Barley Johns The Dark Knight (Returns)

Brewed by Barley Johns Brew Pub
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
New Brighton, Minnesota USA

Huge thanks to hopdog for sharing this luscious nectar... Appears a dark brown bordering black with a light tan head that quickly dissipates. Very mild spots of tan lace slip back into the collar. Smell...OMFG. Cocoa, caramel, plums, black grapes, vanilla, light oak, & traces of bourbon that has been cooked in a rich, chocolate reduction. Taste is of the mentioned aromas. Lots of vanilla, cocoa, plums...I wonder if this is coming from the bourbon barrel, or if they used the Westmalle yeast strain at some point of the fermentation. Either way, it’s absolutely wonderful and a pleasure to drink. Mouthfeel is viscous, very full bodied, along with an alcohol, boozy burn that is outweighed by the delicious flavors and stickiness of this concoction.

Much thanks to hopdog for this hard to get growler. Pours a dark black with a small tan head. Aroma of vanilla, dark fruits, bourbon, wood, molasses, caramel and some chocolate. Flavors of the same...pretty much matched the aroma with some hints of coffee. Very sweat with hints of alcohol.

Pricey $60 64 oz. growler from the brewery. Coffee like aroma with roasted and vanilla notes. Alcoholic aromas come through as well. Almost no head with a dark black color. Totally opaque. Heavy cloying sweetness up front with a lightly bitter finish continuing on to a dark coffee roasted flavor. Very complex taste range. Changes throughout. Thick and syrupy on the palate. Exceptional overall. Rerated from Taste of the Midwest 2008. Flavors in the latest batch were way to strong on the bourbon side. Almost tasted like bourbon fortified beer.

Robertsrealty attempted to send me a friggin GROWLER of this awesome brew. Had some issues with the transport but most of it made it here. Pretty much flat at this point but damn is this still some awesome $hit!!! No head, no carbonation. Pours black with a hint of reddish brown around the edges. Slick and oily going into the glass. Great rich alcoholic aroma with plenty of sweet malts, toffee, caramel and roasted grains. Maybe a little raisin in there also. AMAZING AROMA!!!! Hint of the bourbon (alcohol). God I love bourbon barrel brews. Flavor is just as amazing as the aroma. Rich and sweet with tons of malts, roasted grains, molasses, caramel, you name it. Damn this is good. Strong alcohol presence and warming. Amazing balance as the description states. Just a hint of the bourbon for good measure. Slick in the mouth yet creamy and coating. Finish is creamy and smooth as all hell. Just about as perfect a brew as you can get. This really can’t be classified as a porter at 13% but the flavor is just so smooth and slick, but yet not chewey, like an impy, that it is the best porter that you will ever have. A HUGE THANKS to robertsrealty for this amazing brew. The only bad thing about this brew is that I lost about 1/4 to 1/3 in transport. I am thinking of going and sucking the cardboard from the box. This brew really is that good!!! I can’t imagine what this stuff would be like fresh! YOU DA MAN!!!!

12 oz bottle via footbalm (many thanks Eric!!). Pours a thick midnight black with no head. Strong aroma of espresso, licorice, anise and wood. Wow, this is VERY sweet and has a big bourbon alcohol finish. Lots of fruity esters....cherry, plums, dates...some chocolate and sweet coffee in the finish. Not all what i expected. But very good nonetheless. This is it’s own style and by no means a simple ’porter’... but the closet I could say is a cross between a scotch ale, a dopplebock, and a Baltic Porter...and according to my wife-similar to strong cough syrup. A yummy cough syrup imho. May i only be blessed with many coughs so long as i can obtain this again. Definately a late night sipper, not a session beer, lol. :=)

Oily black pour with silky tan film. A wonderful aromatic experience of molasses, swiss chocolate, and an immense weight of bourbon. Tastes of vanilla custard, black licorice and a little maple before the bourbon crushes everything again. This has a soft disposition, though. Smooth and even delicate in the mouth. Absolutely exceptional malt depth. Lovely. 8/5/7/4/17 4.1

Updated. 2007 version from the Pappy Van Winkle barrel. A beautiful chord of port and smoke hums atop the deep pool of bourbon sweetness. Obviously the same, but reaching new levels of resonance, richness, and velvet touch. The new barrel works wonders for this one, as beautiful as it was before. The sensual texture is simply phenomal. 8/5/8/4/17 4.2

21.05.06 Jimmack Invitational ’06 Others at the tasting thought this beer wasn’t so good, that it was a bit oxidized. I thought it was fantastic. In fact, my notes thusly entertain the norm for beers that have really blown me away -- Dark cola color, kicks ass...don’t feel like writing, only drinking. Big thanks to whoever brught this beer to Jim’s (Mike?), it was stellar. Just the perfect amount of barrel influence really highlighted the rich and complex dark malts here. The only thing that would’ve put this over the top? More hops. But it’s phenomenal. I’m unsure why it’s listed as porter, when this is obviously bigger than that.

First of all, huge thanks are in order to richlikebeer for sharing this gem. The sample showed a deep black color with small brown highlights and a thin light brown head. Amazing aroma of chocolate, mild bourbon, some sweetness akin to cake filling, alcohol vaports and a rich and round roasted malt. The flavor is also amazaing, with again chocolate, bourbon, cake filling and alcohol, which are interesting, but the main attraction is the malt, rich and luscious, almost decadent, the exeperience finishes with some bitterness. The mouthfeel is very vinous. Wow, this is an outstanding beer.