Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout

Tasted 9/24/07. 12oz bottle. Pitch with an opaque hue. Tan ring of head. Fruity bready aromas with a hint of spices. Rosemary, thyme, rye bread. Hmm. Interesting nose. Toasty fruity and spicy. Full bodied and wonderfully complex layers and juxtapositioning. Cola malts and Italian spices. Bready and sugary. Bitter rye and coffee. Nectar. Lingering tart berries and bitter coffee astringency. Totally odd spices, but its a lovely ride. Boom. Peppery and piney. Intense but not completely good. Berry notes are mild yet adequate. Subtle citrus. Crazy complexity. Lovely palate. Moderate effect.

Bottle courtesy of Hogtownharry: Poured a pitch black color stout with a small deep brown color head. Aroma of strong blueberry is well mix with some medium roasted malt notes. Taste is a mix between fresh and sweet blueberry and some roasted malt with a light bitter finish. I am not usually fond of fruit in stout but I thought this mix worked very well and the balance between fruit, sweetness and bitterness from the malt was well achieved. Body was quite full with some light carbonation.

Very dark head. Strong blueberry aroma. Not as blueberry for the taste. This grew on me as I was about halfway through. Could possibly buy more. Rerate; thought about this one and went back for a six. I think this might be my favorite stout going right now.

Thanks to Secret Santa in July, BBB63. Pours black with a brown head. Smells og blueberries and toasted malts. Medium sweetness. Aromas of toasted malts. Also clear blueberry notes, especially towards the end of each sip. Maybe a bit medicin-like. Reminds me of the not-liquirish-notes of a Blå Gajol (not the drink). Dry toasted finish again with blueberry notes. Very nice mix, quite unusual... a bit too dry in the finish, maybe (minor detail).

Bottle. The blueberry nose is undeniable. Very nice. Not artificial, but real, freshly crushed blueberries. There’s a hint of coffee behind the sweet/tart blueberries. Pours black with a quickly disappearing brown head. Nicely balanced on the palate with blueberries fading into some lightly roasted malt and espresso flavors. Medium bodied. I like how they used the tartness of the blueberries for aroma and not to make it into a syrupy fruit beer. Nice!

Disclaimer: I love blueberries, and I love stout, so I was pretty much destined to love this beer.
Pours opaque black with a thick orange-brown head. Aroma of fresh blueberries and roasted espresso. Tart blueberry flavor blends well with traditional sout character - molasses, coffee, and cocoa. Neutral mouthfeel. Long roasted coffee finish is quite dry.
Bottle acquired via trade with drewbeerme - thanks, man!

12oz bottle from EithCubes - thanks, Mike! You really can’t miss the blueberry smell, can you? But it’s not the smell of those crappy ones they use at IHOP or anything; these actually smell real and natural. The dark, almost rounded taste of the berry is well suited for the way some stouts veer away from bitters into a nice yeast/malt combo - and Tres is certainly one of those. There’s a hint of roast in there, to be sure, but the full malty body really blends well with the dark fruits. Palate’s a bit thin but this is very fine stuff, which I’ll seek out again.

Bottle shared with MrRomero, strong tart aroma of blackberries underscored by a roasted malt aroma. Pours a nice dark color with a light tan head. Tart blueberries contrast nicely with the dark roasted malts. Nice dry finish with a lighter palate, and high levels of carbonation. This a was a nice brew.