Dark Horse Dark Corner Ale (2007)

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Marshall, Michigan USA

Tasted 5/10/08. 12oz bottle. Black Cap. Strong nose from a distance. Hazy brown with a slight bone white head. Aromas of dark fruit and toffee. Figgy and caramel nose. Big nose! Full bodied with big malts. Sticky body with a good dose of alcohol. Nutty and dried fruit flavors. Spicy. Warming with a good palate. Malty with fruity estery undertones. Sticky finish with mild slight hops. Maybe a touch resinous to add to the stickiness. Subtle flavors of pepper caramel and toffee. Mild vanilla note. Touch woody note. Ever so slight citrus hits the palate. A lot of flavor profiles but none of them are overt. But they are all blended wonderfully. Tart with a great complexity. Love the labeling to boot.

From my backlog. Sampled this right after the red cap version which was aweful. Well, this one’s not much better, but you can tell the quality is a little higher. Lively carbonation and a slight sour character leave me thinking this may be a little infected. Light and sweet malt backbone balanced by a piney hop profile. A little bit of candied fruit underneath, but the whole beer is a bit off and out of sync. A bit thin and not enough nuttiness for what I would expect.

12oz bottle. Poured dark brown color. Red light shone through the center of the glass. Some sediment was floating around. The head was off white and reduced after a minute or so to a tattered film. Aroma was of molasses, subdued raisin, and milk chocolate. Sweet on the tongue with some bitterness in the background and moderate carbonation. Medium bodied with milk chocolate, cola, and light caramel flavors. There wasn’t much in the way of alcohol flavor considering the 7.5% AbV. Decent beer.

Pours hazy reddish brown with a fully receding wispy tan head. Aroma of mild toasted malt, raisins, and toffee. Tastes of brown malt, toffee, raisins, and caramelized wort. Medium bodied with livey carbonation.

From the tap at Dark Horse. Big full "imperial brown" ale. If all brown ales were this full, malty, roasty and yummy, I might just give up IPAs. Exceptional.

12oz bottle. Sin City Label. Interesting... Dark Horse Comics? Pours medium brown color. Aroma is dusty, yeasty, and malt. Flavor is medium malt character. Decent malt, nice hop bitterness. Great Label!

Name: Dark Corner
Date: 02/10/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear dark brown, wispy tan head,
Aroma: sweet toasted and chocolate aroma with a light caramel sweetness balanced by earthy hops,
Body: creamy body,
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, nice nutty character, caramel sweetness to bring out the chocolate, touch of toasted, light balancing bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **+/4

Thanks for the bottle, General_Gao. Ruddy brown body with a medium yellowish khaki head. The aroma is rich caramel with some cocoa. There is also some fresh cut wood. The taste is more rich caramel with a leathery finish. The body is surprisingly light and delicate, amazing for a beer with that much alcohol. The finish is nice and dry with a little bit of wood. The caramel sweetness gets a little cloying. A solidly made brew that is almost like an aged English style barleywine.