Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Marshall, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle shared with Brian, pours black dark brown with light head and lacing. Notes of dark cocoa, roasted malt, caramel, molasses, vanilla, and heavy coffee grounds. Mouth is pretty creamy, not nearly as sticky as I expected. I would agree this is better then most of the recent dark lord releases.

Agreeing with OmegaX - Dark Horse has a special way with stouts. The bottle poured an oily black body with very little carbonation. It smelled like bourbon, tootsie rolls, cherries, raisins, and topped off with a pleasant oak all around. The texture was just right and aided the smooth chocolate qualities of this brew. Undertones of dark chocolate, coffee, cherries and soft bourbon-oak notes tickle the senses. I could drink this stuff all damn day. If only that wouldn’t kill me...

A nice impy stout. Dark Horse has a way with stouts. Aroma is big bourbon, sweet vanilla, roast, some molasses, and chocolate. Pour is thick and oily jet black. Flavor is similar. Tons of vanilla, sweet fudge and some roast. Bourbon is well balanced with the true flavors of the beer. Great stuff.

2012 bottle from Jim M. Thanks! Poured into my LA Teku. A: Pours in an inky, almost treacly manner to the glass. Fills up with a solid dark mocha head which fades quickly. Some carbonation bubbles are disturbing the surface of this black puddle. Legs are thick, thick, thick. N: Hearty bourbon with a big chocolate and espresso background. Vanilla and caramel and oak. Coconut and more fudge. Brown sugar and some molasses. Big sweet sugars here. Some rye and oatmeal. T: Very, very sweet. Bourbon appropriates the top level here and adds a sweet sting on top of a very pronounced sweet malt body. There’s a little bit of earth, pine and spice from what I assume are the hops and there’s some additional roast. This has some surprising balance, though it’s still a heavy confection. Does have a salty soy sauce aspect. M: Super boozy, but it’s got a wonderfully filling mouthfeel. Other RIS’s should pay attention to this aspect, it’s the best I’ve had outside Apple Brandy Hunahpu’s. O: I wish I had split this bottle because it’s absolutely going to sit in my stomach, but at the same time, I don’t think I’m going to get sick of it. This might get a few more points if it turned down the bourbon heat, but at the same time, it’s done an excellent job of making both the bourbon and the stout distinct, so what else can you want?

2012 bottle from Deyholla - thanks! Pours inky black with a medium dark brown head that dissipates slowly and laces nicely. Aroma is rich, woody, dark roasted malt, molasses, chocolate, tobacco, bourbon. Bourbon comes more to the forefront in the flavor, rich, roasty, chocolate, coffee grounds, boozy. Medium sweet, medium finishing bitterness. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. Warming finish. Quite a nice beer.

Bottle from Austin, thanks! Poured into a tulip. Black pour with a thin head. Nose is chocolate, vanilla, malt, slight bourbon. Taste follows with some ash/smoke and a lot of chocolate maltiness. Sweet and full bodied. Very good.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma consists of light dry roasted malt notes with some black chocolate notes with medium bourbon notes with some vanilla undertones. Taste is also dominated by creamy black chocolate notes with some light dry roasted malt. Body is full with creamy texture and good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Not as complex as I was expecting but very well balance overall with chocolate and bourbon creating an efficient mix.

A - pours thickly. opaque black with small dark brown head. No lacing. S - very grainy with Sweet bourbon aged notes up front; vanilla, toffee, graham crackers, marshmallow, molasses, licorice. Chocolate and raw cacao notes as well. Very oaky, with some mustiness. M - thick heavy body with a pretty full palate. Not as rich as I would have liked. Bitter with a long alcohol burning end. T -bourbony goodness. Tastes follow the nose quite well. Tangy raw cacao, sweet sticky bun, grains, and toasted malts come first. Bittersweet Chocolate, cola syrup, toffee, and bourbon on the palate. Lightly bitter grasses, and long lingering licorice, raw cacao, alcohol burnt ending. After taste is vanilla and graham crackers. O - good but not great. Very sticky sweet graininess. 4.2 ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Oh yeah. Thanks MotherBrother! Bottle from 2012. Pours pitch black with a very dark brown head. Not that thick though. Smell is gun powder, licorice, chocolate, motor oil, asfalt. The taste got many o the same nuances, but some more chocolate, wood and bourbon. A little vanilla too... A slight watery body, and it’s not as intense as the smell told me it would be. Still great and complex.

Chilled brown bottle poured into a snifter. Pours black with light brown head. Thick body and light espresso aroma. Taste is strong coffee. Compared with three other imperial stouts, third best.