BrewDog Paradox Jura - BrewDog

Belgianbeerbunny

Illinois

4.74/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A - 1/2 inch caramel head. Quickly dissipated.

S - Smooth and viscous.

T - Sweet caramel body with a prominent smokey finish.

O - Something different and wonderful. I enjoyed the sweet with the smokey finish. Like nothing I've ever had before. I'm looking forward to trying the other Paradoxes.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 01:48:13 | More by Belgianbeerbunny

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.55/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle purchased from Slowbeer in Melbourne.

Uncaps without so much as a hiss, making me think it's completely uncarbonated. But, in fact, it forms a firm fine head of deep brown as its poured into the glass. Body is a deep but surprisingly clear black-brown. Weight is actually surprisingly light. I thought it might be chewy and oily, but it seems remarkably fluid in the glass. Looks good, but not exceptional for an imperial stout.

Nose is very good. Big smoky whisky malt comes through strongly, above a deep dark, roasted note that released softer, sweeter characters, like raspberry, rose and even a hint of concord grape. It's a big, big beer, and a powerfully aromatic one. Wow this is good stuff.

Taste is also exceptional. Big roasted characters blend with smoked malt grain characters, while subtleties give off characters of leather, tea tannins, raspberry, rosewater and musk. It's big, boozy and dark, but still, I come back to that fruitiness: on the palate it's almost like an artificial strawberry candy flavour. It seems to come out of the booziness (which is indeed pronounced and hot); as it tears a path through the palate, it seems to burn away all of the rich dark sweetness, leaving those volatile aromatics in its wake: the strawberry, the musk, the grape candy. It's fascinating, more so because it gives purpose to the intense booze beyond just the size and power of the beer as a whole. Amazing stuff.

Feel is quite light, given everything else. At least, it's light for the style: the booze takes up some of the slack here in providing a textural element to the beer.

Overall, this is very, very impressive stuff. How anyone cannot sit an appreciate the depth of complexity here is beyond me. Even if the style is not to your tastes, there are nuances and depths to explore in this beer. It makes for a very worthwhile tasting experience.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 10:22:57 | More by lacqueredmouse

BugattiRoo

Australia

4.45/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Black with no light coming through. Pours a 1.5 finger head that slowly recedes. The lacing is fairly good.
S: Big peat smoke of a whisky followed with alot of vanilla some dark chocolate and coffee.
T: Some sweetness upfront followed by some sherry, dark fruits and some vanilla from the barrels.
M: Mouthfeel was lighter than I was expecting. It was fairly smooth though considering the ABV.
O: A very interesting beer that I am happy I tried. I bought another to see if it mellows with age.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 08:57:49 | More by BugattiRoo

niklas0770

Sweden

4.13/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drunk out of a military style stoup during an arctic warrior exercise

A black liquid with a ½ finger foam lid which quickly fades to leave no lacing. I'm looking forward to this...

Tar, burnt tree and dried black fruits. If there is any sweetness in there it's hiding behind the sourness of the figs and raisins. The tar is dominating the scene here.

Some honey sweetness up front followed by tar and sherry (?). The alcohol is present in the taste, but it does not bother me. As in the smell, the sourness dominates the sweetness in the aftertaste (servedat room temperature). My thoughts goes towards burned barrels with a thin layer of tar, filled with tried drak fruit and some honey.

I like my stouts thick as oil and I like this one quite a bit. Not saying that it is a thick fluid, but it contains a lot of flavors. The carbonation is inferior to the flavors. The beer feels warm smoth if drunk at a suitable paste.

A great dessert beer. Share this with someone close to you over a choholate cake or just a camp fire in a subarctic climate.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 20:29:10 | More by niklas0770

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

4.11/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Now this is more like it. Portion of a 12 oz bottle into a Hunahpu's snifter. From notes.

A: Pours a dark brown color. There's no real head, expected given the gravity.

S: Very plummy, with a strong whisky undertone. These tones are backed by a nice chocolate quality, and the booze is hidden very well given 15%.

T: Smoky, peat-forward whisky opens and closes the profile, sandwiching a midtaste of plum and chocolate. Really damn smooth given the strength, too. Only thing I can nitpick is that the integration between the barrel and the base beer isn't perfect.

M: Really good body on this one. It starts sweet, but becomes drier as more of this is sipped. Did I mention the well-concealed alcohol? Don't think I have...

O: Oh yes, I was real impressed with this one. If this were $10/12 oz, I'd buy the shit out of it...alas, it's around $15, so I'm hesitant to recommend this, as excellent as it is. Still worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 07:54:19 | More by ThisWangsChung

UCLABrewN84

California

3.93/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to queens1130 for sharing this one at Benny’s tasting.

Best before 12/23/16.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, smoke, whiskey, and wood. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick with each sip. There is a mild roasty and smoke bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with a nice barrel aged presence.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 01:44:33 | More by UCLABrewN84

ckollias

Maryland

3.88/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed this 12oz bottle out of a Belgian tulip glass

A: Pours a pitch black hue with a barely a trace of a white wispy lace.

