Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

Received in a trade. I don’t recall from whom, but again...thank you. The style here in BP says a schwarzbier. No way in hell is this a schwarzbier. Too sweet, too much body..too much everything to be a lager. But it’s tasty I know that much. The beer pours out a deep black color with a rich, creamy 1/2" tan head. Swirling my glass, the beer has some really nice legs to boot. The aroma is very roasty, with lots of dark chocolate, anise and vanilla. Flavor had almost too much "ash" flavor of black patent malt, but rides the edge of just enough and too much. Black patent can be overused but someone restrained themselves enough not to go completely overboard. Coffee and chocolate round out the flavor with some molassess and subtle boozy vanilla hints creep up. But a very enjoyable beer.

My rating is probably not at all reliable. I don’t like this sort of bier and expected more of a Shwarzbier style. This is so dark and burnt. But I nonetheless sense that it is probably good for its style. It seems to be well formed and made.

very soft nose. plenty of coffee and chocolate in flavor but a nice dose of hops set this apart from the standard fare. hard to believe this is substantial in terms of ABV as it is....comes across as a 5%er.

Really nice porter. Smooth, with more fruitiness than you usually get from a porter like this.

Bottle. Saw this brewery for the first time at my local beer store and picked up a few. This is my first Dark Horse beer. I have to say I’m surprised. It’s a black color beer with a thin dark brown head. Aroma is strong, smells of roasted malt and alcohol. Sweet initial flavor with a dry bitter end. Has hints of coffee and chocolate that compliment each other well.

Nice black pour with a brown head. Great aroma of roasted malt and chocolate. Tastes great. Flavor of malt, chocolate and some sweetness. Left a great taste in the mouth. Worthy of trying again.

Bottle from Breeze-Thru. Pours pitch black and thick. It actually made a glugging noise that reminded me of a quart of oil pouring out. Aroma has quite a bit of smokiness, chocolate, and coffee. Starts fairly sweet and chocolately up front. The smoked malt comes forward as well. Finishes with quite a bit of bitter expresso flavor and a tiny bit of alcohol. It has a nice smooth and fairly thick mouthfeel. Very drinkable. This is a very good porter and I’ll definitely drink again.

12oz bottle, served in an English pint glass. A slick, oily black pour with no head and miniamal oily legs. Typical of most of the Dark Horse dark beers I’ve had out of the bottle. The aroma consisted of heavy bittersweet chocolate, molasses, and some ripened dark fruits. The flavor had heavy roasted notes, chocolate, burnt caramel, molasses, and dark fruit. The mouthfeel was slippery and medium to full-bodied. Minimal carbonation. Rich and very roasty for a porter. Decent, but I prefer DH’s stout series over this.