Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

Pours with a reasonably tightly beaded, full, creamed chocolate, brown colored head that is initially three-fingers in height. The head leaves a distinct lacing pattern on the sides of my glass as I work my way through this beer. The beer is an almost black color, with perhaps some dark amber notes to it. The aroma has notes of chocolate, dusty roast grain husks, toasted malt and a nice burnt, yet still sweet, raisin note to it towards the end. Interesting, after rooting around in the aroma for a bit I notice a distinct, yet subtle note that reminds me of wood, smoked malt or perhaps butterscotch; I am not sure which, but it is certainly noticeable and now I can’t seem to not notice it.

Light feeling as it first hits the tongue, it picks up a medium fullness to it as it moves across the tongue. The finish is marred by an astringent, sharp, almost harsh burnt bitter note, that is thankfully not too overwhelming. Notes of bitter, French Roast, black coffee, darkly toasted bread, a burnt acidity, and a acrid char flavor. This beer has a ton of darkly roasted grain character, it is actually a bit much, but on the upside I think that it is helping to hide some off flavors that are derived from a bit of diacetyl and perhaps some vegetal notes. In the end the dark malt is just a bit too much, if the gravity was bumped up a bit it might be more in balance.

Bottle - Thanks to DrewBeerMe for this one. Dark brown, nearly black pour with a small tan head. Aroma is thick with dark chocolate and heavily roasted coffee. Taste is of dark/bittersweet chocolate with a bit of coffee and well-roasted malts. Drier than I expected, but still tasty and satisfying. One of the better porters out there. Another high quality Michigan beer.

bottle. pours a pitch balck color with a medium brown head. it has a nice roasty aroma. taste is nice and roasty. bitter and dry. nice.

12 oz. bottle. Pours black with a small, rapidly diminishing tan head. Aroma is of dark chocolate with a touch of coffee. The dark chocolate reappears and is blended with stronger roasted coffee flavor. Medium to full bodied with a dry finish. I wasn’t sure what this was schwarzbier or porter. Ultimately it doesn’t matter; it’s good either way. I wish I had picked up more when I was in Indy.

Pours a pitch black with a small brown leaning on beige head. Nice bitter malty chocolate aroma. Taste is bitter roasted chocolate malts with hints of roasted grains and a slight dry coffee bean finish. Very nice.

A streaky, tan lace formed off the quickish head above this beer’s deep brown/black body. Big roasted coffee and dark chocolate aroma. Thick & sturdy. Flavor held a predominant bitterness based off the raw character of wort. This is a porter? I drank my pint slow and thoughtfully, believing it was a wonderful rendition of a Schwarzbier. Then again, I suppose if you must classify it an ale, "Porter" seems an adequate parking space.

<font size=-4>Draught pint at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/michigan/marshall/dark-horse-brewing-company/1155.htm>Dark Horse Brewing Co., Marshall, MI 49068</font>

Decent sized dark brown head of fine bubbles. Reduces to a creamy ring of foam. Minimal carbonation. Strong licorice aroma with soy sauce, dark roasted malts and a little bit of woodiness. Color is a very dark brown. Kind of like a black walnut stain. Rich roasty flavor. Lots of roasted grains, bitter dark chocolate, coffee (shows up late) and some prune? Finishes dry and roasty and with a lingering strong roastyness and coffee. Yet it is not really a burnt flavor. Very good combination of flavors there. Thanks to sliffy for this gem.

12oz bottle from EithCubes - thanks, Mike! A lovely and unexpected beer. Massive body and frothy head, it comes on with a pleasant roasty aroma. THe first sips, though, are very powerful with chocolate malts. But the finish! Oh man, the finish is gorgeously dry, going right to the edge but not too much. Bitter coffee, a trace of charcoal grilling, like unsweetened dark chocolate and some cracklings from the grill. Excellent.