Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout

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

Bottle. Pours a very dark brown, virtually no head to speak of, even after trying to produce one. Very nice ripe blueberry aroma. Flavor lacks the punch of the aroma, blueberry is so very faint in the background, almost non-exsistent. Malt and touches of choclate. A well done dry stout.

On tap at Ashley’s.Very nice blueberry aroma.Pours very dark with little head.Burnt coffee and blueberrys in the flavors.Medium mouthfeel with a sweet finish.

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!

Traded bottle from daknole. I really enjoyed this stout. All the great qualities of a good stout with notes of chocolate and roasted malt plus the slightly sweet notes of blueberries. Nothing was overpowering and berries were just hiding out in the background. Really cool.

bottle.....pours just like the rest of them but with a slightly darker brown head.....yummy aromas of blueberry tickle the nose.....flavor is chocolate with stong hints of blueberry and even some smokey roastiness added. extremely smooth texture that accentuates the flavor even more. slightly better than one and too at this point.

12 oz. bottle. Pours black with asmaller tan head that disappears leaving a creamy crown. The aroma has roasted malts, dark chocolate, some coffee notes, and a blueberry inspired fruitiness. The flavor is a mix of roasted malt and blueberry up front. Mid to late it becomes more roasted, dark chocolate, and light coffee. There is a moderate sweetness throughout, with bitterness becoming more prominent at the end. Smooth and medium bodied.

12oz bottle from Binny’s Orland Park singles rack. Pours black with big creamy tan head. Aroma is of blueberry muffins, malt and some chocolate. Flavor is roasted malt and blueberries with touch of vanilla sweetness. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. Would be great if they could pack in a little more blueberry flavor.

Bottle, aged for a few months. Ah, the last of the four that I haven’t rated yet. Pours an opaque jet-black with mild viscosity. The head is a dark burgundy that fades quickly and seems to be rather difficult to stir up. The aroma is of fresh, juicy blueberries with some lightly smoked woody notes. Some dark chocolate is noticeable. It’s rather oily to the tongue with some acidic tinges. The initial flavour is dominant in blueberries, but not overpowering. It’s graciously assertive. The front of the palate enjoys the nice, mellow blueberries as the centre starts to notice some more of the mildly smoked woody notes. The back of the palate, however, is assaulted with a bitter dark chocolate. As the smoked flavours increase, it quickly gravitates towards the back of the palate making the bitterness escalate. The blueberries are the first to fade. Smoke fades quickly as the bitterness overcomes it. The bitterness at the back of the tongue lasts for a long time. As the astringency fades, the wood notes prevail. Subtle cocoa and even more subtle blueberry is a nice addition to this somewhat dry finish. This is such a unique experience. Because its assault to the back of the palate, I feel to thoroughly enjoy it, one must give each sip some time for the palate to reset itself. Now, from my previous experiences of this beer (which were more fresh), I hardly remember the astringency towards the back of the palate, and the blueberries were definitely much more intense. It’s hard to say which I liked better. However, I can say that aged for a few months, the experience becomes rather interesting.