Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours thick black, with a brownish head. Aroma is lightly smokey and of dark fruits. Taste is roasty, and very sweet, malty with slight note of smoke, some chocolate / coffee and candy sugar to make it a great Imperial Stout.

This dark beer poured out like motor oil on a cold day. There was a small dark brown head that shrank to an oily slick. Burnt sugar, molassess, chocolate and some roast coffee in the nose. Thick, oily mouthfeel. Lots of chocolate, coffee, molassess, burnt toast, toffee, and a long coffee finish. Really a nice beer.

Single thanks to Sprinkle. Very dark, low carbonation with almost no head. Slightly bitter with an alcohol feel. Good balance and nice body, but not out of the ordinary for an Imperial Stout.

Bottles from Stine and at least one other person (pepsican?, miketd?)? Either way, the trader that sent this one rocks. Big and black with a thick head. Aroma is full of smoke and roast with coffee, chocolate, and sugar showing through. Flavor matches the aroma with a bit more smoke and a lot of sweetness. Also has that classic Dark Horse yeast strain that rules in its stouts. Thick mouthfeel that really delivers. An upper echelon Impy stout for sure.

Bottle. Huge gritty roast and thick Dark Horse chocolate profile, with a little booze showing, but the shocker in the aroma is the presence of abundant hoppiness. Inky black hole black pour with a dark brown head (so dark it’s trending toward violet). Inky taste, too, a bit oily, a bit crisp with a nice bit of prickling from the hops. Viscous maltiness is the story here, though. Abundant roast but nothing harsh, no ash, just thick, creamy dark chocolate. Reasonably dry for the style. A little boozy (well-concealed, though, I’d have guessed about 8-9% - certainly tastes less boozy than my Expedition), vinous body on the lighter side of medium despite the chewy roast taste and the residual sugars. Touch of unsalted licorice and raisin, but fruitiness is dulled by a damp blanket. Sticky-lipped end and a plummy aftertaste. Rich and dangerous! Not quite world-class, but if you like DH’s other stouts, you’ll love this.

Man, I waited around forever for this one. I love Dark Horse, and expected to be blown away by this one. Sadly, I wasn’t. Pours fine, not weak but not really strong either. Some Impy tastes going on, a little grain, some chocolate, and lots of watery booze. Just boozy everywhere. Nothing really impressive about this one, and nowhere near as good as say, Reserve Black Bier or One. The second one I had left a little better impression on me, but theres just way too many other good impys out there in this price range (see, for example, Expedition).

Bottle from mgumby. Thanks Mike! Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, a bit of cocoa, mild hops. Flavor is heavily roasty, a bit of cocoa, blah blah blah. This kind of tastes like every other top imperial stout on the market. Well made, and tasty, but just not that exciting for me anymore. 12% is extremely well hidden. I would never have guessed it to be anywhere close to that. A great beer, but I guess I’m just losing my taste for these imperial stouts.

Dark color. Smell of roasted malt, smoke, spice, brown sugar, pine, hops and alcohol. Taste of roasted malt, smoke, minor coffee, spice, brown sugar, pine, hops, cake batter and alcohol.