Plead The 5th - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Plead The 5th - Bourbon Barrel-AgedPlead The 5th - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
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From:
Dark Horse Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #8
ABV:
11%
Score:
100
Ranked #140
Avg:
4.52 | pDev: 7.52%
Reviews:
487
Ratings:
3,373
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 26, 2023
Added:
Jul 25, 2010
Wants:
  2,155
Gots:
  842
This beer is a big and full bodied imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with lots of roasted malts, but very balanced with heavy hops. Brewed with a top secret root, this beer has an amazingly complex flavor that you must wait for.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by magictacosinus:
Photo of magictacosinus
Reviewed by magictacosinus from California

4.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A big thanks to jdhowe for sharing this recently. 2013 vintage. Note that as of this writing I have not tried the regular Plead the 5th yet, but I intend to crack it open eventually. Poured out of a 12oz bottle into a snifter.

As expected, pours a thick syrup of a stout, with a treacle-like consistency that appears to end as sludge into the glass, save for some minor mocha-colored foam that shows yet gently dissipates throughout the course of consumption. Super viscous, oily, and resinous if I ever saw a stout of this caliber before - my favorite part was the tremendous amount of scattered shrapnel lacing that coated all sides of the glass every time that I would give this a good swirl. Normally extremely syrupy looking RIS offerings are not my favorite, but this one contains a bit of prowess and charm overall in its liqueur like properties. Very memorably intimidating.

Wow! That's an extremely sweet bourbon aged stout, but for reasons you'd perhaps least expect. Yes, there's some classic bourbon sweet notes of toffee, vanilla, and cinnamon at the back, but the front is chock filled with the sweetness of caramel soaked dark cherries, blackcurrant, and figs, as well as obvious notes of roasted chocolate, coffee, and molasses. Impressive barrel spices and non-fruit make up the mid flavor, releasing notes of licorice, tobacco, leather, and violets throughout. Very stimulating stuff, with the only major drawback being the high presence of booze throughout, notably stinging the nostrils at every whiff. Sweet, but pretty restrained. Still extremely complex and memorable, as this kinds of beers must be.

I expected a boozy, sweet, barrel laden RIS from the aroma, but instead after my first sip I came across, to my knowledge, the most balanced and perhaps easy-going offering of its kind. It's a big beer, no doubt, but doesn't make that clear throughout. Vivid, rich notes of fudge, chocolate nibs, caramel, and molasses sugar coat dark fruit notes (mainly of dark cherries and prunes) as the beer soon melts with many of the barrel spices mentioned earlier. Vanilla and toffee are obvious, but tobacco, leather, and pepper are also very present. Earthy and roasted, with some sweetness and fruitiness that makes it feel robust in character. Finishes medium-bodied, with a dry, bready flavor awash with spices and sweetness that cleanse the palate overall. Stupidly balanced, as far as the style goes - this provides the drinker with all the best aspects within it without one of them overpowering the other. If it weren't for the high booze, I could certainly have more of this in one evening.

This is an amazing beer, and absolutely worth checking out, but I enjoyed it for many surprisingly different reasons from what I'd initially heard. It's rich, robust, and contains all of the barrel characteristics I enjoy best in these beers, but it doesn't smack you upside the head doing it, which I enjoy. No clue how this would age, but it's pretty extraordinary fresh. Don't go too much out of your way to get some, but all fans of the style should have it at least once.
Jan 14, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by jiggidy from Michigan

Oct 16, 2023
Photo of nwalke16
Reviewed by nwalke16 from Michigan

4.96/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
L: Dark pitch black as it should be with no light at all. Looks very thick.
S: Dark chocolate, Dark coffee roast, some faint dark fruit, and bourbon barrel age is well hidden.
T: Absolutely heavenly and smooth with the flavors mentioned under the smell. Does not feel like an 11% ABV beer, yet you get the effects afterwards.
F: Thick, smooth, and luscious.
Overall: This is the best Imperial Stout that I've had and it's not even close. I first had this in 2021 during the warm weather months and it's truly better than even KBS.
Jul 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.69 by YIharo

Jul 04, 2023
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.32/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Very good head production, but retention is lacking, fading to only the thinnest possible ring around the rim of the glass before long. Body is a lovely obsidian hue, cola-like along the edges.

