Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

Bottle pours a pitch black with a nice tan head that lasts a while. Smells of roasted malts come up from the glass. Has a full body mouthfeel with a nice roasty taste with a nice smooth finish. Has an almost velvety quality to it. Very nice.

12oz bottle. 2008 vintage. pours pitch black, oily, with no head. roasted coffee, vanilla bean, and green apple, in the nose. flavor is loaded with licorice, cold coffee, vanilla, and green apple. sort of like a coffee liquer. not much chocolate in this and with the lack of a head and oily body this reminds me of 07 dark lord. not bad at all, i just hope it improves with age.

(bottle) Pours black with a very dark tan head that reduces to a ring around the glass. The aroma of this beer is truly unique, and I smelled different scents everytime I took a sniff from the snifter. Aromas of roasted malt, smoke, oxidized red delicious apple, chocolate, light hops, and some slight cherry. Taste is strong of chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, and a slight hint of fruitiness as well. The beer finishes very roasty and smoky, and has a very smooth mouthfeel. A pretty solid impy, but the flavor did not really show the complexity that the aroma displayed.

[Bottle] Pours black with a small brown head. The aroma is deeply roasted malt, chocolate, some fruitiness that is really hard to identify, a hint of alcohol, a little hazelnut and I think I caught some sort of spice too. The taste is light banana and roasted malt--quite sweet up front--then a good deal of dark chocolate. Medium mouthfeel with a pretty long finish of chocolate and once again heavily roasted (almost lightly charred) malt. A very complex beer that I thought was well done, but it didn’t come together in such a way that I was blown away.

The pour is rich mahogany brown and builds up black and thick; a firm foam of tanned marshmallow sticks to the sides in sheets. Aroma is first very fruity, suggesting red apple, mushy bananas, and blood orange. Butterscotch cookies, graham pie crust and dark chocolate brownies lean decadently but stay back a bit. Tangy, spicy sweetness; vanilla, licorice, anise, smoke and cherry. Lots of vinousness and interplay between understated elements that are each presented with intricacy and care. Really loveable. Flavor seems a bit strained, but still well composed; lots of peach-toned tobacco smoke, coffee ash, black licorice, and apple. A bit tart and quite English, which is an impression that persistently gains credence with warmth. Hints of citrus, even grapefruit juice, and burnt caramel in the juicy, warm mid palate. Mouthfeel is soft and cool, gently carbonated and smooth as silk. Growing ever more fruity toward the finish, with some high strung sweetness of watermelon and vanilla; ends with roasty heat and charred meats, and wood. Seemed a little off at first, and the kinship between this series of stouts seemed to bear quite heavily on the individuality here. Ultimately though, this a memorably unique example, unfolding quietly and calmly to reveal its colorful, stylish layers.

Dark dark body with heavy carbonation and a ring of brown head. Aroma of black licorice with hints of vanilla, chocolate and roasted malts. Creamy body with solid roasted malt character. Smoked malt flavor with the usual chocolate and coffee hints and the faintest wisp of vanilla. Creamy mouthfeel and finish.

Bottle. It happened with the smoked stout, and it happened with this one. A solid beer, but not what I had hoped for. Pours an oily thick black with no head. Pretty much jet black. Roasted malt, vanilla, chocolate, and a trace of coffee. All of which were predominant upon tasting. Went down smooth and creamy, but quickly left the palate. If my expectations were lower, I probably would have enjoyed it more.

12oz bottle. Vanilla, black liquorice, rich, oily roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruit and some bright hops. Pretty standard fare for an Impy, but put together well. Pours a thick, oily near pitch black with a thick, but quickly fading khaki head. Toasted and brandy soaked vanilla bean, oily roasted malt, a hint of smoke and ash, some dark bitter chocolate and a touch of coffee on the tongue. Fairly thick and creamy on the palate, but somehow a bit more is left to be desired. Well put together, but not overly spectacular.