Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout

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

’08 Bottle: This pours about as black as anything I’ve seen with a sizeable tan head. Big roasted malt nose with hints of dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla, tobacco and smoked malt subtleties. What a great transition this brew takes on, completely balanced flavors range initially from dark chocolate malts and some coffee and meld into a smoked malt beast. The smoke is so perfectly incorporated without being overbearing. This a phenomenal stout and will now be a staple. Anyone who hasn’t tried this...seek it out!

Taste of smokey, roasted potatoes. More cocoa than coffee, more roasted than burnt. Slightly thin.

Thanks to tronraner for this one. Goes into the glass as a very dark black brew with a small fleeting dark tan head. Sweet smoky malt aroma. Sweet syrupy texture with a smoky light bitterness in the flavor. Smooth, very drinkable.

[Bottle] Pours black with a small dark tan head. Aroma has a decent amount of smoke when cold, but it is more subued as it warms. Compared to an AS beer this thing has almost no smokiness, but I like that it blends instead of overpowers. There is also a good deal of roasted malt and chocolate aroma in there. The taste is largely roasted malt and chocolate, with a little alcohol, and surprisingly little smoke. Medium mouthfeel with a long finish where finally a little smoke shows through to go along with a roastiness that borderlines on charred. A solid beer.

I love smoked beers and this being a stout was even better,with hints of coffee and a nice smokey flavor with a thick and tastey head,it poured black and thick like an IPS but not overwhelming as one very good beer and enjoyable.CHEERS!

Velvety, oil black pour produces a thick fudge milkshake of a head, which eventually settles to a thin, transparent glaze. These non-imperial Dark Horse stouts really achieve another level of blackness for what they are. Aroma is full of tangy, earthy peat smoke and acrid coffee grounds; the acidic, light roasted coffee character seems to give a fresh, lively zest of grapefruit and tangerine, which is odd given that the initial impression is all dirty, wet and oxidized. No shortage of dark chocolate and toffee malt underneath. Tastes very slick and somewhat watery; though very full in texture, most of the flavor qualities are delayed to mid palate and finish. That tepid first note is one of peppermint and buttery soft taffy, which gains volume and visibility in the muted, roasty middle, and sort of stumbles into dominance after a failed coup of smoky, rough edged campfire malt. Thinly smoky. So reserved. Confusing. Buttered toast, raspberry jam, nothingness. Palate is luxuriously soft and full; a rich pipe tobacco smoke in a slow coating. It’s hard to describe how out of snyc that quieted, meek flavor is with the rest of the experience, especially with this soft, visceral and firmly muscled mouthfeel of a bloody, cocoa dusted flank steak. Finish brings the rustic smoked meats and juicy, ballsy dark coffees without reservations, which gives a frustrating picture of what this beer might have been all the way through with a little more willingness to kick ass.

thanks to bullzeye for sharing this. black pour with reddish lacings. chocolate and smoke on the nose. thickness is great and the smokey flavor was awesome.

Bottle. Not being a fan of "smoke" beers, I was very wary about trying this beer. The sell for me was that it was a stout and not a porter. For starters, I was fairly impressed with the very black, thick pour. No head what so ever. Not very much there with the aroma though. What is there are notes of smoke (obviously) and chocolate. Upon tasting it, I was surprised, but not impressed. A very thick beer! It almost feels like drinking thinned chocolate syrup. Most of the smoked malt was completely masked by the overwhelming chocolate flavors. Its almost a little too chocolaty, without enough of the smoke. However, I shouldn’t be complaining about this aspect since I’m not so hot on smoked beers. This definitely made me more open to trying more. Its another solid beer from Dark Horse, but I would rather be drinking their Oatmeal stout