Plead The 5th Imperial Stout | Dark Horse Brewing Company

4.35/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.27/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

4.55/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

L - Black, no Head

S - Chocolate and coffee, somewhat acidity (oat?)

T - very complex, chocolate, plum, roasted, light oat acidity, a bit of brown sugar, earthy hops

M - The alcohol makes it heavy but not boozy, quite light mouthfeel, a bit astringent

O - A deep RIS. Actually more of an imperial oatmeal stout but with a good earthy hop RIS profil. It's balanced and complex. Great stuff

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4.74/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.27/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.29/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12oz bottle into a wine glass
No bottling date. Label looks old as shit, but bought off the shelf approx 6-8 weeks ago so have to assume its most recent vintage.


A: Opaque black, 1+ fingers width of dense mocha colored head, dissipates at a moderate rate and leaves only a few small patches of lacing. 4.25

S: Huge nose, tons of roasty notes and big leathy/tobacco, significant cocoa. The chocolaty sweetness balances out the roast nicely. A really great aroma. 4.5

T: Taste is good, but doesn’t quite live up to the nose. Huge roasty characters are still present, as are the leather and tobacco notes. There is a sweetness, but the nice chocolatey notes present on the nose don’t come out as well in the taste. Its also a bit booze (but not overly so), and has a biting bitterness that detracts a bit from the other flavors. Still very good though. 4.25

M/D: Mouthfeel is fully bodied, but not thick, carbonation is on the higher end for the style and combined with the bitterness give it a bit more bite that I prefer and detract from the smoothness. ABV is noticeable but there’s no burn or harsh booziness. Drinkability is average for a large IS. 4

O: Overall, a very nice beer. Id gladly drink it again, but with all the high quality IS’s out there I would necessarily seek it out. 4.25

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3/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

4.77/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3.89/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

4.44/5  rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.08/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.42/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle. Sampled on July 29, 2016.

This is a near jet black pour with little to no head. I would have given it a 5 but I like some head. Though at 12% ABV, the head is usually hard to come by.

The aroma is sweet, dark, and roasted with raisins and a low to no hop profile. No alcohol.

The body is around medium.

The taste tends to fall onto the sweet dark malt side with a mild bitterness but mostly sweet and dark. Alcohol is beautifully integrated. These kinds of Stouts are high on my drinking list.

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5/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

4.53/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is one smooth imperial stout, taste is chocolate, coffee, oak. Very thick sticky mouthfeel. One of the best!

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4.57/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

3.69/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Dark Horse Plead The 5th Imperial Stout. 11% ABV, 41 IBU. Pours medium thickness, black, with two fingers of brown head, left light lacing. Nose is coffee and licorice, taste follows plus chocolate, with coffee bitterness on the close. Good mouthfeel, overall excellent.

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4.22/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2016-07-04
12oz bottle served in a tulip. Can't find any dates on it.

Pours black, almost still, with a small brown head. Smell is strong anise and a little chocolate.

Taste is surprisingly hoppy, strong bitter coffee and chocolate notes, still heavy anise (but luckily offset by the other flavors), some cherry.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light and smooth. Overall, excellent beer.

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4.06/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

4.35/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.18/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.19/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

4.06/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4