Barley Johns The Dark Knight (Returns)

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

Black with a thin tan head. A kick in the face with bourbon in the aroma. Creamy body with strong roasted malts and a lesser presence of the bourbon in the flavor. It’s a lot like a less carbonated Bourbon County Stout, but not as strong or thick. Pretty tasty, though it’s a bit like wine.

2006 DK graciously handbottled and provided by hellomynameis. man, this thing is viscous and huge!... it pours basically black with orange/brown visible at the edges. there’s no head but i can see carbonation present. it smells like the inside of a barrel!... wood, lots of dry earthy wood, chocolate, grass, bourbon-y spice, maple, vanilla and a spicy sting. if rich were a smell this would be it. the flavor is quite robust but way too sweet (sad for me)... chocolate, vanilla, high roasty malts, bourbon-y spice, brown sugar and the barrel bugs with their dryness and parching qualities. abv% creeps into the finish as this mutha warms up. the aftertaste puts me in that special place... very comforting and surreal mix of char, astringency, coffee and soft bourbon notes. full body, slick texture and low to nil carbonation. the only drawback from perfection is the persistent sweetness... muchas gracias, zac!

This is a beer that I like more the more I have it. The deep black color almost makes one think twice about what they’re doing before driinking it and the strong bourbon, coffee and vanilla just gets smoother with every sip. I’d only be repeating what other have siad if I go on. My only question is what might a third go-round with the barrel.

Hand bottle from Santa. Thanks Santa! Pours pitch black with a slight chocolate brown head. Has a great aroma to it that has roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, oak, and bourbon notes. Heavy mouthfeel reveals a warm alcohol upfront, smooth chocolate and a creamy sensation leads to the vanilla, oak, and bourbon flavors. It finishes with alcohol and a coffee aftertaste. Overall this is a wonderful brew that I am grateful to have had the chance to try. It comes together nicely at the end and leaves me wanting more!! Wow this is a nice beer.

Completely black pour with a small tan head. Aroma is heavy bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate. Flavor is even more bourbon, vanilla, wood, oak, toast, brown sugar, and maybe a bit of coconut. Finishes with a good burn, very thick and creamy. This was very nice!

Never thought I’d have a chance to try this beer, then hellomynameis hooked me up with a 12oz hand bottle via trade. Thanks a million Zac! Pours a flat, oily black with a thin tan head that left only a faint ring around the edge of a glass. Looks more like flat cola or a black malbec than a pint of ale. Aroma is a little boozy at first, but once is breaths there’s vanilla, oak, toasted wood, toasted bread, chocolate, coffee, Kahlua, bourbon, soy sauce, liquid smoke, dark cane sugar and a little bit of rum. Flavor is again, very boozy at first, but then it becomes very very chocolaty, with rum, whiskey, brown sugar, molasses, some soy, vanilla, and coffee with cream. The finish and the mouth feel make this beer. Flat and oily in the mouth with plenty of heat from the alcohol, but the crazy thing is, after the shock of the booze wears off you wind up with a creamy, sweet, delicious after taste in your mouth. What starts a very good beer melds into a great beer by the end. A total shock and far far better than I imagined it would be. Definitely not for the faint at heart but clearly a beer brewed with much care and consideration.

On tap at the brewpub, 2006 batch. Pours a dark dark brown to black with a ring of tan for a head. Big sweet vanilla bourbon. A bit of booze, though soft. Maybe some slight coconut. Light and ethereal, lower carbonation. Alcohol thinness. Big alcohol over light sweetness. Big bourbony vanilla, some coconut and oak. Lingering sweetness dried out by oaky tannins and alcohol. A real gem!

On tap. Very dark brown, no head, some nice visible carbonation. The nose is very thick with bourbon, also some roasted malt and chocolate in support. The flavor is initially very, very bourbony, but as the beer warms this becomes more manageable and the flavors balance out a bit. The bourbon still takes center stage (which admittedly is not really my thing), beyond the bourbon there are some very nice chocolate, caramel and burnt sugar notes, with some burnt malt bitterness. The palate is a bit thin for such a heavy beer, but is very smooth - pretty easy drinking for 13%. Like Goose Island’s bourbon county stout, this is a great beer, but the bourbon characteristic just isn’t for me.