Dark Horse Boffo Brown Ale

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle, no bottle date. Pours slightly hazy dark reddish brown color with a nice and dense 2 finger light tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Some nice lacing clings to the side of the glass as well. Aromas of big caramel, molasses, toasted malt, light chocolate, spiciness, and nuttiness. Some nice aromas with good strength. Taste of toasted malt, bread, light chocolate, caramel, nuttiness, brown sugar, and light spiciness. Low amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toasted malt, light chocolate, and brown sugar on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy mouthfeel that drinks very easily. Very nice balance of flavors. No alcohol noticed other than a slight warming after the finish. Overall this is one of the best brown ales I have had for sure.

Another excellent brew from dark horse. Quite a robust brown ale with a ton of great flavor.

Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

4.6/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20

Review 300! 12 ounce bottle into snifter 2011 bottle. Pours opaque black color with an extremely dense 2 finger dark tan head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick lacing cap that lasts. Some nice thick lacing is on the glass as well. Aromas of big espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malts, caramel, with a small amount of vanilla and booze. Huge aromas, very nice balance as well. Taste of big dark chocolate, caramel, espresso, and a bit of vanilla; with some decent bitterness in the back accompanied with a bit of booziness. Lingering notes of light espresso-like bitterness, roasted flavor, and chocolate that linger for a decent amount of time. Insanely creamy and slick body that goes down surprisingly smooth despite being 12%. Alcohol is nicely hidden, not much on the taste and a decent warming on the finish; I was expecting it. Light-medium carbonation and huge full body. Overall, this is just a beautiful Russian Imperial Stout. Extremely well crafted, and I need to go pick up a 4 pack of this to age, I hope there is still some around.

This one is definitely one that I would like to try and buy for some aging. It is this good when it is fresh, I can't even imagine what I will be like with a year or two on it.

Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a fairly dense 1.5 finger dark tan head with decent retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Aromas of smoke, dark chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, and roasted malt. Decent aromas here. Taste of smoke that leads to some dark chocolate and coffee notes with roasted malt. Finishes with a small amount of bitterness with lingering smoke, citrus, and roasted flavors. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied. Has a nice creamy feel to it as well. No alcohol noticed in taste and a slight warming on the finish. Overall a very tasty smoked stout.

As usual, another tasty brew from Dark horse. I have a Plead the Fifth in the cellar, and I will probably have to wait til next year to have the Tres. Then I will have had the whole stout series(except barrel aged Fifth of course).

Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle into tulip. Pours hazy dark red-orange color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with great retention. Aromas of strong orange and caramel; with pineapple, mango, and a bit of bread and alcohol. Fairly strong aromas here. Taste of strong caramel, orange, grapefruit, and mango. Very sweet flavors on the front that lead to a fairly strong bitterness on the finish that lingers with orange, grapefruit, and caramel flavor. This is very malt forward, but still has good balance. Light-Medium carbonation and very full bodied. Very smooth drinkability for its alcohol level. No alcohol noticed on the taste, but a decent warming was noticed on the finish, but overall the alcohol was very well hidden. Overall a very tasty DIPA, and the highest gravity DIPA I have had yet.

Glad that this gets into Ohio, despite being 13.6%. Great DIPA, if a bit malty for my taste.

Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a 2 finger fairly dense dark tan head with very good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts for most of the glass. Minimal lacing on the glass. Aromas of strong chocolate, roasted malt, oats, caramel, and molasses; with a little bit of vanilla and alcohol. Some pretty nice aromas here with good strength. Taste of strong dark chocolate, oatmeal, and roasted malt on the front; with a bit of coffee, caramel, and molasses. Starts off sweet on the front with chocolate and oats and transitions to a decent bitterness on the finish that lingers for a bit with roasted coffee and chocolate flavors. Creamy and smooth mouthfeel with no alcohol noticed in taste, but a slight warming on the finish was noticed. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied. Some slight carbonation prickliness was noticed, but it doesn’t detract from the creamy mouthfeel that much. Overall a very good oatmeal stout!

I have yet to really be let down by Dark Horse. All around solid lineup it seems, can't wait to have even more offerings.

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy orange-amber color with a 2 finger off white head with amazing retention the reduces to a lacing cap that stays for the duration of the glass. Minimal glass lacing is present. Aromas of pine, floral, citrus and some caramel and bready malts. The aromas are fairly strong and pronounced. Taste of strong pine and floral notes, with orange and grapefruit, with some light caramel. It has a nice clean bitterness that shows up right near and after the finish, and it lasts for quite a while as well, with citrus and pine flavors. This one is more hop forward, but has some nice balance to it. Medium carbonation and body. No alcohol noticed except for a slight warming after the finish. It has a really smooth mouthfeel with some crisp carbonation as well. Overall a delicious IPA, an I would definitely have it again. It is well rounded as an IPA, but nothing really stands out to me to make it great.

All around good stuff, I'd get it again.

Dark Horse Too Cream Stout

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours a thick dark brown color with a 2 finger dark tan head with decent retention that leaves some decent glass lacing. Aromas of strong dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, vanilla, and cream. Taste of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts; with some vanilla and cream. Very smooth and creamy body, and very easy drinking for 8%. Some lingering roasted and chocolate flavors after the finish. Not much bitterness noticed in this, except for some coffee bitterness, and it is well balanced in flavors. No alcohol noticed at all, very well hidden. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Overall a very delicious stout. Will likely be picking this up again in the next release. Excellent.

Overall very impressed with this, and most of the other Dark Horse offerings I have had. I still have many more to try as well.

Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

4.3/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown color with a dense 2 finger tan head with amazing retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves some great lacing. Aromas of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, smoke, and molasses. The aromas are a bit weak. Taste is of chocolate, coffee, smoke, and some citrus hop bitterness. Some lingering bitterness and roasted flavors after the finish. The taste is incredibly well balanced with the smoke, coffee, and chocolate flavors. Has a medium body and carbonation, and has an extremely creamy mouthfeel. Alcohol is extremely well hidden, and there is only a very slight warming after the finish. I loved this beer, and it was gone way too fast. Fantastic.

Another great beer from Dark Horse. I am really loving the stuff they put out.

Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours hazy dark brown color with a 2 finger frothy off white head with average retention. Aromas of caramel, roasted malts, and freshly ground coffee. Taste of sweet caramel, roasted malt, and fresh ground coffee. Fairly dry finish, but there is some lingering roasted coffee notes after the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Overall a fairly tasty beer, and well balanced in flavor and aroma. No detected alcohol at all. Very good stuff!

This is another tasty one from Dark Horse. It is very similar to Bells Java Stout in my opinion, though the Java Stout is a bit stronger on flavor. As I was making my way through the glass the carbonation basically disappeared and it could not be agitated to form a head, but was still felt in the beer itself during drinking.

Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours very dark brown with a 1 finger light tan head with average retention. Aromas of chocolate, caramel, whiskey, toffee, and smoke. Taste of whiskey, chocolate, toffee, and some smoke and wood. The whiskey flavor is not super strong at all (in comparison so some other scotch ales I have had) and is balanced very well with the beer taste. The 9.75% is not noticeable at all except for a slight warming after the finish. No bitterness at all. Medium carbonation and body. My first Dark Horse beer, and I am impressed. Delicious for a malty beer.

The word is that Dark Horse is available in Ohio, I just need to find it.