The German Hobo Malt Liquor
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Dirty copper penny color with a fingernail of beige about the size of a half dollar on top. The complexion is fairly murky with sediment. The aroma is of boozy corn and plentiful light malt. I'm tasting plenty of alcohol which overpowers the corn flavor I get in the fade. The mouth is lightly warm with alcohol and dry.

 

Not bad, not sure how to explain

A: The beer is rather hazy dark yellowish amber in color. It poured with a short off white head that quickly died down, leaving some lacing on the surface and a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of sweet caramel and toffee are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is rather malty for the style, with flavors of caramel, toasted malts, and toffee. There are only faint hints of alcohol.
M: It feels a bit more than medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. The finish has some slight hints of warmth from the alcohol.
O: This beer is very drinkable compared to other beers in the style and almost tastes like a hybrid between a barleywine and a malt liquor. It hides its alcohol very well.

Serving type: bottle

this is closer to a bottle of gasoline than a bottle of beer, but man could i envision a couple of these doing the trick on a random monday night. pretty fusel, especially as it warms.

super malty and sweet with a dry finish that masks a bit of the alcohol (but not all of it); it goes down a bit rough. for all the sweetness up front, it's got a bitter finish. that said, if you don't mind something a bit rough around the edges and that won't ever be described as juicy or pillowy, it's a possibility.

i don't love it, but i could drink this in a 40 anytime.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep orange amber/light copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy cream colored head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big honey, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of toffee, nuttiness, raisin, cherry, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big honey, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of toffee, nuttiness, raisin, cherry, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of honey, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness/toffee, dark fruit, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from lingering bitterness as well. Fairly clean lagering, not too fruity/yeasty. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden, only a mild warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice malt liquor style. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth, clean, and easy to drink for the ABV. Reminds me more of an imperial amber ale or something, but still very enjoyable.

 

$2.09 for a 12oz single at BevCo. Brewed with Hallertau, Mittelfrueh and Bavaria Mandarina hops. No other ingredients listed on the website or bottle. 9.5% ABV.

Pours out to a hazy amber to light brown, barely eeking out a small off yellow head with poor retention and sparse lacing. Carbonation is mild, ~2.0 carbs or so. The nose is very malty up front with light raisins, candi sugar, brown sugar, grain husk and vanilla. Mouthfeel is syrupy, cloying, dense bodied. Bitterness is quite mild, overall being quite sweet. Stylistically, this has the OG, FG, SRM, IBU and ABV to fall within the dopplebock/Eisbock category. Quite boozy up front and throughout, which limits it's drinkability, One 12oz bottle is just too much. Harsh alcohol notes, warming.

Not my cup of tea...or beer. I had to dump it after 1/3 of a glass. This is just way to much. Diabetes in a bottle. Harsh, solventy, some fusels. Pass on this one from an otherwise very good brewery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collaboration with Old Nation Brewing. Dark Horse bottled theirs and Old Nation canned theirs.

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours copper with a mild haze but still has some clarity to it; small light khaki head that fades leaving solid bubbly retention and okay lacing. The aromas are sweet and malt forward with lots of caramel. Some cherries and dark fruits in the mix. It kind of smells like a scotch ale. The flavors seem to follow the nose. It's sweet, but nothing cloying or over the top. More caramel leading the way with some hints of toffee. More hints of cherry and dark fruits. Strong malt backbone with a mild bitterness. It finishes clean, but has a syrupy and resinous vibe. There's a subtle and mild warmth in the finish, but it's not hot or boozy at all. Alcohol is ultimately well hidden. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with low carbonation. It's very slick. This one is dangerously drinkable.

I really like this. It's a hard beer to describe. If I drank this blindfolded, a malt liquor is probably the last thing I'd think this would be. It personally reminds me of a scotch ale, but I'm not complaining. Whatever you want to call it, it's a very enjoyable beer at the end of the day.