Dark Horse Dark Corner Ale (2007)

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

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

(12oz bottle, tasted side-by-side with Arbor version, thanks kmweaver) Beige head atop hazy copper body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, fig/cherry. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, raisin/cherry, light cola, chocolate. Medium body.

Bottle courtesy of ughsmash. Pours brown with a thin off white head. Smells earthy with touches of citrus, tea and spice. Tastes of caramel, tea, lots of spice. Mouthfeel is on the thin side. Finish yields some booziness.

So this is the version brewed by Matt Greff @ Dark Horse. Opaque brown and reddish colored body with a dark tan head. Nose of raspberries, cherry pits and stems, very fruity, with notes of maraschino cherries and sweet port, and some cream as well. Very nice nose, but unfortunately the flavor did not follow up. It’s coarse and acidic up front, with cooked grains and husky cherry flavors, finishing with a cracker and grain coarseness and an accompanying crude bitterness that I didn’t enjoy.

Unfortunately the shop where I bought this didn’t have the version brewed at Arbor Brewing, so I couldn’t try the beers side-by-side. This version pours a slightly hazed dark brown body with a modest but sustained tan head. Plenty of lacing here. The aroma is lightly roasted dark malts with a splash of milk chocolate and a squirt of pink grapefruit juice. It has a flavor of dark caramel with a sturdy citric bitterness that develops as the drinking goes on. The finish is warm and mildly bitter with grapefruit (yellow now) with some lemon zest. Nice.

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Bottle black cap Fall 2007. Poured a clear brown color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasted sweet malt and hoppy aroma. Medium body. Solid balanced toasted flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good complex brew.

12 oz. bottle from the Beer Geek (black cap). Red tinged amber color with almost no head. Interesting aroma that resembles cola, or roasted caramel. Good smell; a bit vinous. Medium body with mild creamy carbonation. Flavor is malt, fruit, treacle, and a hint of coffee? Finish is neither dry nor sweet. The residual is reminiscent of a molasses flavored hard candy, but not all that sugary. Really pretty good drink.

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.