Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

Bottle from pre-hobo Kevin. Pours a lackluster and thin black with a blackberry head. Aroma is a strong mixture of alcohol, chocolate, bourbon, and raisin. Flavor is a rush of alcohol, chocolate, and a finish of powdery coffee (what the heck is that?). Very "smoky" in a sense. Palate is flowing. Overall, nice sippin’ beverage.

Pours very dark with almost no head. Aroma is roasted coffee, chocolate, a hint of soy sauce, some alcohol. Flavor is burnt coffee, some chocolate, molases, toffee, smoke and very fruity, raisins, prunes and figs. Finish is long, semi-sweet, with lots of lingering smoke and burntness. Medium-bodied, smooth texture, very low carbonation. ABV is well hidden. Very well done.

Mine poured pretty black and with almost no head which quickly dissipated. Aroma is very smokey and roasted(like espresso). This is not a imperial in the classic sense, not near sweet enough, and very burnt tasting. Campfire finish.

Bottle courtesy of Pailhead
Pours a solid dark with a thinnish tan head. Dark roast, lactose, toffee and vanilla aroma. Flavor also dominated by dry roast, cream/lactose and some vanilla. Quite bitter from the roasted malts. Weak body, thin palate stop this quite good beer from being a great beer.

Pours a thick black, with a very small head. Aromas are sweet malt, chocolate, coffee, and smoke. Flavor is chocolate, coffee, malt, hops, and smoke. Low on carbonation, it would be better with more. overall though, nicely done. Thanks to goldtwins for this bottle.

black slightly viscous body. short sienna brown foamy head that goes to a ring quickly. sweet chocolate malt and prune/mission fig, and some blackstrap molasses aroma. roasted chocolate malt and burnt chocolate snap cookie flavor, slick mouthfeel. mild carbonation and burnt sugar finish. dry burnt malt aftertaste. thanks Styles for this one!

Salty, soy, smoked, seafood and chocolate in the curious aroma. Opaque brown body with low but lasting dark brown head. Soy, salt and sweet sugary malts. Flavour not nearly as complex or intriguing as the aroma would suggest. Medium-full body is somewhat syrupy due to low carbonation. Bottle sampled at the Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Fest 2005.

12 oz. bottle but the label says 750 ml. Weird. Pours a very oily,thick, syrupy fluid. The aroma has something that reminds me of an Indian buffet restaurant--Lumpy suggested anise, since you find that at the door of an Indian restaurant in a dish--and the flavour is rather simple, lacking the depth of chocolate and roast that I like. It ends simply and a bit thin.