Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Imperial Stout
Drammen, Norway

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle 50cl, kindly shared by Dominique (Bièrerie). A dark beer with copper head, nose is very nice on grain, dark chocolate and coffee. Aroma is on dark coffee, less creamy than expected by the nose, relatively dry, light licorice, dark chocolate, some bitterness, smoked notes. Good imperial stout but I did not get the wheat dimension. Some astringency at the finish, quite alcoholic.

Draft at Farmers Cabinet. Pitch black pour. Head disappeared very quickly. Not much aroma. Liquid smoke. Coffee grounds. Charcoal. A deep dark roast. Slight sour funk. Smooth finish despite the intense burnt flavors. Minimal fruit. Some coffee/chocolate but mostly just ashy goodness. Wonderful stuff.

0.5l bottle. Black body, quickly diminishing brown head. Aroma of chocolate, reisin, coffee and nutmeg. Taste of chocolate, figs, plums, creme and some floral hops in the finish. Medium body, creamy texture. The alcohol is noticeable, but not harsh. Awesome beer.

A really nice change up to a normal imperial stout. Huge beer but the wheat makes it amazingly smooth. Roasted malts and licorice in the nose. The same in the taste along with a nice bitter coffee finish. The best part is the oily smooth mouthfeel that you just can’t get enough of in a beer this big.

Slick black pour with sml brown head that dissipates quickly. Smells.. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, smoke and wheat hints. Tastes.. Big dark chocolate, smokey wheat and roasty malt and a sensational bitter espresso finish. Really good.

50cl bottle, served in Duvel cup. Pours black with a huge brown head, looks really good. The nose is clearly wheat, cereals, and smoke, not the typical IS aroma. The flavour is so peculiar as expected: the smoke is present along with some roasted grain. No sweetness. The bitterness is more coffee-like, although the flavour doesn’t resemble much coffee. The mouthfeel is medium, a bit light for a beer like this (easy to understand why). Average carbonation. I would say it’s more like some kind of smoked beer, but still good.

Molasses, vanilla and charred wood aromas. Black hole black with a wispy, glass ringing brown head. Campfire smoke and charred wood flavors followed by a taste saving molasses and dark chocolate sweetness. I would have thought this might be a dark Rauchbier from the taste due to the smokiness. There’s a lot of bitterness in here, but it’s hard to tell what’s dark roasted malt and what’s hops. I think the underlying earth/forest floor taste must be from the hops. The chocolate, smoke and acrid bitterness sticks to the tongue but in a good way and this stays behind in the aftertaste. A very light body for such a strong beer (taste and ABV). A very unique beer. Whoops, I’m supposed to be celebrating American Craft Beer week! Thanks Norway!

Bottle in Bangor ME. This is a really nice stout with lots of interesting flavors and a silky smooth finish.

Imperial stout suave, con toques de café y ciruela incluso un toque a vino. Negra con espuma marron claro fácil de beber. No se nota el alcohol. Podría repetir,pero le falta un algo.

Color negro opaco con espuma beige muy duradera y muy bien formada. el aroma está dominado por el dulzor del trigo con notas de alcohol. En boca entra con una textura media-ligera y muestra ese mismo dulzor trigal con un final amargo acafetado y suave. No es para nada una mala cerveza, pero como Imperial Stout se me queda algo corta.