Aroma is quite strong, prominently featuring the bourbon. Notes of bourbon mash, brown sugar, oak, leather, red grape, cherry, coconut, syrup.

Flavor absolutely delivers on a classic, BCBS-like BBA imperial stout. Lots of bourbon, but not overpowering; moderate char; bitter, but not overly hoppy nor too roasty, coming across on the more restrained side of RIS. Toffee, ginger cookies, raisin, coffee, prune, bourbon, oak, leather, white pepper, blackstrap molasses.

Exceptionally easy to sip, savor, and chew, despite the ABV and barrel influence. Does finish fairly hot on the back third, letting you know just how big it is.

This is an excellent BA RIS, with tons of complexity and an admirable restraint on all fronts. It's supremely drinkable, and less rich than most others, without sacrificing flavor. That said, I personally wish it delivered more richness along with that complexity, perhaps just a touch more sweetness and thickness. I also favor AIS over RIS, which certainly influences my take on this one.
Mar 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.58 by bruindre from Massachusetts

Feb 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.1 by Jkolls from Ohio

Feb 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.43 by BLPasch from Michigan

Jan 27, 2023
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Plead the 5th from Dark Horse Brewing. 12 oz can. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 05/12/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 53.4 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.7 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, opaque except at the edges – bottom edge ruby, top edge olive.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.2 cm, aggressive center pour), buff, high density with a few surface rocks, quickly diminishing to a 0.1 – 0.15 cm crown and a thin island.
Lacing – None. Not much expected at 11% ABV.
Aroma – 4.25 – Chocolate, weak char, and some hints of bourbon. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Chocolate and slight char with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Bourbon not detected. Slight oakiness. No hops or yeast. No ethanol (11 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Moderate gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, dry side of creamy, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) Look unremarkable, pretty much like every other high ABV RIS or Impy stout. Aroma is fairly typical but has a char note that many lack and lacks the coffee notes that many have. Bourbon is present on the nose but seems absent in the taste. The taste also has both chocolate and char as well as an oakiness from vanillin but lacks the tannin notes. As the temperature reaches the end, some bourbon notes finally appear. Overall, a good RIS that’s certainly more subtle than most.
Dec 05, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by Juggerr from New York

Nov 14, 2022
Photo of NCSapiens
Reviewed by NCSapiens from Indiana

4.18/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I had a 2016 and was curious what 6 years of aging would do. Definitely mellowed it out a bit and knocked off the rougher edges. Mostly left with a mellow oak and vanilla bourbon flavor over a nice toasty base stout. Quite nice.
Aug 06, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by Resistance88 from California

Aug 03, 2022
 
Rated: 4.45 by oberon from North Carolina

Jul 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.32 by GeorgeAKeim from Oregon

May 10, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by prototypic from Ohio

Apr 24, 2022
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

4.32/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Look - Fantastic black and thick with a really nice thick foamy tan head
Smell - dark chocolate caramel molasses roasted malts boozy and bourbon woody smells
Taste - chocolate coffee with that woody caramel molasses bourbon barrel from the get go. Slight dark fruit and vanilla in the back with a little bit of bitterness
Feel - medium full body with a very light carb. Could use a little more thickness to it in my opinion but still nice
Overall - Really nice Classic BA Russian Imperial. Very complex with a ton of smells and flavors.
Mar 15, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by ryand14 from Michigan

Feb 11, 2022
Photo of The_Snow_Bird
Reviewed by The_Snow_Bird from Michigan

4.58/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours jet black like used motor oil. Has a medium dark caramel head on top. Gives off a burnt coffee smell. Taste of roasted burning malts. Barrel is nowhere to be found. Overall beer is delicious!!
Feb 08, 2022
Photo of trevormajor
Reviewed by trevormajor from Ohio

4.36/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
12 oz can poured into a snifter at 55 degrees F. Side by side tasting with Plead the 5th:
L - dark and silky with a dark hazelnut head that quickly evaporated
S - bourbon, molasses
T - lots of bourbon, drowns out most of the other flavor, bit of molasses on the finish
F - thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation
O - good, settles down nicely a bit after being decanted, the bourbon fades a bit and coffee and molasses flavors become more prominent
Jan 30, 2022
Plead The 5th - Bourbon Barrel-Aged from Dark Horse Brewing Company
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 3373 ratings