Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

12oz bottle in a snifter. Pours black with a tan head, and it looks oily. Aroma of roasted malts, dark chocolate and coffee, and some floral hops. Flavor the same, and it’s really strong on the roasted malts. Thick texture. A really good imperial stout.

This one was quite a few years old and a lot of the hops have pretty much faded away, but I got a lot of burnt malts with some dark fruits and a little bit of metallic taste. There was still some bitterness and hop presents though. Will have to try fresh and re-rate.

From notes. Poured to a snifter this oily bohimith kicked up a good three fingers of brown head. Nice roasty aromas accompanied by sweet dark fruit and cocoa. Lots of sweet flavors in front, dark fruit and vanilla with a nice smooth roasty body that finished with bitter Choclate and a slight metallic taste. Light carbonation, pretty full body. A very nice stout, great for a share.

Via trade with Ernesto987. Nice thick, oily pour, deep black, russet/brown head. The aroma is licorice, molasses, chocolate, dark fruit. The flavor is milk chocolate, raisins, fruit, molasses, light roast. The finish is sweet chocolate, pine needle bittering. No alcohol detected anywhere. Nice thick body, creamy mouthfeel. Excellent. Thanks, Ernesto.

Pours pirch black with a thin dark mocha head. Aroma has dark fruit...fig...hint of vanilla, boozy. Flavor has decent roast with mild dark fruit and some subtle sweet vanilla. Mouthfeel is heavy and creamy...finish is roasty and bitter with mild smoke...warming.

UPDATED: JAN 25, 2012 (Bottle) Pours super black with a small dark brown head. The aroma is dry and dusty roasted with fruity/berry tones of blackberries and black currant lemonade. Some acid notes on the nose. There is also room for asphalt and coffee. Hops bring a touch of citrus and tea. Light meaty, almost horse-ish. The flavour is light sweet, near medium bitter and light acidic. Tones of coffee, dark juicy bread, dark berries and some citrus. The mouthfeel is round and light sticky with a (too) tart finish. Burned, almost crisp bread-like ending. Medium bodied.

This was poured from a 12oz bottle into a Town Hall sniffer. A. This pours like used motor oil. A very thin head, with very minimal carbonation. S. Smells of milk chocolate, light toffee, mild smoke and coffeee. T. A extremely pleasing coffee taste. A little bit of bitterness with a sweet finish. Noticeable toffee in the initial taste, that fades to the smooth coffee. M. A very smooth taste, that goes down easy. There is a very nice mixture that doesn’t boarder on any extremes. There is a very nice dry finish to the taste. O. This beer has a great balance between the thickness I expect in a Imperial Stout, and being easy to drink. It doesn’t feel overly filling, but has lots of bold flavors that really tingle the palate. I really enjoyed this beer, and am adding it to my list of "to buy" next time I’m at the store.

Poured from 12oz bottle. Pours black as night with creamy tan head. Aroma is tons of roasted wood and some smoke. Taste is roasted malts, smoke, coffee and a fair amount of bitterness.