Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

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

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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UPDATED: NOV 4, 2004 2003 bottle. Pours extremely dark brown/black with lots of dark caramel/roasted colored head around the edges. Bottle conditioned. Small amount of head remains. Smells very oily, thick roast and lightly chocolatey, with some fresh hops in the background. Similar to the Oktoberfest in its abundant use of fresh moderately spicy hops, but unlike it in its extreme use of roasted barley. Some mild, bitter chocolate notes and some sweeter sugary flavors as well. The flavor was quite good with my biggest complaint being a bit too much thinning and some astringency from the dryness and flavor get a bit dull due to all of the roast. Good offering for sure, though. 2003 bottle aged an additional number of months. This one had the creamiest, most luxurious, velvety head I’ve seen in a while. Much more balanced than I rememeber, probably the hops flavor evening out. Rich and smooth, but still has plenty of good roasty bitterness. Seemed a touch thin on the end exacerbated by the huge bitterness, but I also drank this thing at about 65 degrees so that probably didnt help. Uppin the score on this though, it deserves it.

On tap at Baran, Bergen. Pours a pretty black colour with a nice medium brown head. Aromas of delicious coffee, chocolate and some fruit. The flavour has a even more pronounced coffee touch with dark bitter chocolate, and some salt and roasted malt. Soft mouthfeel but still a bit sparkly. Bitterness = medium+. A solid and well-balanced porter. I enjoyed every sip.

Pours black with a reddish tinge and a brown head. Aroma of resiny hops, burnt malts, chocolate, and coffee. Strong smokey taste, creamy texture, and astringent finish. Alcohol is masked by smoke.

355ml bottle @ Malja, Kuopio

Pours pitch black with a smooth foamy light brown head. Aroma of roasted malts, with notes of wood, tobacco and vanilla. Taste is roasty with some notes of wooden ash, tobacco and coffee. Finish is smooth and slightly roasty with some hints of dry wooden notes. Okay, quite well balanced and tasty.

This is a great beer. Dark and roasty with a perfect mouthfeel. I would almost call it a stout. A lot of dark malt backbone and seriously roasted char. A wonderful beer that I would be glad to have again.

25 cl. draft @ Delirium Hoppy Loft // pitch black with a medium tanned head // mocha, coffee, dash cocoa, mellow chocolate, roasted malts (mellow at first, slightly more in the back), slight hops & hop bitterness in the back, slightly rough in finish // velvety & smooth // quite a lovely porter

Draught. Rich chocolate and coffee nose. Pitch black with a brown head. Creamy and smooth. Roasty with chocolate and a touch of alcohol. Well rounded but some lingering fusels.

Pours dark brown with a small head. Aroma dark malts, hops, roasted coffee. Strong palate, very dry. Not Bad.

tap at Mikkeller Bar. Black with a nice beige head. Aroma and flavour of roasted malt, vanilla, chocolate, caramel and coffee.

Thick and black with smells of dark chocolate and tart cherries. Highly roasted flavors balanced with smooth dark chocolate, dark fruits, toast and hints of coffee. Extremely smooth.

Draught @ Mikkeller. Dark pour. Vanilla, coffee, toffee, caramel, dark chocolate. Medium body, bitter finish.