Dark Star Imperial Stout

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: Imperial Stout
Horsham, England

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Cask at PSBH, Manchester. Jet black with a mocha head. I’m getting some odd but nice bubblegum notes on the nose. Roast character is restrained whilst soft liquorice and blackberry flavours come to the fore. More bubblegum and a slight umami aspect too. Being fruity rather than roasty makes this very drinkable in my opinion and it doesn’t feel at all like 10.5%, but it’s almost too soft for its own good. Just needs to pack a bit more punch.

I think I was expecting more somehow. This was lighter than the 10.5 suggested it would be although the alcohol did go to my head quite quickly. The taste was dark rum, little bit of warm spicy cardamom, burnt plum pudding and cigar smoke. Clean and thin rather than lasting and treacly. Not at all bad but not super brilliant.

33 cl bottle vintage 2011 @ home, BBE info not readable
Aroma has soy sauce, licorice and toffee. Flavour has licorice, some weird grassy notes, toffee, Englis hops, hints of ash, hay and soy sauce. Unpleasant floral notes and alcohol do occur at the end of the glass. Quite thin for a 10,5% ABV imperial stout. A disappointment from a good brewery.

UPDATED: FEB 10, 2013 Bottle at home in London. Vintage 2009. Pours black-brown with a moderate, beige froth head. Some dusty cocoa on the nose, dark chocolate, raisins, other dark fruits. Medium to big sweet flavor, lots of rich, dark fruits, chocolate, charred wood, mild earthy bitterness. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Warming finish with smooth, rounded dark sugars, raisins, dark chocolate, burnt wood, moderate roast. A tasty, fairly well balanced impy stout. (3.9)

Bottle at ChrisO Holiday Tasting, London. Vintage 2007. The beer has held up well. Good stuff. Description above holds. (3.8)

061212. Pours black with a nice small head. Aroma alcohol, caramel. Dark sugary taste. Not Bad.

Dark star imperial 2011 vintage Tasted from the bottle @Pivni, York on 01/11/2012. Pours of immensly black with just a tiny-tiny head. Aroma is soo huge, the dominant tone is liqorice and slight sourness. Taste is a bit tart upfront, following by the distinct notes of vanilla and dark fruits. Aftertaste sadly has a strong alcohol character. An ok imperial stout, aroma is the most interesting part of it. Neutral. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle from Stirchley Wines, Birmingham. Black pour with a fast fading tan head. Robust and enticing snout of dark fruits, cake, booze and malts. Flavour had some sweetness with notes of roasted malts, dark fruit and some prominent booze. Certainly well crafted and hard to fault overall, but didn’t knock me off my chair.

2009 bottle. Vinous (port), milk choclaty (in a Oboy kind of way), roasted, slightly spicy, fruity, quite dry in aftertaste. Elegant.

UPDATED: OCT 6, 2012 2009 Bottle at Akkurat. Pours black with a big tan head. Lots of heavy rosted malt, red wine tanins and alcohol. A british porter but more heavy.

I have to thank thegoatabides for bringing this beer back from Britain for me. He’s chosen well and I reciprocated with one I hope will show my esteem for his choice. Anyway... Appears deep black with ruby port notes in the dimple of the glass and at no other point in the beer. The head is a film of mocha coloured bubbles, but then, beers of this kind are not measure by their head. Aromas of burnt caramel, plum pudding, tar, rising bread, molasses, dark rum and cardamon. There’s plenty of spicy notes to accompany the deep, rich malt and molasses elements. I love this style for the challenge it issues, not just for drinking, but for doing justice to its description. A dusting of currants and cinnamon are also evident. Just tops for aroma. It is thick and oily in the mouth, like Harviestoun Old Engine Oil. This beer also carried with it a definite heat from the alcohol along with plums and fresh charry chemicals. Everything I mentioned in the aroma is there in spadefuls. Thick, black, tasty and oily, with finesse and restraint. It is so easy to throw everything including the kitchen sink into a Russian Stout (think Brewdog Tokyo). This is an approachable, charming and easy beer that leaves a similar satisfaction as a particularly old whisky or rum in the finish. There isn’t much not to like. Glorious.