Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

Bottle courtesy of Footbalm. Thanks, Eric! I’ve been holding on to this one for some time, and figured it was about time to partake. Dark chocolate aroma with some sweetness evident. No coffee evident. Completely opaque body that has a small, light brown head with a ring that lingers. Rich, chocolate flavor that has a considerable hop profile, but like most ’’hoppy’’ imp stouts, you have to be paying attention to notice it until it warms up. Although there is clearly some strength to this brew, it hides the 12% to make it taste more like 8.5%. Is this a ’’wow’’ stout? No. Perhaps I sat on it too long (6-7mos) as I detect that the carbonation and crispness of character is fading a bit by mid-glass. Still, a very good brew.

A beer I should have rated over 2 months ago. My buddy Ross hooked me up with this when I returned from Japan to the United States on leave. Thank you to him and whoever got him the bottle. The beer pours out thick and black as coal. Aroma is a bit sweeter than I thought it should be, lots of chocolate and less of your typical roasted smell you would expect from an imperial stout. Taste is sweeter than I anticipated too. Interesting, this one is much more focused on the chocolate flavors than a roasty imperial stout. Still, the beer produced enough roast and thick creaminess to score high in most areas. A good stout but a bit sweeter than I like.

10/24/2008: Incredible! The massive, thick aroma of Dark Horse Brewing Company Plead the 5th Imperial Stout Ale lumbers from the glass and contains a battery of heavily roasted and caramelized malts, dark chocolate, mocha, licorice, and fine alcohol. This beer just smells big and thick and those characteristics are verified by the massive flavor chocolate, dark chocolate, espresso, darkly roasted malts, coffee, caramel, and some herbal hoppiness. The alcohol is actually more evident in the nose than it is in the acutal flavor, making this huge Imperial Stout way too drinkable! This medium-full body of opaque, black beer is just bursting with flavor that glides effortless over the palate. It has a really smooth and soft palate due to the low level of carbonation. Actually, the mouthfeel is almost chewy! There must have been a ton of malt that went into creating this beer. Overall this is an impressive Imperial Stout that has many of the charateristics that I most enjoy. I highly recommend this beer as it will definitely surpass expectations!

12 fl. oz. bottle from Tmoney99. Thank you very much Tom. I appreciate it! Rating #236 for this beer...

Opaque black pour, thin dark tan head. Rich cocoa aroma, alcohol, milk chocolate. Lots of chocolate on the taste, but smooth overall, the alcohol is very well hidden on this one.

GABF 2008. Pours black with an average, rocky, dark brown head, mostly lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (molasses, chocolate, nutty), light hops (herbs), average yeast (leather) with notes of prunes, dates, and smoke. Full bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and a chalky finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

Bottle courtesy of Bobby91w. Pours a pitch black with minimal tan head that fades into a ring around the edge. Nose is roasted malt, smoke, dark chocolate and coffee grounds. Taste is dark fruits up front, with roasted coffee beans, dry cocoa and ash with a slight bittering hop finish. Medium creamy mouth feel. Alcohol is well hidden but ti does have a warming effect. A nice stout. Thanks Bobby!

12 oz. bottle. I owe a thank you to yem25 for sending me a complete set of all five stouts. Pours a dense black with a moderate dark brown head that lasted through three-quarters of the glass and left a partial coating of brown film with each sip. Very pleasant aroma of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. The flavor is equally nice with again roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. A hint of black plum also in the flavor. Mild roast bitterness at the finish. Fairly smooth mouthfeel and full bodied. No hint of the 12% abv. Having now tried all five stouts, I’d rank this one and the blueberry as my top two choices. Thanks again, Ryan!

Bottle Shared with Gabe. Poured black with nice big red head. Aroma was chocolate, roasted malt, and a little alcohol. Taste was chocolate , roasted malt, coffee, and caramel. Finished nice and smooth. Very good!