Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

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

Aroma of soil, metal, malt, alcohol, chocolate and yeast. Appearance is black with enormous brown head with big bubbles. Taste of coffee, chocolate, soil and liquorish. Overall this beer is to raw and sharp and therefor not as good as I’ve expected.

A nose of soil, chocolate, aceton and glue. Taste is of raw coffee, liquorish, soil and glue. Finish is bitter and sharp. I didn’t really care for this one, and I’m perplexed to see the high rating. Maybe mine were too fresh with only 2 months since being tapped? The glueish smell and taste reminds me of certain quads and Fullers vintage - In all those beers it is a signum of a beer being opened too early, a beer that has true aging potential. Maybe this goes for my ex. of Dark Force as well?

Bottle. Poured black with a large dark wooden brown head. Aroma had notes of dark bread and chocolate. Flavor had a bit of alcohol with chocolate and dark bread.

Bottle, 50cl - Opaque black beer with a large dark brown head. Aroma is malty with notes of smoke, red berries, chocolate, alcohol and sour oats. Flavor is malty sweet with notes of smoked chocolate, coffee, alcohol and citrus. Very fresh for being an imperial stout. Full but still very refreshing.

Tasted 7/24/09 at ratebeer tasting (thank you! Joey (?) ) from bottle brewed 9/02; Tobacco, chocolate, bread and salt aroma telegraph fully to flavor, with the addition of some smoke. Medium-bodied, nearly slick.

Bottle (50 cl) from Systembolaget. Pitch black with an enormous fluffy beige head. Roasted aroma with notes of weizen yeast, along with coffee and salmiak. Medium bodied, somewhat spritzy mouthfeel. Well balanced and faairly dry, salty.

Initial nose is a bitter chocolate and the head is a quickly dissipating brown. Mouth feel is rough and roasty with grain flavors dominating. Mid-palate caught me off guard with a flavor I can describe as black raspberry followed by chocolate tobacco. Go figure - that’s what I wrote and I still remember being surprised. This one was a bit rough on the mouth and finished with a dry bitter chocolate. This bottle was two or three years old (I need to be more consistent about dating stuff before I put it down) so I don’t think that it is going to mellow a bunch with age. I love the story on the brewers, but with all the great Imp Stouts out there, a 3.6 or 3.7 won’t coax a return trip from me. Sorry guys.

(Draught at Olympen, Oslo, 6 Nov 2009) Black colour with frothy, pale brown head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of chocolate, espresso, dark bread, cocoa and raisins. Malty, roasted taste with chocolate, cocoa, black coffee, dark fruit and a generous cocoa bitterness in the finish. Slightly vinous with a certain alcohol bite. Some wheaty sourness lurks in the background. Full body, balanced sweetness. Complex beer. Very nice!