stout dropped in.

So Belgium chocolate, barley wine, imperial stout. That is pretty high concept. Smooth, you can feel the spirit in it but without any burn. Gin, rum, port or just very strong beer rolling within, the only thing you don’t really get is the aforementioned cognac. It is mighty and delicious. Maybe a touch too heavy in alcohol feel over the smoothness of the liquore texture but not very much so.

If we are going by flavour, Old Numbskull does it better. If we are going by style there are much closer takes on the style. This is very different and vibrant and gives you a lot of spicy and bitter flavor mixing above the Imperial Stout base.  Feels like it should be shared like the spirits that so influence it.  Shared in a late night drink amongst friends. Warning though, this is no nightcap beer. The flavours and spice snap you awake.

Delicious and refined.

Background:  Hell and Damnation, or so this beer’s name translates as, very nice. Aged with 40 year old cognac soaked wood chips this sounded pretty nice. I have been putting off having this one for a while. I have had a ton of stouts and Imperial Stouts recently so have been trying to mix things up a bit. However the stock at Brewdog Bristol has been going pretty fast so I thought Id best grab one while they last.  Had a nice conversation with some people I’d just met at the pub while I was reviewing this which put me in quite the cheery mood.

Tasting Notes: Brewdog: Christmas Paradox 2012

Brewdog: Christmas Paradox 2012 (Scotland: Imperial Stout: 15% ABV)

Visual: Black. Small just off coffee colour suds for a head. Still main body.

Nose: Raisins. Port. Liquorice. Bitter chocolate. Mulled spice. Roasted character.

Body: Liquorice. Bitter yet creamy chocolate. Fruitcake. Quite bitter. Oatmeal . raisins. Treacle toffee. Black olives.

Finish: Bitter chocolate. Liquorice. Mixed spice jar. Red wine. Rum. Coconut. Vanilla. Dry coffee. Dry gin.

Conclusion: Brewdog’s imperial stouts are often sweet, sometimes to a sickly degree. This has been especially true of their 15% abv Paradox range. This then is a surprise as for all its chocolate elements it really is quite bitter in the expression of it. It has a classic unsweetened chocolate style and when you add in dry liquorice, black olives and a mix of spices from the rum you get a really quite dry finishing and harsh edged beer that goes against everything the previous Paradox range taught you to expect.

Initially the difference from expectations was so much that I didn’t really take to the beer. It didn’t help that liquorice in a beer’s flavours is not often my thing and it was coming through pretty heavily here. Then as raisins and fruitcake came out, and with red wine mixed into the rum’s spice I looked at it again.  The beer wasn’t bad, it just didn’t match my expectations. I was faulting it for not being what I thought it would be.

So I examined it again. Dry despite the thick texture, and flavours that I would expect from mulled red wine. The flavours hang in the mouth, seeping spice over time long after you have finished drinking. The dryness calls to spirit, and the spirit elements come through in flavour and sheer punch as well. The abv is smoothed well but it still feels potent.

I’m having a hard time pinning down exactly what this beer reminds me of.  Something towards the dry end of the cocktail range I thing. I’m not much of a cocktail drinker so my memory is hazy, but I’m sure I remember encountering something similar over the years.

Underneath the rum, spice and mulled wine, well yes it is an imperial stout and powerful at that. Mainly you get the bitter chocolate but there is also coffee in the finish. The stout elements feel like a backbone rather than the main event here.

Spicy and wine influence, with liquore and spirits throughout. Even by the end of the bottle I’m not quite sure what I have been playing with but it is a heck of a journey. I’ve overcome my initial reticence to it and, while it could be the abv talking, it has convinced me of its charms.
A beer of distinctive range and a journey through flavour. No regrets for this one.

Background: The Paradox range of Imperial Stouts recently jumped to 15% abv from 10% and has become much sweeter as a result. This particular Christmas expression of it has been aged for a year in rum barrels. Before drinking I had heard a few people say they enjoyed it but felt in needed a few weeks to take the edge off. So I asked my friend Will who I had given a bottle of this at Christmas to have a sip and compare. He commented that it seemed smoother, but the alcohol was slightly more evident as well. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers. Drunk while listening to Garbage’s seminal self titled album.

Tasting Notes: Brodies: Mocha Milk Stout (Rum barrel)

Brodies: Mocha Milk Stout (Rum Barrel) (England: Imperial Stout: 9% ABV)

Visual: Very dark brown to black. Dust of off white head.

Nose: Very roasted coffee. Spicy undertones. Roasted nuts. Cloves. Mulled touch.

