Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout

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

I thought this beer was a rather good stout with good amounts of roastiness overlaid with an appropriate amount of blueberry fruit. All in all, I thought it quite good, but I was not totally blown away by it. I had this beer on draft at Roman’s. It was a dark black color, completely opaque. Head was nude-pantyhose tan, with a hint of blue in some of the larger bubbles. Aroma was toasted malt and blueberries. Taste is a decent amount of "burned pizza crust" (which I dig) with an appropriate amount of blueberry flavor. I wouldn’t think fruitiness and toastiness would play well together, yet they do. Mouthfeel is quite dry and good. Definitely recommended.

deep black, small brown head. interesting aroma of coffee and blueberries, plenty of roast evident too. just like the description, surprisingly light palate, but very smooth with lots of roastiness present. very dry, not particularly sweet but still probably good with dessert. less blueberry in the taste than in the nose, but still an interesting experiment nonetheless!

Deep, dark brown color...completely opaque, with a small beige head. The aroma was full of blueberries...some smoky, roasty tones as well. The flavor was a rather odd (not necessarily bad) mix of sweet/tart blueberries and smoky (mesquite) wood. The feel was pretty thin for this kind of beer...soft on the tongue...wet finish. Thanks Wohlfs!

bottle thanks to Keir, pours black with a medium dark tan head. Aroma is black patent malt, faint blueberry, and some coffee. Chocolate malt and a light blueberry finish with light flavors of coffee. Not bad.

Appears a black color with a thick tan head that refuses to yield. Lots of scattered thick tan lacing all over the glass. Smell is odd with a funky dark roast coffee and blueberries. A mild bit of medicinal nonsense coming through that isn’t overly appealing but the pleasantries buried in the back of this one keep me intrigued. Taste is sweet with blueberries, roasty, rich, with creaminess coming through. Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, fully bodied, along with the blueberry sweetness lingering.

The two Dark Horse brews I had last night were huge in flavour. I mean, absolutely gigantic, heading-full-steam-towards-the-iceberg big. There’s enough grace in the Wit to avoid crashing, but I’m not so pleased with this one. Maybe I just don’t like fruit in my stouts, as I learned with Bell’s Cherry. As with that beer, the fruit is well done - not cloying or plastic, but a definite, firm, presence. But again I find myself thinking - why do this to a decent roasty stout? It’s a good beer and I’ll undertstand if future raves rocket it into cult status on RateBeer - I even admire the spirit of innovation that created it - but it’s not my cup of, um, beer.

The aroma is particularly good on this stout; there is a lot of fresh blueberry aroma, along with nutty, chocolaty, and yeasty aromas to compliment. The beer pours with a very deep black color and a head that stays around the rim of the glass leaving a swirl on top of the beer. From the smell I expected this to be very fruity, which in it’s own right it is, however not in an alcipop sort of way. The initial flavors are of a very strong and bitter stout. Flavors that hit the tongue right off the bat are a little overwhelming but very nice to pick through. The blueberry introduces the beer at the tip of the tongue while strong flavors of wood and dark roasted coffee take over. The back of the tongue gets a deep almost burnt malt flavor which dances well with the hop bitterness. The flavors are so intense that it reminds me of an imperial stout! The palate is almost bizarre as the beer slides across your tongue but is somewhat harsh going down. Overall this is absolutley worth a try (or even a case)

Poured from a 12oz bottle and served in a shaker. This stout poured a slick, oily black with no head. Just a few lingering tan bubbles. The aroma was made up of strong blueberry notes and chocolate. The flavor included blueberry, chocolate, and roasted malts. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with a lasting dry finish. Very fruity and tasty.