Hawks D.M.s Imperial Stout
Hawks Brewing

Hawks D.M.s Imperial StoutHawks D.M.s Imperial Stout
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From:
Hawks Brewing
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
9.9%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.18 | pDev: 6.22%
Reviews:
21
Ratings:
21
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 06, 2006
Added:
Nov 25, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Jredner:
Photo of Jredner
Reviewed by Jredner from Florida

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aroma is very rich and roasty with lots of hops and dark fruits..date and cherry. Deep black with creamy mocha head that diminishes slowly. Fore is dark chocolate and black licorice with a hint of sweet cream. Finish is rich dark fruits with lots of burnt/roasty malt. Very solid brew.
Jan 28, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of jdhilt
Reviewed by jdhilt from New Hampshire

4.75/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Pours a two finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Black color. Medium carbonation and heavy bodied. Molasses nose. Starts sweet, rich molasses flavor, smooth, hints of alcohol at finish. Great beer, this is how I like an imperial stout. $4.75 for a 22oz bottle from John's Market Tigard, Or.
Aug 06, 2006
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.35/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Glistening sable with somewhat generous red-gold edges. This is clearly an opaque beer, but it doesn't have that 'hostile to light' look that some of the best versions have. The cap is coffee-with-cream light brown and is currently a dense two finger disk that looks like it'll keep all its digits for the foreseeable future. I'm glad to see that it's a pretty fair lacer too since the elevated ABV had my expectations on the low end. All in all, a good looking RIS.

The aroma is solid and contains all of the elements that I expect to be present. It's hugely roasted black maltish with a melted chocolate fudge vibe that I'm diggin'. Ground espresso beans play a supporting role and hops fail to show up. There's nothing especially distinctive about this nose. By the same token, there are no visible cracks in its olfactory facade either.

Likewise the taste. It may not be the most complex Russian Imperial Stout in existence, but it's as solid as a block of granite on the palate. The flavor is supremely black malty with all sorts of dark and foreboding things crawling out from under the brew kettle. Bittersweet chocolate (that's more sweet than bitter), black coffee with sugar syrup and anise oil lead the way.

Given the above description, it's obvious that D.M.s is sweeter than the average RIS. Not a problem for me. I like them sweet, I like them hoppy-bitter, I like them balanced, I like them any which way at all. Just pack enough fire-roasted malt into each bottle and I'm a happy man. In this particular case, Hawks Brewing has and I am.

It's a little odd that a brewer from the Pacific NW wouldn't use more hops in his beer, no matter the style. Actually though, as the beer approaches room temperature and as I drink with the express purpose of looking for it, I do believe that I can appreciate a sweetened grapefruit peel hoppiness among all the rest of the flavor elements. It's still not enough to garner the 'complex' imprimatur, though I'm finding it harder and harder to support that position.

The body/mouthfeel is lushly, silkily, creamily smooth and can hold its head high among the giants of the style. I've had better, but not many and not much. The unobtrusive amount of carbonation ensures that this beer is as much a pleasure in the mouth as it is on the palate. And that's saying something.

I'm sorry to hear that Hawks Brewing will be closing its doors at the end of the month. It's always regrettable when we lose a craft brewery and it's doubly unfortunate when it's one that is capable of brewing beer as outstanding as D.M.s Imperial Stout.
Jun 13, 2006
Photo of CRJMellor
Reviewed by CRJMellor from Arkansas

4.22/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a midnight black with just a hint of red. foamy tan head with a bit of spotty lacing.
Aroma of chocolate and citrusy hops with some brown sugar and rasoted nuts.
Flavor of chocolate covered grapefruit. Juicy notes with a bit of fig and/or date and just a touch of roasted nuttiness.
Mouthfeel is chocolately bittering upfront and a then a very lush and succulent middle and finishes with a sharp hop bite.
Drinkability is very high. I'm generally not a fan of the hoppy Impy Stouts (FUV excluded of course) but this one grew on me and really had some nice balance.
Feb 20, 2006
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

4.32/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The beer pours a pitch black color with a rich, milk chocolate, brown colored head that stands a pretty tight three finger thick height. The aroma is quite fruity with notes of figs, cherries and prunes. Underneath the prominent fruit aromatics is a solid note of acidic, roasted espresso beans. The aroma is surprisingly fruity, at least it is notable that these notes are so much more prominent than the roast notes. As I smell it a bit more I get notes of dark chocolate and roasted grain notes including some burnt grain husk notes.

