Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

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

Bottle: Dark pour with a tan head that diminished to a nice lace ring after about 15 minutes.Aroma is chocolate, wood and burnt toast. Flavor is bitter chocolate, roasty flavors, with a mild thin finish. Sharp up front, but finishes a bit flat. Very interesting beer.

Bottle, from Sam’s Blue Light. 9/6/07. Good aroma, Roast malt, coffee, minor fruit, ash, little plastic. Blackish brown color, Big head that faded kinda quick. Bitter flavor, coffee, molasses, caramel, almond. Thick body, creamy mouthfeel, bitterdry finish. Nice Impy. Great to roll on your tongue. Big flavor. Grab one if you see it.

Completely black color with a towering, tan and foamy head. Very interesting aroma... Dark cherries, a little wheat, chocolate and sweet malt. Strong roasted malt flavor, but not enough to make it painfully bitter. Dry chocolate. The wheat seems to lighten it up a bit. I like this stuff!

Bottle. Pours jet black with very large long lasting rocky dark tan head that leaves great lacing. Aroma of heavy roasted malt, very bitter chocolate, more roasted malt, burnt coffee, and more roasted malt. Taste is a punch in the face of roasted malt, very bitter chocolate, and burnt coffee.Medium full mouthfeel that finishes dry with a huge amount of roasted malt and hop bitterness. Alcohol is very well hidden. A very well balanced and tasty Imperial Stout.

I have to Trump this one. Batch 74. Dark as the void of space yet yielding an abundant frothy expansion of chocolate color cream akin to the big bang suggestion. This analogy could actually shed light on the BB theory because after the expansion comes the recession and a final resting point of a full, thick bronze colored downy blanket of lace that just sits there. Could the universe recede after a certain point in time ? Anyone ? I know this is beer but many a great idea were spawned from here. I can smell Belgium. Mild aromas of dark fruits and cocoa w/ a twist of Belgian granite. Full nectar w/ perfect carbonation for a memorable creamy texture right off the lips. Nice! I wonder if anyone has gotten drunk in the void of space ? This brew has an extreme roast component that is not soon forgotten. Only mildly sweet w/ flavors of charred coffee bean, bitter dark cocoa, leather, minerals, and no fruit at all. The finish is long like a trip to planet x at light speed and leaves a trail of charred malts to linger forever. Overall: Ok, just as it claims, it’s extreme. This has to be one of the most highly roasted brews out there. Refreshingly unsweetened and the alcohol is well hidden. Drinks superb from the fridge to the last drop. I wonder if they used a Champagne yeast strain here. Dark Force totally reminds me of Black Flag. If you like one then you must try the other.

Bottle. Aroma of darkly toasted malt, obscenely dark chocolate, and smoke. Opaque brown/black color with a beige/tan head that was respectable, maintained, and laced a little. Medium to full bodied, sharp, creamy carbonation. The flavor is really flavor. Dark toasted burnt malt, chocolate, alcohol, and I’d say coffee, more espresso. It is bitter. The finish is all over the place. It has bitter, pepper, and a lot of other stuff. It also should be the last beer you drink in the evening. A real palate finisher. It only gets better with each mouthful.

Pour: dark chocolate black. Head: dark tan, creamy, frothy, thick. Aroma: rich, alcohol, some burnt smell, sweet malt, roast. Flavor: roasty, alcohol, burnt, bitter, rich. Palate: thick in body. Finish: burnt.

I don’t think I’ve had a "regular" wheat Stout before, let alone an Imperial one (the 9% U.S. version). The thick brown liquid turns black in the glass, even when held up to sunlight. It’s capped by a thick and sustained cream & cocoa head that laces the glass heavily. Nice aroma of espresso, dark bittersweet chocolate, licorice, wood, and a splash of alcohol. It seems like some roasted barley is added to the flavor along with an almost smokey woodiness, all blended together smoothly and tastefully. Finshes on a mildly dry note. Quite well done.

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