Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout

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

appearance is utter opacity, head is huge and toasted tan, lush and long-lasting. Aroma wafts out on bottlecap’s release, it’s every bit the epitome of a classic stout nose, rich and roasty, with this extra fruity edge...interesting...bittersweet, and delectable...I’m urging further into actual imbibing... And it’s a step well-approved, a genuinely tasty stout is sampled, something rich, dark, full-bodied, yet still capturing a subtle fruity quality that emits subtle rewards. Honestly, a blueberry stout? Well, I’ve had cherry stouts, and heard of banana stouts, what the hey, eh? There it is, that subtle, delightful, fruity flavor riding just on top of the darker character of the stout. One of the oddest labels I’ve looked at lately, a twisted ribbon, a button, and the word "tres", not sure if it’s the French "very" or the Spanish "three"...who cares, the integration of these flavors is so impressive, so seamless, the quality is so incredible, we can forgive certain uncertainties. Wow, this is truly a perfect blend of flavors here, and I’m glad to have had the priviledge to try it. Weird labels, great beer...that’s Dark Horse.

bottle, black color with an astringent nose, cepacol maybe? flavors of menthol cigarettes, blueberry and liquid smoke

Bottle. Loads of blueberry aroma mixed in with a hearty amount of dry roast and lesser chocolate. Opaque, motor oil body with an extremely dark brown and volatile ephemeral head. Taste is predominately a dry roast but the strong blueberry is blended in nicely and plays quite a role in the aftertaste, which is also very dry and chocolatey with notes of toffee and gritty roast. Big cheers to DH for achieving such a natural blueberry taste - well-integrated and as far from cloying as is possible. Bittersweet with moderate, stouty carbonation. Smooth, fullish body. Very robust flavor for its abv. A well-conceived and well-executed experiment ... one of the more interesting beers I’ve had this year.

Loved the blueberry intermingled with the chocolate and coffee on the nose. Similar flavor but the blueberry was a bit subdued in comparison but still excellent. Dark brown almost black pour.

I appear to be in disagreement with the consensus on this stout. I found the combination of blueberries and stout flavors awkward and ultimately unsatisfying. Poured in typical Dark Horse fashion: thick like molasses, with a brown head (yes, a brown head; this is how dark their stouts are!). Aroma had some roasted notes but reminded me otherwise of Smuckers Blueberry Syrup. Some licorice in the body with roasted notes and a hint of smokiness, enveloped in tart blueberry notes. The aroma suggested blueberries would dominate the flavor, but I found otherwise. Still, the blueberry notes muted the typical roastiness, creating a beer that was thick but not bursting with flavor by any means. Also some roasted vegetable "off" flavors. I'll stick with the delectable "Too" Cream Stout.

Mmmm aroma is a crusty baked blueberry pie served right next to a steaming cup of quality roasted coffee. Deep black color in the body with a very dark brown pinky thin, creamy head. Fore is roasty with chooclate and coffee notes..slightly bitter then the bluberries kick in toward the middle. Lots of bitter dark chocolate, cocoa and coffee flavors collide with the blueberry notes in the finish. This is a damn tasty beer and it is not lost in the blueberry notes...it’s still very much a stout first.

Very thick beer and very dark. Brown foamy head that shrunk down to an oil slick and a bead around the glass. Nose of obvious blueberrries and faint roasted grains. Unlike many fruit beers, this beer is not simply a vehicle for some fruit syrup. The blueberry flavors are in front, but they compliment the stout flavors very well. Nice burnt roasted grain flavors with some sweetened coffee bitterness in the finish. I was a little reluctant to try this, but this is a very good example of how to use fruit in beer.

Bottle. Dark black body with a tannish small head. The aroma has tons of fluffy blueberries like a nice muffin. There’s also some lacticity and mild roast. The flavour is chocolatey to begin with and has some astringent richness to that end. There are touches of berry fruit in the finish but only slightly so. Quite roasty and smooth overall. Solid.