Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

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

16.9 oz bottle, brewed 8/07. Dark brown with some forced tan froth. Nose is dark roast, molasses, prune and hay. Medium to full chalky body with a light tingle. Taste is prune, espresso, dates and burnt sugar. Dry tobacco finish.

500ml bottle. Pours delicate black with rusty- dark red head. Taste of roasted malt, dark chocolate, dark fruits. Sweet bitter with a lasting, roasty aftertaste.

Pours black with ginormous brown head that just won’t dissipate. Aroma is cocoa & very dark chocolate. On the palate this is a roasty-monster, again with semi-sweet dark chocolate and medium to full bodied. Into the finish the hops come out to somewhat balance.

Bottle - Pours black with a small tan head. Smells smoky, with some dark roast malt. Some milky, dark chocolate notes are in there as well. The taste has that same subtle smoke with some dark coffee, a touch of whiskey, and dark fruit. It’s sweet, and while I don’t taste the wheat, there’s a ton of dark malt. Medium-bodied and smooth, this one lived up to my expectations.

(bottle - 500 ml) Dark black pour with a thick tan head. Aroma is subtle and roasted with some chocolate and a dry cocoa finish. Wheat isn’t very apparent. Flavor begins with sweet and chocolaty with a subtle roasted note. Moves on to a dry and lightly grainy wheat flavor mixing with some bitter and burnt malts, chocolate, cherries, and alcohol. Finishes rather clean for such a heavy stout and leaves a light bitterness. Really nice stout.

A: Pours a nice dark deep hue of black, you could pass it off as a huge glass of espresso with its perfectly smooth frothy head. The head dies down to a nice collar with an island in the middle. S: I like my stouts to be bigger and bolder in the nose than this one. That being said what I was able to pick up was very nice. It is very deep and earthy in a faint sort of way. It is pretty smoked. I detect burnt coffee, over caramelized brown sugar, and of course dark Belgian chocolate. There is a touch of fruit in there as well, dark fruit like raisins or figs with a touch of booze. T: I really like this one. It’s a very deep dark stout. Dark fire roasted espresso leads the way. It has a Smokey touch. The chocolate is there in moderation as is a hint of cigar tobacco. It’s a very nice tasting stout that hides it’s ABV well, it is rather enjoyable. M: Medium bodied, very smooth and very creamy.

Bomber(ish). Black with medium head that disappears. Aroma predominantly of sweet milk chocolate, lots of roastedness and light coffee. Taste is initially sweet though ends bitter, also very chocolatey. Well balanced though not as much as some of the better Imperial Stouts. An average imperial stout (chocolate dominates too much; aroma/flavor not very complex).

Bottle from Keg Liquors, IN. Pours inky black brown with a full dark tan head with small bubbles that lingers. Aromas of dark fruit, chocolate, roast and some alcohol. Flavors of roast, dark bitter chocolate and some creaminess from the wheat malt. Long finish. Deceptively smooth for such a big beer. Excellent with an aged cheddar.