S: Strong malt and whiskey aroma with hints of vanilla in the background.

T: Very alcoholic and strong whiskey and buttery toffee flavor. Coffee and vanilla in the background with a wood sweet finish.

M: Very strong and boozy. Thick body and almost no carbonation.

O: Awesome imperial stout. A nice sipping beer like sipping a wine scotch or whiskey

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2012 01:18:08 | More by ckollias

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.48/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours motor-oil-black, and looks quite thick. The medium-large creamy tan head sets into decent lacings.

S: Hard roasted dark malts, almost burnt and even smoked. Loads of vanilla from the oak. Some whisky-notes but not as strong as I thougt it would be. Strong black coffee, bitter dark chocolate and even some cherry nuttiness.

T: The alcohol is a bit too obvious in the taste. Then there is lot of things that is the same as in the smell; the vanilla, the smoked/roasted malts. The sweetness is way stronger in taste compared to the smell. Molasses.

M: Aftertaste is short, but bitter. Body is syrupy full with a non-exciting carbonation. The alcohol is quite aggressive, not in a nice way.

O: If they have tried to keep the alcohol back a bit, this would probably been a much nicer beer; the alcohol is so dominant that the nice things in this beer “drowns” in alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 11:57:23 | More by Sunnanek

cps98

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A – Squid ink black with a rocky 1 finger light brown head. Head recedes to a thin ring around the glass.

S – Smells like heavy whiskey, oak and some smoked meat. Even a little beef jerky smell in there too.

T – Dehydrated meat like beef jerky, some smokiness and some whiskey.

M – Was more on the lighter side of the house which surprised me? Carbonation was on the lighter side too. Fairly smooth with a small amount of alcohol warmth thrown in.

O – Shared this with a friend and I’m glad I did because it wasn’t to my liking.

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2012 14:29:08 | More by cps98

sennin

Michigan

3.08/5  rDev -24%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Making my way through BrewDog’s catalogue as much as I can before I leave Italy. None of their beers are available in my hometown so I am on something of a mission here.

Poured into a pint glass on March 6, 2013.

A: Opaque, no light getting through this. Lacing present, relatively nice look throughout the session.

S: Not much going on here that differentiates it from other scotch-like ales- usual smoky peaty smell- but its not very high in the mix and is drowned out by an ever-present rum-like smell. I don’t know, I guess I smell some vanilla in this? Unfortunately, It’s not all that memorable though.

T: First taste is an overwhelming sweetness, something that is unexpected and not exactly pleasant. It tastes like sugar has been added to this brew and in the end it just doesn’t work and clashes hard with the other flavors. Rum kicks hard throughout the tasting session, but there is a nice chocolate like taste on the backend. After the swallow, there almost seems to be a chili like taste that arises, which I am assuming is from the smokiness that comes through from the peat. It’s good and more complex than the smell but that acrid sweetness is always present and pretty much spoils this brew. The sweetness almost resembles maple syrup, something that is very unpleasant in a beer of this nature. Alcohol is present but there isn’t much of a burn to me. This is honestly something of an easy drinker, which is surprising considering the 15% ABV of the beer.

M: Flat with a little carbonation that fizzes on the tongue throughout the tasting. But other than that, it’s a little too oily and flat. Very average mouthfeel to me.

Overall, this beer is a major disappointment to me and is forcing me to slowly turn my back on BrewDog. I love them for their style and some of their beers are pretty amazing, but there are just too many duds in their catalogue. I will keep on trying them since I can’t get them in my hometown, but I am hoping that something comes along to surprise me soon.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 00:16:13 | More by sennin

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

12 oz bottle
Served into a tulip

A: Dark brown on the pour, black in glass, semi-viscous looking with a small tan head. Quickly receding, splotchy lacing and a thin ring around the edges. Minor patches on the surface.

S: Lots of smoke, peat, bacon/cured meats, brash bourbon undertones and charred wood. Very aggressive, big and bold. It seems there's a lot of things going on, jam-packed into the aroma.

T: More smoke but not as much on the nose although certainly the dominating characteristic. The bourbon is here, mellowed yet slightly one-noted. Abrasive meat and wood character that seem disjointed from the beer. Slight imperfections and inconsistencies are everywhere but the massive 15% ABV does a nice job of hiding these.

M: Mildly carbonated, enough to break up the flavors which this beer desperately needs (and has). Drinks thinner than you'd expect but the high ABV can be detected a bit in the linger.

I thought this was all over the place and not necessarily in a good way. I'm certainly glad I decided to share this bottle with someone as there's no way I'd enjoy it by the end of a full 12 ounces. After 6 oz, I was ready to call it quits. Not horrible, not "good," but somewhere in between.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 19:35:44 | More by ShanePB