One of the biggest components to my previous blog, and I'm sure this one as well, is reviews of some of the various brews that I drink. I try to vary up the beers that I review. I like to review some of the more far out there concoctions that I come across, but that can be frustrating to the regular consumer who doesn't feel like trading or searching for an elusive brew. Therefore, I would also like to make sure that I review some of your more everyday beers as well. With that being said, this particular beer isn't exactly your everyday brew. Dark Horse Brewing Co is a fairly good sized craft brewery out of Marshall, Michigan. While living in the right area can guarantee you that this particular beer is easy to find, you have to live in one of the 8 states they distribute to in order to find it. They have three additional states they have partial distribution to, but I live right across the boarder from one of them and I didn't see this bottle there. This one was sent to me as an extra in a trade. Extras are one of my favorite parts of trading. It's just fun opening up a package and finding a few extra bottles you didn't know you were getting.
Finding a blueberry stout in my trade was a somewhat exciting and disappointing experience. Fruit beers in general tend to be very hit or miss for me. I have started to find more of a love for them. The increase in sours, IPAs, and other styles that include fruit have started to win me over. Stouts aren't really known for being fruit centric though. While I was worried I wouldn't like this brew, I was very interested to give it a try. Plus it made for a nice beer for my return to blog reviewing.
Appearance: The beer poured out a nice super dark black color with a somewhat oil consistency. While this was to be expected, it's always appreciated when I see a beer's appearance to be consistent with what I expect from the style. Perhaps my favorite part was the moderate mocha brown head that developed on top of the beer. Swirling the glass resulted in some nice lacing and ample sticky residue that stuck around on the side of the glass.
Smell: I wasn't sure what I should be expecting as I put my nose to the glass. Would a super sweet blueberry mess dominate, or would the base style take center stage? I was very delighted to find that the roasty coffee aroma was the more dominant of the aromas. The coffee base combines with some nice rich chocolate notes to provide a good foundation for the potent blueberry aroma that does eventually combine in with the rest. Somehow, the beer seems to almost have a 2 stage component to the aroma. The blueberries manage to hang back until after you've been hit by the more roasty base. Eventually, you definitely get a sticky sweet blueberry muffin aroma. It reminds me of when I open the can of blueberries for the box of blueberry muffins we sometimes make. Taste: The blueberry flavor here is certainly center stage, but it doesn't steal the show. The first sip had me a little worried. The blueberries dominate the palate at the start, but they are met quickly by the bold roasted coffee backbone. This enables the beer to feature blueberries while still staying true to the base stout style. As the beer transitions toward the second half of the flavor profile, there is a nice kick up of some sweet chocolate. At this point the blueberries have backed off and the beer is a rich chocolate and coffee stout. The fruit isn't done yet though. The blueberries come back towards the end to work their way into the aftertaste. The beer ends with a big kick up of roasted woodiness, slight smokey notes, and lingering blueberry sweetness.
Mouthfeel: This beer doesn't lean too much towards the thick and syrupy feel; however, you do get a little bit of syrup in there. Mostly you have a rich and robust texture. The flavors are surprisingly well-balanced. The fruit is accented here and there, while you are mostly left with a great bold stout. The beers roasted notes are especially long-lasting through to the end of the flavor profile.
Overall this is a great winter offering from a really good brewery. I've had limited experience with this brewery, but it's definitely one on my long list of breweries to visit in the future. While I was quite skeptical if I was actually going to like this one, I was more than pleased it ended up as an extra in my trade. It only makes me want to try more from them.
Teacher Grade: B+
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