Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout

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

Black in colour, thin but lingering tan coloured head, some light lacing. The aroma is lightly roasty, good amounts of smoke, dark chocolate and molasses. The flavour is lightly smoky, some sweetness, very malty, good roast, more dark chocolate. Lightly sweet mouthfeel, medium/light body, medium carbonation. Finishes a little thin, smoky.

While there is good amounts of smoke throughout this beer, its seems to be lacking in body. No noticable alcohol.

355ml bottle obtained in a trade with HogTownHarry, thanks Harry.
Opened on February 22, 2008
No date.

12oz bottle. Pours one of the blackest colors I’ve ever seen in any stout, absolute pitch black with a medium sized dark brown, bubbly head. Aroma is chocolatey, malted milk balls, fairly roasty but surprisingly not that smoky. When I look for the smoke I can find it but if I didn’t know this was a smoked stout it wouldn’t have jumped out at me in the aroma. Flavor is chocolatey, pretty much just chocolate actually. It’s nice and good and leads to a chocolatey finish. Not much smoke detected in the flavor either. Surprisingly dry, certainly dryer than I expected it to be. For my tastes it could use a bit more viscosity or creaminess. Searching for the smoke I do find a bit of a BBQ flavor but it is certainly subtle, just like the aroma. Overall this is a quality stout.

The Dan Journal #201. Tasted 7/10/08. 12oz bottle. Pitch hue with a khaki head. Oatmeal and fudge aromas. Hints of dark chocolate and a touch smokey. Full bodied with a slight cherry, berry estery malt character. Good roast with hints of dark chocolate and moderate smokey flavor.

12 oz. bottle. pours dark velvet black with brown small head. aroma consists of dark caramel roasty malt sublte smoke. Starts toffee sweet, with dark chocolate, brown sugar. some warming from alcohol.

Pours a jet black color with a brown head. Aroma is malty, toasty, smoky, roast, caramel, and some alcohol. Flavor is chocolate, malty, roast, caramel, and a sweet brown sugar finish.

Bottle. Pours like an extremely opaque black motor oil. The dark tan head, with hints of burgundy, is a bit course. The aroma is very smoky with strong tinges of a tart, tanginess. The fruit aroma is like a mix of a kiwi tart and a plum and pomegranate tanginess. It has a medium weight in the mouth with some decent carbonation. The flavour starts with a round dark fruit flavour (leaning more towards pomegranate). The smokiness then quickly overpowers the citrus. Hints of a brown sugary sweetness mellows out the medium bitterness. Towards the finish, dark fruit and soy sauce-like flavours are apparent behind the intensely dominant meaty smokiness. This is so incredibly smoky. It’s like drinking meat.

12oz. bottle, with thanks for Gregis for getting this for me from Indy a while ago, and this finally completes the 1-5 series for me. Pours a thick and dark black with a foamy dark brown head that diminishes but is easily revived with a few swirls. Aroma is chocolate, coffee, smoke and peat; all lightly present. Flavor brings out more peat, with some light smoke, roast and coffee. Not a powerful smoke by a long stretch, but another solid and tasty stout.

This is superb. Pours pitch black. Smoked aroma and flavor have a really nice sweetness to them. Does not end up reminding one of smoked sausage. Very easy to drink. Dark chocolate and subtle charcoal aftertaste.