Dark Star Critical Mass

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: English Strong Ale
Haywards Heath, England

Bottled with live yeast. A strong winter warmer with roasted chestnuts and all manner of chocolate insects crawling down the gulliver to bounce around the head singing like heavenly angles. A critical mass indeed. Send up the rockets.

Bottle Conditioned. Bought at Pig's Ear Festival. No Date. A spanking Winter Warmer. Quality throughout. Roasty dark malts with just enough sweetness. Perfect condition. Lovely explosion of flavours that excite the mouth without ever being assertive or crude or overdone. Stunning!

Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm. Very dark ruby - almost black. Aroma of dark chocolate. Full bodied and packed with flavours. Despite it’s rich maltiness it’s surprisingly dry. There’s wood and licorice there as well as whiskey. It’s carefully hopped, but some grassy hops shine through in the salty finish. Superb!

(Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm) Dark brown with red tones. Small tan head. Nice and deep aroma of black chocolate, anise, hops and alcohol. Rich, chewy and deep flavour of caramel, dark chocolate, cocoa, raspberries, sea salt and brown sugar. Full bodied. Long full aftertaste of of licorice, bitter black chocolate, cocoa and alcohol. Awesome stuff from an excellent brewery!

Cask in Blackfriars. Aroma is Spicey rich malts, bittering hop comign through, small citrus hints. Taste is roasty fruity bitterness, peppery, grassy in the finish, no alc to be seen. Very drinkable indeed. A well made english strong ale indeed. RERATE: Been open a good few days longer now and all the hops have gone. Its turned into a seriously good fruity old ale/barley wine. Very thick and could get right ontop of you, but so drinkable and tasty id love to have it as a monthly special.

Cask: Clear dark brown with red lightlights. Lasting tan head and good lace. Light oak and chocolate in nose, along with a little coffee. Sweet caramel and chocolate flavours start with plum and orange? in the mid. Dry finish. Very big meaty mouthfeel, quite silky smooth. Very moreish and warming, top ale.

thanks to duff for bringing a bottle of this to czecholand. pretty dark, nice aroma of sherbet lollies and cocoa powder, nice cocoa bitterness with some strawberry jam, whipped cream and light bitterness. chewy texture, a little cough syrup in the finish was the only slight flaw

Bottle. Very tasty indeed. Spicy Christmasy sort of flavour. Raisiny, cakey, caramel/choc. With a nice dry acidic, salty, orange rindy, bitter finish, a fantastic beer, very tasty.