Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

Pours pitch black with almost no head, light tan bubbles stick to the sides of the glass. Nice smell, big chocolate and mocha caramel, with some dark malts and some roastiness in the background. Taste is pretty hoppy, something I did not pick up in the nose. Roasted malts are very heavy, with some light caramel to touch off the flavors. Not much chocolate, just a touch in the finish. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Pretty good.

Pours dark brownish black with dark brown head. Tons-o cocoa, dark fruit, caramel malt and hop, charcoal and brown sugar aroma with a flavor to match. Great!

Absolutely opaque, black with a thin, brown head that forms just a ring around the glass. Lots of roast in the aroma with notes of milk, dark fruit, sweetness, and good hopping. Very intense on the palate. Robust, burnt, charcoal-like malt flavors with a solid, residual sweetness that takes any of the rough, burnt edges. I love this beer style. A combination of IPA and dry stout. Good and hoppy as well with some warm alcohol.

12 oz bottle. Pours very black indeed, with only the faintest hint of brown at the edges. The aroma is malty and full of molasses, burnt grain, and a faint metallic hint. Fairly clean overall. The flavor is very bitter, though mostly from the grains, and grain is the dominate flavor here. There are hints of chocolate deep down but this is a fairly astringent brew (sharp) that was simply over the top for me. The body is medium and dry, that finishes bitter and a bit thin.

Upon review I have decided to bump my flavor points on this one. I found it very enjoyable this time around with roasty burnt caramel. Though it was a touch ashy. Very well put together. Burnt roasty and yum.

Bottle. Aroma of heavy chocolate with roast, sweet and salty with a high level of malt. Opaque black pour with a creamy dark brown head. Quite bitter roast coffee taste, with lesser notes of chocolate and astringency. Aftertaste is quite dry and one of the more delicious roast finishes I’ve had. Salty on the tongue in the mid-body and end. Medium creamy body (surprisingly thin for the level of robustness in flavor), smooth drinking. Reiterating the salty/dry. Intense! Deviant for style but that’s not a bad thing!

Very dark pour with a small dark brown head. smells rich and roasty. Flavor is incredibly roasty, coffee, slightly bitter with chocolate. Pretty smooth overall. A very good porter. Definitely one of my favorite porters.

Pours black with a thin light tan head. Roasted malt and chocolate predominate. Palate is thinner than you’d expect from the aroma, but it’s not watery. Taste is a ton of roasted malt flavor, along with a chocolately-bitter coffee finish. Very nice. There’s enough going on in this beer, you kind of assume it’s an imperial.

Black with a little tan head that fades fast. Sad. Lacing sticks to the glass. Aroma is deep roasted malts, chocolate is very evident, and a sugary creamy latte. Flavor mimics aroma with a little smokieness and bitterness on the palate. A very well made and balanced brew. Very good.