BrewDog Storm

BrewDog Storm, malt beverage aged in an Islay Scotch Whiskey barrel.
"At BrewDog we are selfish; we only make beers that we want to drink.
This is not an unerring, despondent, half-hearted compromise. This bottle contains our IPA which has been aged in Scottish islet whisky casks.
The combination of Islay whisky casks and New Zealand hops is one of polar opposites on so many levels.
Drinking this beer is like being caught in the eye of a force 12 North Atlantic storm. Heavily peated demonic smoked Islay whisky and the fruity hop flavors of our IPA should not go well together. Nor should mild pretentiousness and exponential cool. However at BrewDog we are pretty sure we can rock it out and make both admirable combinations work reasonably well.
Zeitgeist in a bottle.
Brewed and Bottled by BrewDog Ltd, Fraserburgh, Scotland."

So, I'm giving BrewDog yet another try, and I'm greeted by more gobbledygook. Look at that second sentence, and try to make sense out of it. When do those three things happen at once? "An unerring compromise?" Huh? Whatever.

Let's pop 'er and see.

Pale golden coloration, smallish cloud-white head. Unassuming, yet inviting.

Aroma: Boom! There's that heavy peated malt right off the bat, Flinty, malty, nothing but whisky, nothing found below.

Taste: whisky is still in charge, with no flavors of the IPA tasted yet. Frankly, I don't see the point in drowning out a beer of real character with so much of the islay malt. Perhaps a lighter ale would be best served in this cause. Nonetheless, the smoky peat of Islay dominates everything.

Medium bodied, but a bit of a challenge, if you aren't up for all the smoke and peat. I'm fine with it, but I wish more of the IPA would actually, as promised, rise up to match the whisky. If it's a Storm, it's one that carries away any other flavors than those in the barrel they mixed the IPA with. This is a beer for whisky fanatics only, and as that, it's not bad, maybe even good. I'm on the fence and on the verge of jumping off, based on that promise of a marriage that never came through. It's a beer awash in whisky. Some may like that. Not I.