Barley Johns The Dark Knight (Returns)

Brewed by Barley Johns Brew Pub
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
New Brighton, Minnesota USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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now this is my kind of beer!!!
Huge props to OhioDad for sending this special bottle my way in a recent trade. the aroma was like being in heaven, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak and some licorice. color was just as blaclk as knight with a hint of a ruby edge. full-bodied, buttery on the tongue and slightly sticky on the lips. flavors were just a perfect blend of the previously mentioned bourbon, vanilla, oak, licorice, chocolate with additional flavors of some coffee and black cheeries. without a doubt, one of the all time best ever, thanks Scott!

pours a black with a small tan head intense aroma of vanilla, whiskey, alcohol and malt. taste is much of the same with a pleasant in your face boldness that i truly love. upon first sip i loved this beer.

12 oz bottle of Dark Knight Returns hand bottled by one of the assistant brewers and obtained in a trade with robertsreality - Thanks a million Rob for the chance to try this one! - Pours black as the Dark Knight himself with a tan ring around the edges of the snifter and some lace. One sniff above the snifter and you can tell this is going to be a great beer. Aroma of bourbon, molasses, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and a bit of licorice. One sip and you know that the aroma didn’t disappoint. Flavor is very complex and quite amazing. Bourbon, molasses, and a bit of vanilla upfront but soon gives way to a rich chocolate flavor that emerges along with some coffee bitters but finishes quite sweet with some notes of oak, much chocolate, a bit of raisins and that bourbon flavor all blended together so deliciously. The palate is as smooth as anything I’ve ever tried. Like aged Kentucky bourbon. It just feels great in the mouth. Amazingly thick, and creamy yet oh so balanced and smooth. The warming notes of the alcohol on the back of the throat after each sip are oh so welcome on a snowy Ohio day. This was one hell of a way to kick off the holiday weekend!

Tasted 6/6/11. Huge thanks to phaleslu for procuring and sharing this gem of a beer! Growler from the brewpub. Pours opaque with a deep, dark brown hue. Trace khaki head. Aromas of anise, vanilla, dark chocolate, fudge and a decent burn in the nostrils. This is an amazing nose with a ton of character and a good alcohol blast. Full bodied with a huge palate and a ton of flavor. The palate hits the sweet, bitter and tangy parts. Chocolate notes mixed with the high alcohol burn. There’s an anise tang and a chocolate sweetness. Fudge, semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa and chicory. Subtle and dark fruity esters. Trace coffee note. The flavors mellow as the beer warms, but not the alcohol! Great use of the Beam barrel! It adds another dimension to an already tremendous brew! I’ve been looking forward to trying this for years now, and it surpassed all my expectations!

Robertsrealty attempted to send me a friggin GROWLER of this awesome brew. Had some issues with the transport but most of it made it here. Pretty much flat at this point but damn is this still some awesome $hit!!! No head, no carbonation. Pours black with a hint of reddish brown around the edges. Slick and oily going into the glass. Great rich alcoholic aroma with plenty of sweet malts, toffee, caramel and roasted grains. Maybe a little raisin in there also. AMAZING AROMA!!!! Hint of the bourbon (alcohol). God I love bourbon barrel brews. Flavor is just as amazing as the aroma. Rich and sweet with tons of malts, roasted grains, molasses, caramel, you name it. Damn this is good. Strong alcohol presence and warming. Amazing balance as the description states. Just a hint of the bourbon for good measure. Slick in the mouth yet creamy and coating. Finish is creamy and smooth as all hell. Just about as perfect a brew as you can get. This really can’t be classified as a porter at 13% but the flavor is just so smooth and slick, but yet not chewey, like an impy, that it is the best porter that you will ever have. A HUGE THANKS to robertsrealty for this amazing brew. The only bad thing about this brew is that I lost about 1/4 to 1/3 in transport. I am thinking of going and sucking the cardboard from the box. This brew really is that good!!! I can’t imagine what this stuff would be like fresh! YOU DA MAN!!!!

Dark Black Coloring. Espresso Coloring Head. Earthy, Pine Aroma. Wonderful Flavors! Tasted Vanilla Bean, Earthy...resolved it tastes very much like a homemade Kahlua...warming from the high alcohol. Very Thick... One of the beers I’ve had overall!!

Well folks, this is about as good as it gets. Hand bottled courtesy of footbalm. Coconut, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, and caramel dominate this beer. This beer is hot w/ alcohol from start to finish. Flavors blend very well. One of the best beers I have had. Thanks Eric.

Served in a little snifter, about 5 ounces. Total blackness, ebony’s epitome, with a tiny ring of burnt brown espresso-toned foam foam. Aroma is incredible, a bold, blatantly alcoholic cornucopia of flavor: dark rum, molasses, carob, plum, fig, a myriad mix, laced with whiskey and maple syrup. A nose I plunged mine into for as long as I could. Taste: again, incredible. Here, I wish there was a larger serving, or that the growlers weren’t so damned expensive, for I needed more time with this rich and ever-unfolding flavors. Thick mouthfeel, bottomless, vast, stretching on and on...same flavors from aroma return on the tongue, dark, twisted, utterly delcious, like chocolate and licorice and a jolt of Jack Daniel’s on the side, with bitter bites of espresso tones to match the abysmal texture (in this context, I’m using the good definition), and wickedly sweet nature of the flavor. Long finish, never-ever-ending. An amazing beer, one that would start a riot if they put it in bottles!

Big thanks to footbalm for hand bottling this one for me. Blacker than black, with a small tan head. Big aroma of bourbon, oak, potent vanilla, malt, chocoff, licroice, prunes. The aroma is a lot like Heresy. Tastes very malty, with giant bourbon, oak, vanilla, prunes, chocolate syrup, licorice. Dense palate. More complex as it warms, and well balanced. I like this one better than Heresy. Very smooth. The alcohol is present, and it will kick you in the ass, but you have to admire beers like this. Thanks again, Eric!

Perfectly hand bottled...can you guess who may have done it? Pours a deep mahogany-black with a small tan head. Aroma is sweetish alcohol, bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, peat/scotch, roasty, oak, and some light caramel notes. Taste has lotsa bourbon, vanilla, oakiness, caramel maltiness, and chocolately molasses. Very tasty. This is a full bodied ale to be sure...some carbonation and quite oily. Nice burnt bitter finish. This is definitely one of my favorites. What a shame I can’t hit the convenience store for a sixer.