Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

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

Dark, dark black/brown color, paper thin tan head. Strong coffee aroma matches the strong coffee taste. First sip is all coffee, but more chocolate and toasted poppy seed bagel come in as the beer warms. A little smoked jerky and oatmeal as it gets another degree warmer. Finish is slightly hoppy, like flower petals. Delicious flower petals. Thinish body though, only complaint.

Near black pour, healthy brown head, slight ruby around the edge. Very roasty aroma. Tastes roasted malt, burnt malt, oat, bakers chocolate, some smokiness. A pleasant amount of carbonation. Just a slight amount of hop and coffee bitterness in the finish. Almost as much coffee in this to me as the Beer Geek Breakfast stout. Very good and to the point of what a good porter should be.

Pours a solid ebony colour with slight tan head and reasonable lacing. Nose- chocolate milk powder and roasted nuts. Taste- dark fruits, chocolate, touch of lactic sourness and a little smokiness. Medium bodied with a vigorous carbonation. Finishes dry.

black pour with a thin espresso head. sweet chocolate and hint of roasted malts. awesome thickness with a very full dark chocolate flavor with a smooth roasted malt finish. very impressive brew.

@Indiana Beerfest-on tap-pours a rich shaving cream light brown head that laces and black color. Aroma is dark malt-bakers chocolate/anise/roasty/some coffee, slight sharpness/acidic. Taste is anise, sharpness/acidic, dark malt-bakers chocolate/anise/roasty/some coffee/oats. Chewy. Nice, but not my taste. Occasional.

12oz bottle courtesy of mmm/beer. This pours black with a brown head and some lacing. Nose is of roasted malts and coffee. Taste is more prominent than the nose and is of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Mouthfeel was thick and left a dry aftertaste, but no harshness at all. Surprisingly thick for a porter. Very tasty.

Full bodied indeed. Big thick and heavy, just like the majority of Americans. Big ol’ head atop blacker than black liquidity. Dark dark dark chocolate, Colombian coffee mixed with dark fruits and roasted grain. Delicious. Will certainly keep me coming back.

What a way to start the first Saturday of college football. The wife and kids are at the in-laws place, I have the Big Ten Network in HD, and this evening will be my first time meeting the Indianapolis RateBeer community. I’m jacked up. So I though I’d sit down on my own and try a beer that I probably should have had long ago.
The pour is pitch black with a thick brown head. A real nice layer of brown lace is left behind. Fairly nice aroma of roast, cream, berries, and a bit of chocolate. It reminds me of one of those canned coffee drinks. Strong, aggressive roasted flavor and very bitter. Med/full body with small carbonation bubbles that gives the beer a gritty mouthfeel. Long, bitter, roasted finish. Lots of character here. Pretty robust, yet easy to drink.
M Go Blue!!!