Body: Spicy. Rum and raisin. Bitter chocolate. Red wine. Glacier cherry. Very smooth. Cream. Lots of spices and mulled wine.

Finish:  Bitter coffee. Spice again. Cream. Bitter chocolate. Greenery. Rum and raisin.

Conclusion: A very odd nose to body combination on this one. The nose is roasted, very much so, and gives very little hint to the rum.

When you sip the base stout below is detectable as smooth chocolate and very creamy but it doesn’t take long for the spiced warmth to start pulling through.  The mix of smooth chocolate and spice could not be more different to the dry roasted aroma.

It runs on a hair line balance between the spice and the stout and it manages it will. There is an eternal warmth of character to it that reminds me of chilli or ginger aged stouts but here the heat is just implied with flavour rather than being actually fiery kick. To me this is the best of both worlds, the great flavours but without making it hard to drink from the heat.

I had the beer in a third and more than that would probably have hurt it. The huge delicious spiciness was growing throughout the drink but never reached a point where it overstayed its welcome. I have a feeling by a half pint it may just have been doing so, but that is a guess.

Very well done, with great emphasis of the creamy chocolate and full use made of the benefits of barrel ageing. Maybe a bit simple in the nose but it makes up for that with the rest of the beer. Very much worth trying.

Background: Drunk at the Brewdog Bristol, Brodies night where we got to meet the brewers. Apparently made with actual milk and chocolate rather than cocoa nibs or similar. Also apparently a total shit to clean up after brewing. There was both a rum and port version on offer. I grabbed and reviewed rum, my mates grabbed port, but we pretty much shared the two between. For comparison Port was sweeter and seemed less roasted on the nose. I preferred the rum, if I remember rightly James Brodie said he thought he would prefer the port as the temperature warmed up.  I could be wrong. Drink was involved. Due to rum being quite a naval drink the slightly piratical looking photo of my good friend local stand up comedian Dan “Dagger” enjoying the beer seemed appropriate so I have shared it below.

Tasting Notes: Brewdog: Paradox: Isle Of Arran (2012)

Brewdog: Paradox: Isle Of Arran (2012) (Scotland: Imperial Stout: 15% ABV)

Visual: Black. Dash of browned head.

Nose: Caramel. Thick aroma. Slight sea air. Toasted oak and toasted marshmallows. Crumpets.

Body: Black cherry. Toffee. Treacle tart. Slight salted rocks. Coconut. Chalk. Milk chocolate. Vanilla. Marshmallow. Blueberry.

Finish: Treacle. Charring. Oak and bitterness. Milk chocolate. Whisky. Cranberry and raisins.

Conclusion: So, they’ve taken the abv up to 15%. That’s quite a big hike and is a heavy hit to drink. The question is, does it improve the beer enough to be worth the extra weight?

Well, the jump in abv seems to come with a corresponding rise in sweetness. This thing comes close to Tokyo* territory with the sugary sweet flavours breaking free. There is lots of toffee, chocolate and sweet dark fruit and the base stout seems less hard edged than the 10% version because of that. That’s saying something considering the original was no slouch in that department either. The texture feels more tongue coating as well, holding the sweetness for longer. You get nice toasted offset, such as crumpets and the like, but even that has a sweet pastry edge to it.

Oddly, considering Arran is such a smooth whisky, there is some salted rock and sea air elements which I wouldn’t have expected. Very understated but utterly necessary against the sweetness of the beer so it isn’t sickly.

So is it better than the 10% version? Well it is definitely bigger. Everything is more evident  and in your face and there are notes that remind me of the Cask aged version of Tokyo.  On keg it even smoother and bigger than the bottle and that version I would without reservation say is superior. In bottle, it isn’t better, just different. As mentioned several times it is closer to Tokyo and its variant which pushes it into the insanely sweet and somewhat fruity stout territory and makes it an event beer. The 10% Paradox was never a slouch but more manageable, you could have it with a heavy meal to have maybe a half of something else after it. This thing is pretty much a beer of the night at anything above a third.

Still a great beer, lots of range, lots of flavour and lots of kick. The kick isn’t alcohol, it is smooth as can be, there is whisky flavour but not alcohol burn.

So a very good beer for anyone with a sweet tooth to enjoy.

Background: So, revisiting the Paradox beers. The beer range has recently had a facelift with a jump in abv from 10 to 15%. Since they are all barrel aged Imperial Stouts this takes them from merely very strong, to ouch that’s strong.  I guessed that anything with that big abv difference would need a pretty different recipe – so its time to give them a review again. I have previously tried this on keg, but this is my first time trying it in bottle. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.