Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

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

Huge roast and coffee aroma. Alot of molasses in the nose too. Lightly plummy. Big grainy roasted flavors, slightly tannic and astringent, near puckering at the back of the tongue in that acrid imperial stout way. Tannins keep the sweetness in check. Lingering dark roast coffee in the finish. Perhaps some hints of bitter chocolate but there so much roast in here its hard to say what else. Full palate but not chewy, with a warming finish. Near black, opaque with a thin brown head. Neat and I suppose unique, but not a truly great one.

Black pour, moderate head, some lacing and retention. Aroma is coffee, roast, chocolate, caramel, darker fruits, fairly vinous. Medium to heavy body, fairly sweet but not overly so. Enjoyable but lacks a wow factor.

Excellent brew: best of what I had at the Columbus gathering 2007 Christmas tasting. Roasted coffee with pecans and dark chocolate. Smooth warming finish.

Bottled. Pitch black, brown head. Lots of fruit in aroma, of course accompanied by roasted malts and coffee. Fruity flavour as well, obvious malt presence, bitterness. Dry finish. Unusual Imperial Stout. Interesting, but not really my kind.

Shared at Columbus Tasting 10. Poured a dark brown, creamy head. Smelled and taste of roasted coffee, nuts and chocolate. Very nice!

bottle......pours dark brown close to black but not really. head is considerable, light brown in nature.....aroma of strong dark fruit and chocolate malt. no roast. yeah a lot of strong alcoholic dark fruit with the other playing a more subservient role.....flavors really bring it up a notch. roastef caramel malt and dark fruit. decent amount of carbonation and a bitter yet tolerable bitter finish. really liked the flavor over the aroma. this one has quite a bit to offer and it def took me for a ride trying to put it all together.

Looks awesome. Pours pitch black with a massive, dense, coffee colored head. Thick sheets of lacing cling to the glass. The aroma is dark, smooth and inviting. Notes of chocolate, espresso, and cream of oatmeal blend well with hints of anise, scorched caramel, and dark fruits. The flavor is bold and roasty, with chocolate and espresso again taking top billing. Oatmeal adds tremendous smoothness, and the anise really opens up and shines through a little more than it does on the nose. Creamy, nearly full mouthfeel. Finishes with a long, roasty punch. Pretty straight forward, but very well executed. Solid beer.

Almost black beer with beautiful brown head. Aroma is very roasted, some coffee, liquirice and hint of fruits. Flavour is very roasted. After first taste there are also some sweetness, bitterness and liquirice. Palate is sweet and nice to drink. Maybe there are little too much roasted malts but you can find also some other fine nuancees.