Plead The 5th Imperial Stout
Dark Horse Brewing Company

 

 

 

Bottle at 12 Steps Down. Dark brown/black, small beige head. But it gets better....Roast grain aroma:some molases sweetness. And then the taste. Roast grains, coffee. Brown sugar. Spot on. Slick and oily.

 

 

Plead the 5th from Dark Horse Brewing. 12 oz bottle. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 07/12/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Served at 53.7 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 58.1 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same, but much precipitate is present. When rear lite, opaque except at the edges – ruby and translucent.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.2 cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar, high density with many surface rocks, quickly diminishing to a 0.35 – 0.5 cm low-density crown and a thin island.
Lacing – Surprisingly, a fair amount, extremely tiny bubbles forming a few small coronas. More than expected at 11% ABV.
Aroma – 4.5 – Chocolate, weak char, and a hint of coffee. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Chocolate and slight char with a slightly bitter aftertaste. No hops or yeast. No ethanol (11 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Slight gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Full, dry, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) Looks like every other RIS. Drinkability excellent, with nose and taste balanced, very smooth! Palate works well with the flavor.

I am trying a can of this beer at my BRAH-in-law 's house whilst there for Thanksgiving. It poured an opaque dark with tan ring head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had dark chocolate and roast notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to sip. There was dark chocolate malt base with roast and espresso highlights. The mouthfeel was fuller in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.

 

Older bottle - probably 5 years old. Pours motor oil black. The nose is tobacco, coffee, roasted malts, charred wood, smoke, and a bit of burnt toffee. Dark chocolate as well.

The taste is insanely good. Rich dark chocolate, burnt wood, earth, dark German bread, sponge toffee, French roast coffee beans, and some dark plums and cherries. Wow. Intense flavors.

The mouthfeel is thick and creamy. This is just a super classic RIS with massive flavors. The aftertaste is flooded with roasted malts.

 

 

Old bottle kept at cold for a some years: quite simply one of the references imperial stout worldwide.

12 oz can poured into a snifter at 55 degrees F. Side by side tasting with BBA Plead the 5th:
L - dark and silky with a dark hazelnut head that quickly evaporated
S - roasted malt, coffee, molasses
T - follows the nose, a bit of chocolate on the finish
F - thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation
O - very nice stout, bitter notes of coffee and roasted malt mix with a sweet molasses flavor

A bit disappointing. Dark color low foam. The flavor seemed little off not what I was hoping for in an Imperial stout.

 

 

 

2016 on tap at Red Pig Brewing. Very nice Imperial Stout!