Wow the flavor is rich and prominent, just like it should be. It is incredibly malty and the roast character does not drown out the rest of the malt complexity. It is pretty thick, and coats the palate nicely. Notes of rich chocolate malt-balls are prominent along with complimentary notes of roasted coffee, and a light burnt grain acidity. There are also some nice fruity notes here that evoke taste memories of raising, figs and perhaps a hint of cherry.

This is a pretty nice Imperial Stout. The thing about it that I am really infatuated with is that it has a certain subtlety to it (for an Imperial Stout) that actually increases the complexity of this brew. Meaning that the roast character is not so dominating, and the hop character is pretty muted, such that the natural malt complexity comes out and, ultimately, is quite enjoyable.
Feb 03, 2006
Photo of Gaisgeil
Reviewed by Gaisgeil from Michigan

3.94/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Laid this bottle down for about a year or so. Thanks go to Skyhand for sending me this one ages ago.

From a plain jane bomber bottle with very ordinary graphic work done on the label, no bottled on date found.

Decants a dark an lovely black with a thin creamy head that was rather shortlived to say the least. Overall not much to look at. Nose is of a rich brandy, dark fruits, coffee, cocoa and various other harder to place elements. Taste is very robust and multitiered, very complex and full. Same flavors as in the nose but also strongly alcoholic, very much feels like a sort of fine liquor on the palate. Interesting to say the least. 22oz was more than enough, took me a few hours to finally sip this one away into nothing. Sort of on the difficult side to drink, bot because it wasn't tasty, but very big. Mouthfeel was very full, heavy bodied with slight, but adequate carbonation.

Slàinte!
Jan 21, 2006
Photo of ElGordo
Reviewed by ElGordo from Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Not a dated bottle, but purchased directly from Charlie Hawks in summer 2003, so it's had some time to mature in the cellar. Pours a deep dark black with coffee-colored highlights, topped by a half inch of khaki-colored head. Rich aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, some fruity hops, and some prunes or plums. Palate is rich and complex - dark roasted malt and plum up front, then developing a mellow burnt brown sugar character, with some richer, darker fruit and a touch of hoppy bitterness. Body is nice and thick, with just a hint of a syrupy character that holds the flavor very well. An enjoyable slow-sipper - took quite a while to finish the bottle.
Jan 20, 2006
Photo of nvsblman
Reviewed by nvsblman from Arizona

4.57/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Pours an opaque black with hints of coffee brown around the edges. The chocolate colored head quickly disappears. The aroma is awesome! Chocolate, coffee, fruit, hops, alcohol. It has a really great roasted flavor that is full of chocolate, toffee, coffee, oak, and a slight fruitiness in the aftertaste. Full bodied and creamy with a slight carbonation, this is a really great beer. The flavors and aroma all blend together making this a treat.
Nov 29, 2005
Photo of CrackyMcZap
Reviewed by CrackyMcZap from Oregon

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours very dark, edges glowing slightly red when held to a strong light. Creamy head, slowly foams down and stays awhile, lacing the sides.
Smells roasty, with some fruity elements and a bit of smoke.
Starting cold, the flavor is mildly smoky with a hint of coffee and cherry. As it warms, more fruity and creamy flavors make themselves known, with the hops staying in the background for a pleasant sting. The alcohol stands out a little at the end with a warming fume.
Mouthfeel is silky and smooth, very fun.
Very drinkable brew, smooth enough to go with anything.
Oct 10, 2005
Photo of waldowin
Reviewed by waldowin from Washington

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured a rich, dark brown, with thin red highlights at the edges when held to the light. Dark brown head, fads quickly to a ring, wonderfully thick lacing all the way down.

Smells of coffee, choclate, and rich earth. Some bananas and raisins.

Tastes surprisingly sweet and creamy for an impy stout. First hit is dark fruits, raisins, cashews, and bananas. The hops hit at the middle of the mouth, as grapefruit taste, bitterness is contained. Finishes with a cherry wash that neatly hides the alcohol.

