Dark Knight
Dragonmead Microbrewery

 

Interesting is always the case at Dragonmead, what an interesting beer and a well balanced way to figure out not over doing it on the hops. This one reminds me of a stout with some hop sharpness, a little nutty at the end, but one of the coolest beers I was able to have.

 

 

This brew was served on tap at Dragonmead in Warren, Michigan. It arrived in a standard tasting glass, showing a deep and creamy cola coloring. It held a nice one finger’s worth of sandy foam that left globs of lacing around the glass as it disappeared at a slower pace. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be medium. The nose gave fresh tropical fruitiness of nectary and grapefruity hops, pencil woodiness, cornmeal, mineral, lightly roasted coffee and black malts, more soured English brown maltiness, raw oat, and sticky molasses sweetness. The taste followed with tobacco leafiness and smokiness, somewhat charred standard American black malts, sweaty chocolate roastiness, simple syrup sweetness, limey and brightly citric hops, plum, red apple fruitiness, dried parsley and basil, rubber cement, and sappy green grassiness. The body was medium, but chewy around the edges, and the carbonation was pleasantly light. Each sip afforded welcomed cream, froth, slurp, and smack, with nice finishing pop and glug on the back end. The mouth was left creamily coated, with little overt dryness to follow. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank back with ease.

Overall, this one jumped right off the menu at us. We just love how everyone seems to be taking a crack at hoppifying just about every style these days. Over the past year or so, the American Black Ale, or Black IPA, has been the standalone winner of these experiments, and we couldn’t be happier that they have become so widely accepted. That said, this was a tasty, fresh offering that left us happy we tried it. The hoppiness was much more robust through the nose, as well as sweeter or seemingly more inviting, when compared to taste, but they served their purpose well enough in both arenas. Otherwise, this was a hearty brew. The type that you know you’re drinking something of substance while you’re sipping on it. This was nicely done stylistically, but was ultimately nothing earthshattering.