Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Imperial Stout
Drammen, Norway

An imperial stout. But what’s with the "wheat" label? I’m trying to get the taste that makes this different from other imperials....slight wheat finish. Not enough chocolate. Not exactly as great as I hoped it would be.

The Dan Journal #238. Tasted 8/26/08. 500ml bottle. Pitch black hue with a khaki head. Milk chocolate aromas. Bready and cake nuances. Touch vanilla. Good nose. Full bodied and big. Sticky and more fruit driven. Bitter tart and cloying. Nice coffee acidity. Finishes long and sticky. Big beer, but great drinking!

Opaque pour, good sized brown head that lingered a while. Roasted malty aromas with some chocolate and alcohol. Tastes similarly, the fine carbonation leads to a somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Good amount of mocha. A bit of wheat grainyness if that’s a word. Some hop presence at the finish and warming as it goes down, lingering malt and coffee, full bodied. Enjoyed it, but not sure if I would seek it out again.

Poured from a 500ml bottle (batch 93, Brewed Sept. 07) and served in a snifter. This stout poured a deep dark brown with a few ruby highlights and a huge head of rocky tan foam. Decent retention with some nice lacing. The aroma of the beer was made up of bittersweet chocolate, French roast coffee, spicy licorice, and some burnt malts. The flavor consisted of malted wheat, lightly vinous alcohol, herbal hops, and some light chocolate. A bit on the bland side. The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy, but highly carbonated. Medium to full-bodied. The aroma was fairly complex and inviting, but the flavor was a bit of a letdown. Just OK.

Bottle, 50cl. Opaque black, high carbonation can be witnessed while pouring; quite tall dark tan head, which settles quite fast, leaving no head or lacing at all. Roasted, malty aroma of coffee and some chocolate. Medium bodied with lots of carbonation, could almost be described as fizzy. Flavor of dark chocolate and strong coffee, some licorice. A very balanced brew, although I’d have given a higher rating if it wasnt as carbonated as it is now. My image of a *stout is a lot smoother than this.

(Bottle) Highly carbonated pours a very tall head with large bubbles. Aroma is nicely roasted coffee with hints of wheat and alcohol. Taste is on the sweetish side, body is quite light for an imperial

500ml. bottle batch 93. Pours a nice dark black, dark tan head. Malty sweetness in the nose. Pretty light tasting for a stout, thin not too bad.

50cl bottle from Bar&Cigar. Batch 137. 9% abv. It poured a black colour with a small light-brown head that settles down fast in the glass. The aroma smells of malts, wheats, alcohol and coffee. The flavour is bitter and tastes of malts, wheats, alcohol and dark chocolate. It has a lingering aftertaste.