Maple Bourbon Black Bier
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Maple Bourbon Black BierMaple Bourbon Black Bier
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From:
Dark Horse Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.73 | pDev: 15.82%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
30
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 28, 2017
Added:
Sep 10, 2015
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  8
We aged our Reserve Special Black ale in bourbon barrels that we aged our maple syrup in!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mportnoy:
Photo of mportnoy
Rated by mportnoy from Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -46.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Oct 09, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.47 by PrestigeWorldwide from Michigan

May 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Cotton_27 from Michigan

Mar 13, 2016
Photo of TimG_0913
Rated by TimG_0913 from Delaware

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Good brew
Feb 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by nwhittin from Indiana

Feb 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.07 by Fusebuddy from Wisconsin

Jan 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.68 by billab914 from Virginia

Jan 13, 2016
Photo of strohme2
Reviewed by strohme2 from Michigan

3.36/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Second time having this. I get zero maple let alone any bourbon barrel on the nose or tongue. Lots and lots of smoke, char, wood. Some vanilla, some faint chocolate appears. I had high hopes but they fell sharply.
Jan 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by dfhhead25 from Pennsylvania

Jan 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4.09 by Zonian1 from Ohio

Nov 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Nov 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by kjkinsey from Texas

Nov 21, 2015
Photo of mabermud
Reviewed by mabermud from Washington

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Look: Dark body. Looks black, probably dark brown in the sunlight. The head is light beige in color. It appears fine, pillow-y, lumpy, creamy looking, and soft. The head was very reactive and is persistent, it is like the Forever War. As the head dies down, it leaves behind a sticky network of roads all across the glass.
Smell: An even blend of malt, cocoa, and coffee. There is also a touch of char, and sweet cream, or maybe that is the maple syrup. A very faint bourbon smell is there. This has a relaxed aroma that is almost semi-rich.
Taste: Description above. The bourbon makes a bigger impact in the taste. In the taste the IPA characteristics also come out, but they do not top the stoutly characteristics. There is faint pine, but I could fool someone and call this a stout. Medium to short IPA-ish finish.
Feel: Medium body and mouth feel. Smooth and creamy. This one feels good.

Overall - This is a good beer. More stoutly than not. I would have it again.
Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.71 by shehateme from Massachusetts

Nov 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.68 by deonreds from New York

Nov 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Soneast from Wisconsin

Nov 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

Oct 31, 2015
 
Rated: 3.43 by Rifugium from North Dakota

Oct 30, 2015
 
Rated: 1.83 by chippo33 from Vermont

Oct 29, 2015
Photo of ThickNStout
Reviewed by ThickNStout from Georgia

3.7/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle from LambicPentameter (thanks!). Bottled 9/11/15. Served in a Wicked Weed snifter.

Pours cola black with a frothy tan cap just under two fingers deep. After the head subsides a light retention remains, leaving only minimal lace.

Smells of roasty dark malt up front supported by maple, pine, bourbon and caramel.

Flavor opens up a bit with roast, char, burnt maple syrup, black coffee, pine and oak. As it warms, there is a slightly more pronounced maple note along with vanilla, bourbon, brown sugar and a mild nip of alcohol. The disparate tastes are nice individually and while they don't necessarily enhance each other at least they don't end in discord.

Semi creamy, medium body with smooth, soft carbonation. The finish mixes pine, roast, cocoa and light maple.

Maple Bourbon Barrel Black Bier is a solid American black ale distinguished by the added sweetness of those most glorious of barrels. Ultimately there are several other beers that I'd rather see in maple bourbon barrels but this is an interesting experiment. Certainly worth a try, particularly if you're already predisposed to the style
Oct 25, 2015
Maple Bourbon Black Bier from Dark Horse Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 30 ratings