Very, very creamy and smooth throughout. It just slips along the tongue and down the throat, very unusual for an IS, especially this high in ABV.
Slightly bitter oils left inside the mouth, sweet syrup left on the lips. Hard not to down this all in one go.
Oct 10, 2005
Photo of Rastacouere
Reviewed by Rastacouere from Canada (QC)

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Nice slowly fading light brown head with tiny sharp lacing. Deep dark brown hue, close to black, opaque. Very roasty nose, this seems to be the beer’s main focus. Sweet toffee perfumes are rich yet mellow. Mostly chocolatey flavours, but they come with nuance, desserty, creamy with several dark fruit notes. Complex. No alcohol presence whatsoever, the dark chocolates are everything, mellow in every sense of the word, it feels much lighter than it is, you decide if that’s a good thing. The hops are easy going, greenish. Burnt caramel enlaces evolving fruit impressions, passing by dates, grapes and figs. Not the most impressive example to blow my mind, but I dig the balance. Moderately carbonated, medium bodied. Fine fine beer, but only above average impy.
Sep 13, 2005
Photo of mattcrill
Reviewed by mattcrill from Ohio

4.12/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to weefisheads for the chance to sample this colossal stout!

Presentation: Bottle states that the beer is brewed in small 3 barrel batches, filled, and capped by hand. Maybe that's why they went out of business? Poured into my snifter and looking great.

Note: Got the same crazy foamy spillover that I got from the other beer that I got from weefisheads. Not sure if it was a function of being shipped from out west but I was on it this time and saved the beer. Still, I had to knock some off the appearance just for the hassle of rescuing this beer.

Appearance: Pours motor oil thick and black with a thin tan head. Looks great in the snifter.

Smell: Dark fruits, raisins, vanilla, and licorice. To me, this just smells like a bad ass stout. Reminds me of Stone IRS.

Taste: Follows smell. Big and bad! Vanilla, toffee, cocoa, with a slightly oaky and sweet finish. Mild alcohol notes coat the palate and finishes slightly warm.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and slightly creamy. Coats the mouth and leaves a warm numbing feeling on the lips and tongue.

Drinkability: This one is big and bold. This should be sipped and enjoyed. Due to it's huge character and alcohol presence, I would not recommend this to be a session beer. One to be savored and enjoyed. Highly recommended and sad that there won't be more of this.
Mar 19, 2005
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

3.76/5  rDev -10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
From Roseburg’s last surviving brewery comes an imperial of black lacquer with a proud head, chocolate nose, and sustained carbonation. Smooth, sweet, modestly creamy, but also with a compressed bitter-chocolate flavor and warm alcohol compliment, D.M’s Imperial enjoys a swollen mouthfeel with a sizable retained gravity.

This is a real belly-warmer – a black anodyne for those dreary winter nights. I’d like to let a few bottles mellow out for a year. But Hawk’s may have already gone out of business and there are few opportunities remaining to find and cellar this big heavy beer.
Nov 24, 2004
Photo of Thrasher
Reviewed by Thrasher from Oregon

3.76/5  rDev -10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3
Pours tar black with a faint ruby twinge at the very edges. Head is tight and creamy, falling to a thin layer of foam and lots of lace. Chocolatey aroma with lots of alcohol. The first bit of flavor is sweet and chocolatey, with butter and sugar. The alcohol kicks in towards the end and definitely has an effect. It's almost wince-inducing. Roastiness level is very low, and there's almost no hop qualities or bitterness except in the aftertaste, a slight tautness on the tongue. The beer is deliriously creamy, almost pillow soft. Not a good choice for a session beer, the drinkability is slow and deliberate. I'd like to age a bottle of this, and see how it fares, but the beer is hand-capped, and I noticed the cap came off surprisingly easily which makes me a little worried about possible oxidation.
Jun 25, 2004
Photo of HiroProtagonist
Reviewed by HiroProtagonist from Maryland

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
D.M.s Imperial Stout was served from a 22 oz. bottle, with a rudimentary silkscreened label. In a pint glass, the beer was black in color, and was topped by a thin brown head that left thick sheets of lacing. The nose yielded a wooden, super rich dark roasted chocolate maltiness and numerous plum related esters. The taste was was loaded with complex, rich, and creamy dark roasted chocolate malts. The flavor expanded with a choco-smoky-saltiness and dark current esters in the transition to a sharper, estery choco-coffee finish. The beer was slightly warming, and alcohol was noticed as it neared room temperature...the alcohol may have contributed to the (not unpleasant) "salty" taste. The body was adequately full and smooth for the flavors and character of the stout. Good flavor, and balance between malt and bitterness made for a readily drinkable imperial brew, despite the warming presence of alcohol.
Jun 12, 2004
Photo of Crosling
Reviewed by Crosling from Colorado

4.4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Everything is black, as it should be. Well, everything except the head. The head was tan. This imperial stout looked awesome.

