Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier

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

Bottle from my winter secret santa. Started drinking this around 58 degrees, perhaps a tad too warm. It works fine at room temp., but I noticed some great flavors right off that I stopped noticing as it warmed.

Aroma is lots of toast, peanut brittle, bitter bitter coffee, cherry. Nice pitch black pour with a good head. Flavor is not as assertive as the aroma, with a striking dry bitterness (more coffee bitter than hops bitter), char, light chocolate. Slightly thin up front, this ends up being slighty thick in the finish. Solid.

Bottle. Pour is oily black with a decent thick tan colored head. Aroma is chocolate, coffee, toasted malt. Flavor is coffee, chocolate, malt, caramel. Palate is full bodied with resiny feel to it. Very rich and creamy. Solid!

Bottle courtesy of artusory, thanks again Ryan! Oily opaque black pour with a somewhat creamy yellowed-light tan head. The aroma is really big with roasted malt, chocolate and coffee with small tinges of cherry and some hazlenut...very inviting. The flavor doesn’t let down at all, tons of coffee and dark chocolate notes as well as a nice rostiness, a bit of nuttiness and some dark fruit elements. Oily slick mouthefeel that is also quite rich with a nice balance of sweet, bitter, roasty, and savory. The finsih really sticks with nutty and roasted elements...the soft carbonation of this beer also lends to the flavor and aromas. Overall a really damn nice porter, very rich and flavorful without being too thick. More and more I wish Dark Horse would distribute to Ohio because they have yet to dissapoint. Wonderful brew!

draft at the brewpub - Pours black with a medium, enduring tan head that leaves great lacing. Roasted malts dominate the aroma and lead into a very nice roast flavor with some coffee flavors coming through. A full body and oily mouthfeel slides into a moderately hopped finish.

12 OZ bottle from jcapriotti (Thanks!). This one pours like thick black mud and has a medium sized tan head. Smells like toffee, molasses, figs and vanilla. Tastes like it smells with a salty finish and bitter burnt malt & licorice aftertaste. Lots of hoppiness in the end as well-a bit too much in fact... Full bodied. Medium carbonation. I would like this better with less hops....

Thanks for this one Jason! Nose is coffee with some caramel and a high olfactory density, slightly milky. Nice flavour. Aftertaste is very bitter, enough to rival some IPAs. There is some roast here, a nice woody earth tone. I really enjoy this beer.

12 oz bottle. Poured almost black with no head. Smells very nice, but the taste doesn’t match. Very bitter with an aftertaste of burnt coffee. A bit too harsh, even for a porter.

Bottle from Sean (illinismitty) or Chris (styles) Thanks both of you guys. Pours out very dark almost black with a tan head that goes away quick. Smell is rich and full of coffee and chocolate with some hints of vanilla. Taste is similar, very rich and the alcohol isnt noted alot even though it is fairly high for a porter. It doesnt pass off as sweet as alot of porters that get into the higher abv range do, which is great. Really enjoyed this one, and Im glad I have one more bottle to drink this winter with a fat cigar.