Barley Johns The Dark Knight (Returns)

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

Clear dark brown, no head. Aroma is alcohol, cherries, very vinous and sweet. Thick, oily texture. Strong taste of alcohol, sugar, chocolate. Vanilla there as well. Alcoholic and bitter finish. Not usually a fan of stouts this aggressive, but while it is strong it is also balanced. Very nice stout.

I sampled this at Brock_Landers house and really enjoyed it. Some of the Imperial Porters I don’t like- but this one had a WINE character but smelled like oaky chocolate. Very good stuff.

The Dark Knight, bottled from growler. Virtually no head. Body is black (virtually opaque, flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, caramel), with notes of alcohol, oak, vanilla, whisky. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, syrupy texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. It’s pretty good, but I dunno...it’s not really that notable IMHO. Very smooth and enjoyable, no doubt. I just don’t find anything particularly special about it. It’s in good shape, though, still plenty of carbonation and aromatic power, as this was shipped 2-day UPS right after bottling.

Smells of tiramusu cake soaked in light bourbon, covered with chocolate sauce and decorated with toffee, cherries and coconut flakes, with a side of sliced apple and red wine. Near opaque black color. Initially vinous, like sweet dark fruits and red wine, whichs then falls into a roasty blast of malt, with chocolate and roast. Grapes and bourbon on the finish, with light vanilla and coconut, although not as profound as I usually prefer in a bourbon beer. Soft texture, seemingly better when served at the brewpub. A really enjoyable, unique beer.

It’s a given that I’m not a huge fan of bourbon-barreled beers, but I run into occasional exceptions where I find that a beer is tweaked in some intriguing way by the bourbon character. Tragically, this was not one of those times. I sampled both the original Dark Knight and the newer Dark Knight Returns side-by-side, and was distinctly not impressed by either. The Dark knight was, not surprisingly, quite dark, smelling strongly of dark sweet fruits and bourbon. Very flavorful, though not in a particularly pleasant manner. Strong bourbon character (which was largely expected), but the real surprising part here was how sweet this one was, it’s a very powerful figgy/molasses sweetness mixed with the bourbon. Basically tasted like somebody made a huge batch of cloying fig juice and dropped a shot of bourbon into it. As for the Dark Knight Returns, enjoyed this one a bit more. Still very sweet, not as cloying, the bourbon’s a bit lighter allowing at least some roastiness and a bit of coffee bitterness through. Still, too strong, and my teeth hurt by the time I was done. Did not enjoy either of these, but it didn’t really have much to do with the bourbon character of either.

Tap @ brewpub. I took down a couple samples of this beer and did a side-by-side with the original Dark Knight ("DK"). Solid black color served in what appears to be scotch glass. Amazing complexity and richness in flavor and aroma. Sweet mollassas, bourbon, dark fruits, and a suble hint of alcohol. Sherry and chocolate dominate the flavors that linger long after the finish. Full-bodied and syrupy as it coats the mouth. In the side-by-side comparison, I found DK to be smoother, sweeter and more fruity. I actually noticed the bourbon more in the Dark Knight Returns as the initial sweetness led to a tart and tangy character not found in DK. Rating #1 (12/25/2004) Score: 4.2. Tap @ brewpub. Dark brown to black color with a brown head. A strong alcohol presence in the aroma. Rich and coating with dark fruits and vanilla balanced with toasted malts and chocolate.

Wow,this is a really nice brew that pours a very dark brown with a fine layer of rich creamy tan foam.The bourbon is much milder here which allows the vanilla,molasses,chocolate, port to mix with a mild nose of oak to come out.IMHO all the aromas can be singled out easily without all of the bourbon in the regular Dark Knight.
Earlier Rating: 7/27/2004 Total Score: 4.8
Forget about the rest.This beer comes out with little head and zero carbonation.Yeah,what the other 8 have said,Bourbon is the aroma that first grabs at your snaazzolla.You wanna’ say chocolate and cherry but the smoky bourbon aromas are there and I mean there.Then all of a sudden the bourbon becomes Port as the blend of cherry chocolate kicks in.The alcohol feels more like 20% vs only 12,almost like WWS would drink.After a few minutes,I was left with a wonderful smoky bourbon ( not that cheap shit ) flavor on my palate.This is not something you would chug,guzzle or slam rather ,take your shoes off kick back in the Lazyboy or your deckchair at sunset with this baby and enjoy.

Hand bottled from growler by Footbalm and send to Denmark - thanks a lot!
Almost black colored with a small brown head. Sweet hard roasted aroma of coffee and coconut with a sugary candied touch. Notes of coconut in the flavor as well with dark roast and coffee also. Sharp and warming from the evident alcohol tone. Somewhat unbalanced but still tasty and very interesting. Would love to try it on draft!