Aroma of coffee beans, cocoa, dark chocolate, grapes and alcohol. Very rich in the aroma.

This was a fantastic tasting beer. A liquid Snickers. Tons of chocolate, caramel, vanilla and cream. Amazingly flavorful. Later on in the beer, more dark fruits start to come out but vaguely.

Some would argue (prAna), that this beer was too sweet and poorly hopped. Wrong. It has a very low hop level but the malt works wonders in this beer. And whos to say that a true to the style imperial stout has to be highly hopped and bitter??? Not me, I would much rather have a smooth and rich and lovely imperial stout...Like D.M.'s. Lovely.
Mar 22, 2004
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a thoroughly Stygian hue into the Bell's Expedition Stout goblet I've chosen for this tasting, the huge, creamy head easily filling the top 2/3 of the volume. Aroma: deep, dark tones, cocoa, molasses, spices & more, but moreover, creamy, malty, & smooth.
Taste: big malt on this one, light hoppiness, about as gentle an Imperial as you can imagine, with chocolate flavor predominant on the palate. Bitterness is low, but still presents itself lightly on the tongue. Alcohol is well-hidden, despite the strength, for the flavor is too large to allow the booze to be in charge. Slides down so easily and coats the senses with tastiness, that it's almost a session IS, if you can conjure the concept. I'm hard-pressed to call it an Is, but whatever it is, it's a good one.
Later on, dark fruits are felt stronger, plums, cherries, and rich anise and molasses flavors speak up, and I find myself wanting to eat my earlier words, for it unfolds with greater complexity in the mouth as we further investigate the contents of this 22 0z. bomber. Becomes richer, thicker, stickier, even. Niceness compounded upon niceness, a well-rounded, fully-flavored IS, getting even better toward the end, with notes of charcoal, tar, and tobacco peeking up and poking out. Quite a satisfactory IS, though unlikely to unseat any of my current champions of the style.

Enormous thanks go to wishfisheads for this one!
Mar 05, 2004
Photo of genaro
Reviewed by genaro from Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Nice aroma - roasted coffee, chocolate, some hop bouquet, and a wisp of alcohol. It started off with a big coffee colored head that was short lived. It had pretty good lace. The color was dark, chocolate brown. The taste was very smooth and predominently chocolate with swirls of coffee. The mouth feel was velvety (Godiva beware) and chewy, 2 chewy, according to a fellow sampler. The finish was dry, semi-sweet and a bit bready. This was certainly a rich beer and a treat. I would have liked a bit more carbonation, but that's just my opinion. The 9.9%abv gave one a warm feeling. I found it to be an excellent dessert beer if you aren't driving for a while.
Jan 24, 2004
Photo of aracauna
Reviewed by aracauna from Georgia

3.97/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Dark brown, looks black from a distance, but not close up. Creamy, khaki head has lasting power at a thin layer, although on the higher end of the carbonation range for the style. Alcohol is strong on the nose. Cherries, dried fruit and chocolate. The flavor is sweet, but not cloying as it's not rich enough to be cloying. The flavor is a bit lighter than I'd really like, but perfectly balanced, although the alcohol is definitely not hidden.
Jan 24, 2004
Photo of beerguy101
Reviewed by beerguy101 from California

4.32/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Eclipse black color. Large full tannish head. Aroma is choclately. A full bodied Imperial Stout. Malts are roasty, chocolate and coffee. All sorts of chocolate flavors are mixed in with hints of dark fruits and vanilla in this very tasty beer. Very smooth. Nice dry finish. Touch of alcohol bite as well at 9.9%. This is a Imperial Stout that’s in the same class as Alesmith and Stone. Well worth seeking out. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.
Nov 30, 2003
Hawks D.M.s Imperial Stout from Hawks Brewing
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 21 ratings