Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout

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

Blueberry greets the nose as soon as the cap is opened. Pours a very dark dirty motor oil pour... pretty dark brown head too, but more bubbly than creamy. Eventually fades to a nice creamy ring. Nose has candied blueberry + roasty dark chocolate. Tart blueberry and dry roasty malt. Piney blueberry skins, dark bitter 99% chocolate. Sweet glazed doughnuts. Very good and enjoyable.

Bottle. What to expect? Apparently one hell of a stout. Pours black as midnight with a rich brown head. My first thought is of a blueberry pie crust with traces of chocolate and plenty of dark roasts. Finishes with a lingering bitterness. This brewery knows stouts.

Poured a dark brown with minimal head. The pour looked very thick. Aroma had a touch of blueberries with roasted malt. Flavor was mostly malt with a hint of coffee. I really didn’t get any blueberry in the flavor. Overall a pretty good brew.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry courtesy of Silphium. Fifth beer of our Dark Horse Brewing tasting. Pours deep black with a nice size, lasting, foamy brown head -- looking good! Aroma starts off all blueberry but as you smell deeper you get roasted malt, coffee and smoke -- quite nice and original. The flavour, WOW, is that ever different! Fruit followed by smoke, coffee, some mild sourness and then hops -- all nicely balanced. Palate is creamy and dry. Medium bodied. I really like this, a very interesting and delicious Stout. Dark Horse are blowing us away tonight.

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy, his bottle. Poured opaque thick black with a large, lasting, creamy-foamy-shiny brown head. Initial aroma was of fresh blueberries, but as I drew my nose closer to the glass, whoa! - solid, overroast malt - nutty with plenty of baker’s chocolate - woodsmoke, tons of bitter hops, also sour cherry and coffee - this is a great-smelling, dry treat for the nostrils. Taste is almost campfire smoky, burnt, bitter (hops and tart fruits), with coffee-like acidity in the longish finish, which also seemed to have a fair bit of black pepper just as an added benefit. The palate on this one is acidic, thick, creamy and even a little fizzy - I loved it, but calling this a fruit beer is insane - it’s a stout with some fruit added, that can’t really even be tasted, just smelled.

Bottle: Black pour, about a fingers worth of dark tan head. Aroma was mostly blueberries, with a hint of roastiness. Flavor blueberries and a roasty bitterness. Enjoyable brew.

Bottle: Black, very black, moderate dark brown head, foamy, with spotty lacing.   Aroma of wild blueberries, pepper, and even a bit of soap.   Dry flavor of wild and immature blueberries, as well as the soap noticed on the nose albeit it is a bit more subtle here.   Roasted malts are there, but they are overshadowed by the soapiness at the finish.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Finishes very soapy, with a dry immature blueberry tinge.   I soooo wanted to like this one, but the blueberry was too peppery and soapy.   Thanks jtw for the bottles!

The blueberries in the aroma and finish were WAY too big of a distraction for me, especially since I’ve never been that fond of the fruit. Great pour, a deep, dark brown with a creamy brown head. It’s got an extremely smooth mouthfeel that delivers a flavorful treat of of roasted malts & barley, dark dried fruits, brown sugar.... and those damned blueberries. I probably would’ve rated this much higher had they used gooseberries, boysenberries, raspberries, prunes... Anything but blueberries!

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