Day #2 of my mixed sixer begins at 2am. While most proles are busy
either sleeping or drinking down piss water, I am awake and here to
provide you loyal followers with a new MI brew. Dark horse is a small
brewery in Marshall MI....and that's all I know. Poured into a 8oz stein glass
Appearance: Black. Almost motor oil like, with just enough of a brownish hue to it. Head is about 1/4 finger in height and dissipates quickly, but leaves a nice cocoa colored ring around the glass. Bubbles are very small and tight and nice chocolate in color. Light does not seem to penetrate at all.
Nose: Light roasted malt with a sweet chocolate presence as well. No noticeable alcohol and hops seems sparing to say the least. No fruity esters that sometimes come with the heavier malt profiles.
Taste: Caramel and chocolate, with a slight coffee hint towards the end. Just enough hops to balance out the high malt sweetness. No alcohol in the taste and the only after taste is a light roasted chocolate.
Mouth Feel: Heavy body, but with a very smooth, almost silk like finish. Goes down easy, even in big gulps. Roastiness leaves a light dryness in between sips, ensuring you'll go back for another. No alcohol noticeable here either.
Drinkability: Well, unsurprisingly the drinkability isn't high. A black, heavy bodied, stout rarely is. I'd say this is at best a 2 bottle drinker. Not a bad thing by any stretch. It's a great beer for dessert.
Overall, it's a real good entry level stout. Low alcohol and good taste make it easily comparable to some of the higher tier, better known stouts. I'm glad I had this after dinner, because it's a great dessert by itself. Or one could be a tad gluttonous and enjoy it with some cheese cake or a chocolate brownie.
