Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

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

Black bodied with a brown head, this has an aroma filled with sweet roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, and a drop or two of coffee. Creamy. The flavor is a bit sweeter with the addition of molasses and is lightly bittered by almonds. Sticky finish with a modest hit of earthy bitterness. Nice.

U.S.A. rating #1234!

<font size=-4>Thanks to the generosity of RateBeerians at the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve Lord Release- Three Floyds, Munster, IN - 04/29/2006<font size=-1>

Near black with a taller dense tan head. Toasty malt and dark chocolate lead in the nose. Fairly simple in aroma, but very enticing and welcoming. Full dark chocolate and bitter coffee flavors. The best thing is that the bitterness mellows to just a mild acidic dry cleansing finish. Full and rich feel that gets thinned out a touch by the black malt acidity. Depending on the time this one "swills’" about the mouth, the bitterness varies. If you take a quick hit, the bitterness is less pronounced and only a short after thought. Let the brew set on the tongue and the acid oozes out and dries the tongue and wears the palate out. A very nice black brew.

Bottle@Home. Loads of chocolate in the aroma with sweet coffee and black currant. Black colour, brown head, good lace. Light sweet, malty, coffee, bitter roasted finish, medium body. Flavourful, balanced, easy going.

Bottle: Pours a dark black color, light head. The nose is sharp in roast and some patentish notes, lots of cherry and cocoa as well. The flavor shows the real stort and we’re looking at a stout here. Sharp french roast astringency? check. Sorry, this ain’t no porter, it’s an aleish schwarzbier perhaps. The flavor is balanced, plenty of hop bitterness and a nice snappy caramel note in the end. Good, just a bit lost. Thanks IndianaRed.

Draft at Dark Horse. Poured a black color with an average creamy light brown head that lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate sweet toasted malt aroma. Medium to full body with a creamy texture. Well balanced sweet toasted malt flavor with a smooth moderate bitter finish of long duration. Very pleasing brew.

Another big thanks to footbalm for this. .Pours obsidian with two-finger tan head. Aroma of roasted chocolate malt, rich chocolate syrup, some coffee, some gym shorts, hops, prunes, licorice, Lucky Charms cereal (the first 3 aromas make up 75% of the aroma here). Tastes roasty toasty dark malty, with big chocoff, some rauchiness, some licorice, some blackberries. I figured this for an Impy stout, or an elite regular stout. As a porter, it is among the all time pantheon of greatness. As good as many Impy stouts I’ve had (or better), and just as rich and complex! Better than Dogwood Impy Porter, which had been my favorite porter thus far. Just astounding!!!

Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is opaque black (flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate), lightly hoppy (flowers), with a light note of vanilla. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, creamy texture, lively carbonation. Very nice, but my socks stayed on.

Ultra-black, ultra-thick creamy brown head; this one really looks like a milkshake folks. Big roasty bitter-chocolate nose. Flavor is a nice mix of bitter roasted nuts and coffee, and chocolaty sweetness. On the whole, perhaps a bit too hard on the tongue for me, but the power of this beer is not to be denied. Intensely bitter and dry finish, good thick creamy body; overall very very good. Thanks Psychprof Michael!