Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

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

12oz Bottle - Trade - Masonjer
Aroma – Huge dark ale aroma, dark smokey malts.
Appearance – Black in color, clear with a light head.
Flavor – A great black ale with top notch barley and grains. Loved the smoke and heavy feel to this beer.
Palate – Nice Mouthfeel, Great texture with a dry smokey finish.
Overall – One of the best beers for the year. Loved the flavor. Had a deep smoke and the malts where great. This was not the beer for your mom this was for those who love great beers. This will put hair on your toenails.

bottle. pours black with thin brown head. big aroma of roasted barley. gave me the impression that there would be a hefty bite, but it was extremely smooth going down. smooth, silky mouthfeel - almost milk like. cocoa, espresso, wood flavors. this is quite a treat. it has a lot of flavor so i don’t know if i could put back too many, but as a stand alone this is fantastic. damn fine beer.

Scored this want list item via trade with Scubarex. Many thanks. 12oz bottle pours a thick, opaque, black with a very dark tan head. Aroma has coffee, toast and roasted malts, but also some dark fruits like cherries, some chocolate, and plum. Flavor has a lot of coffee, dark chocolate - almost like a dark cocoa powder, a distinct woodiness, burnt toast, and a little grainy bread. Finish has a little too much burnt toast and french roast coffee. There’s a lasting chalky texture and some strong lasting burnt bitterness that take away from the drinking experience. Different than other porters and not my favorite.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown body with a tan head. Aroma is sweet malt, some chocolate malt, licorice, and some roasty coffee. Flavor is bitter sweet and creamy chocolate. Good Beer.

Brown-black colored pour, nice chocolate covered head, decent lacing. The aroma was all cocoa chocolate, some licorice, light roast. Flavor impressively followed, bitter light roast touch really kept this think clean and drinkable. Chocolate-milk choco-cocoa elements w/ licorice worked great, some faint bubblegum under it all, but in a nice and very faint way. Mouthfeel was full for the style, quite nice and clean.

Pours a deep brown with a medium tannish head. Aroma is primarily roasted barley and bittersweet chocolate. Flavor follows suit, with a bit of astringency. Medium mouthfeel, and a little bitterness finishes this great beer.

12 oz. This is more of a stout than a porter. Pours dark brown with a dark tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, coffee, some some and chocolate. Flavor is roasted malt, chocolate and coffee and hint of smoke. A fine beer it is but this is not a porter. This is an much a stout as Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfest is. The last thing I wanted on a hot humid Chicago summer day is this. Will keep the rest till the fall and enjoy them during Bears games. Re-rate: 7/10 and 7/11/08. Regardless of what this brewer calls this beer it is just plain delicious. This beer is a better coffee stout than Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfeast and a more complex beer. Flavor is full of roasted malt and coffee. Will buy again.

I picked this 12oz bottle up back in Michigan-enjoyed back in Ireland. Pours pitch black, and a bit thick-very enticing. There is a small 1/2 finger cream colored head that fades to lacing around the glass. The smell hits you right away and it’s roasty, chocolatey, and coffees. It is really great and between the appearance and smell it really gets you ready to taste it. Very smooth, plenty of chocolate and coffee tones in the taste as it goes down. There is a bit of earthiness and smokiness as some other reviewers have indicated, but it’s mostly all chocolate and coffee. There’s enough carbonation to let you notice it, but it doesnt dominate and feels good in your mouth. It isnt as full as you might expect if you judge it straight from its pour, but its great to the last drop. I’ll definitely recommend this to others and try to get my hands on another the next time that I see it. It reminds me of a couple of Foudners beers and that’s always nice for me.