Dark Star Critical Mass

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: English Strong Ale
Horsham, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Cask, gravity, at Luton Beer Festival ’11. Brown with a small off white head.. Sweet vinous aroma and taste, immensely strong and very lovely. Some bitterness.

UPDATED: DEC 22, 2007 Cask in Blackfriars. Aroma is Spicey rich malts, bittering hop comign through, small citrus hints. Taste is roasty fruity bitterness, peppery, grassy in the finish, no alc to be seen. Very drinkable indeed. A well made english strong ale indeed. RERATE: Been open a good few days longer now and all the hops have gone. Its turned into a seriously good fruity old ale/barley wine. Very thick and could get right ontop of you, but so drinkable and tasty id love to have it as a monthly special.

Cask - Planet Thanet Festival 2010, Margate. Poured a dark brown with a mid-sized bubbly beige head. Blackcurrant and liquorice all over the aroma with lovely spice notes and toasty malts. Warming and toasty again on the palate with dark berry tones and liquorice towards the end finishing with a lasting dry bitterness. Medium to full in body with a soft, coating & lingering mouthfeel. Missed this one last so but it was worth the wait, another corker from DS. Can they do any wrong?

Tasted this barley wine in Blackfriers, Glasgow in December 2007. Cask, handpump dispense. Dull black in colour with a hint of ruby around the edges and a poor creamy buff head which quickly disappeared. Strong seductive whiff of plain chocolate in the long aroma. Smooth velvety mouthfeel and no lacing. Complex dark malts give a strong initial roast grain flavour which leads to a intense rich mocha and Belgian chocolate truffle notes. There is hardly a sign of hop resins being in this as sweetness prevails throughout in a smooth warming chocolate liqueur flavour. An interesting barley wine but might be too sweet for some - two pints over three hours was enough for me. Worth seeking out if your a barley wine aficionado.

Cask @ Red Squirrel, Edinburgh 270312
Black, ruby edges, tan head, good lacing
Aroma of rich dark soft roasted malts...liquorice..rich dark fruits..dark caramel malts
Taste of rich dark malts, very soft roasted malts, some liquorice, soft chocolate, dark fruits, tiny hint of aniseed, alcohol very well hidden
Palate - soft carb, medium body, quite sticky texture, very soft, smooth. Finish - more roast comes through then cleans off...hint of vanilla in the tail...slight saltiness
Overall - great tasting stout/old ale hybrid - reminds me a bit of Durham’s Temptation

On cask at The Holyrood 9A. Pours a very dark brown colour with a thick tan head. A lovely Christmas pudding aroma with chocolate, roasty malt, alcohol and a little yeast also. Similar flavours with moderate carbonation and an oily mouth-feel. Quite dry and tasty!

Bottle. Very tasty indeed. Spicy Christmasy sort of flavour. Raisiny, cakey, caramel/choc. With a nice dry acidic, salty, orange rindy, bitter finish, a fantastic beer, very tasty.

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2005 Now 7.8% ABV. Cask Conditioned at The Wenlock Arms, London. Black. Sweet, fruity (almost syrupy beer) coffee and a little chocolate, notes of liquorice. Alcohol is well hidden.

Cask, Leicester Fest 10. Very dark brown with copper and a fluffy beige foam. Aromas are very earthy and rich with dark berries and caramel. Floral with liquorice and chocolate. Flavours are boozy and vinous with dark chocolate and roast malts. Marzipan with leather and some smoky notes. Sweetened grapefruit with peppery notes on the finish. Smooth on the palate, warming alcohol. Very nice.

UPDATED: DEC 8, 2004 Rather similar to the Cottage Norman’s Conquest (q.v.) that I tried just before this. A dark, rich and complex ale, with obvious roasted malt character, that drinks far easier than the alcohol content (which in this case was 7%) would suggest. An excellent drop, although go easy if you want to avoid falling over. Handpump, Head of Steam, London NW1, December 2003 RE:RATE at the Wenlock Arms, Dec 2004. The alcohol has been upped to 7.8% and the beer definitely seemed to have more oomph. Increased the score a little