Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

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

pours a deep brown with a tan head. notes of roasted malts, bitter chocolate, coffee, raisons, some booze, but definitely not overpowering. pretty tasty. slightly sticky mouthfeel. nice body. the 12 % alcohol is very well hidden. pretty good beer

This is a good one and I was lucky enough to try a bottle thanks to Matt (mphoule). Pours a pitch black that has sort of a brown tinge to it. Has a deep brown head that dissipates but comes back quickly with swirling and also leaves some lacing. Aroma is very nice and complex: coffee, dark chocolate, dried cherries, raisins, roasted malts, milk chocolate. All just blend nicely together and after the brew warmed, some alcohol notes. Flavor starts bitter and then moves to bitter sweet and finishes with a cherry sweetness and a coffee bitterness. Mouth feel was a little on the thin side but was nicely warming, soft carbonation. Overall this was great stuff with very few flaws.

Bottle courtesy of MrBunn (Thanks!) Syrupy black pour, creamy dark cookie colored head. Wonderful aroma of chocolate, espresso and roasted malt. Flavor is sold; heavy bittersweet chocolate and coffee right away, then black cherry, smoke and some vanilla on the finish. On par with some of the more popular imperial stouts.

’08 Bottle: Poured a viscous black with no head. Big roasted malt notes in the nose with some complimenting dark fruit and chocolate accents as well. This seemed to be about perfect in the mouth feel dept...slightly thick and silky but not detracting in the least bit. Flavor was roasted malts, dark chocolate, black cherries and a very light brown sugar essence. Great brew by an underappreciated brewery.

12 oz bottle from a trade with dmschefke. black with a tan head that reduces to a ring. rich dark malt aroma. chocolate, dark fruit, anise. flavours are similar. the alcohol in undetecable other then a warming in your belly. top notch stuff here. thx dave!

Pours black with think mahogany highlights and a 1-2 finger creamy caramel brown head that has decent retention and holds at a skim after a few minutes. Aroma is lots of roast (the quality of the roast notes is great), sweet dark caramel, buttery toffee, a hint of chocolate, prairie floral notes, peanut and almond nutty notes, date-nut bread and sweet raisins. Flavor is roast, bittersweet chocolate, light coffee notes, caramel, planty hops, nutty toffee, molasses cookies, grilled bread, burnt sugar, some vegetal/fruit notes, a hint of grapefruit nearing the finish and some low hops bitterness at the end with a burnt sugar/molasses fade. Palate is heavy bodied with a sharp but light carbonation and slick entry leading to a slightly stick finish with some nice alcohol warmth.

Lovely stout. Lots of roastiness complimented nicely by a lovely vinous dark fruitiness, almost raisin-y in character.

Bottle, shared by Papsoe. It pours a beautiful black body with small, brown head sitting on top. Roasted, burnt nose with coffee, some chocolate and alcohol and some sweetness. The alcohol is a bit more evident in the mouth, giving a little warmth to the full-bodied, rather dry beer. Roasted, burnt flavor with chocolate, coffee and some sweetness. Coffee-bitter finish. I normally prefer more hops in my imperial stouts, but this is a lovely example of a malt-driven imperial stout, full-flavored, intense and pleasantly warming. (090514)