Plead The 5th Imperial Stout
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, dark fruits. Taste follows the aroma, a touch of alcohol is present. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.

From the older bottle of indeterminant age, it pours a dark brown/black with a nice brown head that diminishes and does leave some spotty lacing. The nose gets chocolate alcohol and some coffee. The mouth follows with a chocolatty brew with slight char notes and a mild bitter aftertaste.

12-ounce can courtesy of the generous @Whyteboar. No date stamp. Enjoyed in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
Brown-black with cola brown highlights. Strong backlighting reveals a clear, reddish-brown body with garnet highlights. The head of thick tan foam recedes to a thin ring and gauzy skin that leaves crazy lacing.

Smell:
Milk chocolate malted milk balls. Sweet but not obnoxiously so. Hints of prunes, cherries, butterscotch, iced coffee, dark chocolate morsels.

Taste:
This is really interesting (the good kind, not the faint-praise kind). The flavor starts off simple with the malted milk balls promised by the nose. There's also a little bit of char and a whispered suggestion of dark fruits from someone in the next room. Not bad, but frankly kind of dull.

But then it starts to pick up speed as the sip progresses. An excellent coffee flavor fades in, followed quickly by shadings of dark chocolate, toffee, and heavily roasted malts. Then there's a fanfare of dark fruit: some prune, a few raisins, a thoroughly unexpected and delightful hint of raspberry. The long finish leans back into earthy coffee and dark chocolate with traces of caramel, brown sugar, and roasted nuts. I also get a faint spicy note which seems to be the only real evidence of hops in this beer.

Feel:
The body is nice and chewy, and closer to full than medium. Luscious creamy texture with wooly carbonation. Mild alcohol warmth.

Overall:
This is an excellent imperial stout which seems shallow at first but grows in complexity with every sip. Slightly sweeter than I prefer, but not nearly enough to be a dealbreaker. I would definitely work this beer into the RIS rotation if it were available near me.

Thanks Craig!

Poured room temp from a can into to a 16oz pint glass. Appearance is very dark brown with some ruby hues when a light is held behind the glass. Had a nice 2-finger khaki head but receded quickly to just a ring of suds at the top.
Aroma is roasted coffee, maybe some caramel or brown sugar, faint chocolate and dark fruit.
Taste follows the nose with coffee, dark chocolate, tobacco, dark fruits, booze...any light bitterness comes from the boozy notes.
Mouthfeel is just shy of full. Good carbonation with this one gives it a creamy feel.
Overall this is an alright RIS. Nothing spectacular. Lacks depth and complexity compared to others in this style that I've had. Not horrible but wouldn't go out of my way for it again...even though it is drinkable.

 

 

 

 

A big thanks to @jzeilinger for the can!
12oz can poured into a Baerlic Belgian-style tulip

P black w/ a very small tan head; quick recession to ring
N med-bold; deep roast, dark chocolate, and licorice; inviting
T dry roast, bittersweet dark chocolate, and nuttiness; tobacco notes round things out, finishes with light-med roasty bitterness; dark fruits become more prominent as warms, well executed profile
Mf thick and chewy; full-bodied w/ med carb; smooth
O one really solid OG RIS; so happy to have tried it!

Review date: 01.09.24
Can date: not captured

 

 

 

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.