Dark of Night
Odd Side Ales

 

Poured from a 12oz can into a TG DBA tumbler. Pours a dark brown with a thin mocha brown foam cap. Whiskey and dark fruits on the nose. Light cocoa. Tastes follows. I get more whiskey barrel and dark fruits than chocolate and vanilla. It’s not bitter by any means but it’s not sweet. Medium-full mouthfeel. Sticky. Solid stuff.

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a jet black with a mocha colored head. Good lacing.

Aroma features the whiskey barrel and chocolate. Inviting.

Taste follows nose. The barrel flavor is not as substantial as I expected from the aroma. There's a light roasty char behind the light chocolate sweetness. The barrel is not hot and plays nicely with the malty goodness. No sign of the substantial ABV.

Good mouthfeel and substantial initial carbonation that quickly toned down to a pleasant tingle.

This iteration has 12.44% ABV

Pours an effervescent ebony with 2 fingers of mocha colored head. Viscous, some head retention & lacing

S: Dark fruits, a whiff of coffee & barrel notes, vanilla & cocoa once warm

T: Dark fruit, coffee, charred grain, booze bite & oakyness up front. Some Baker's chocolate & vanilla fights through the booziness & charred grain, some banana taffy, just a hint of peatyness as this beer warms up, coffee is more present as well. Finishes with a little smokeyness, charred grain, a little vanilla, some leafy hops as well

MF: Fairly chewy, restrained carbonation, warming. Carbonation picked up a little once warm

This was a sipper. nice flavor, not next level, but lots to love

 

From a 12oz can dated 11/09/23

This beer pours pitch black, and no light shines through it at all. It did look somewhat thick while pouring. The head is a very thick, 3 finger, brown color. Frothy looking and very long lasting. There's some pretty good lacing on the glass.
The aroma is a malty one. Roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, toffee, and a hint of dark fruit.
Taste - Lots of chocolate in this beer, and it's a very pleasing bitter chocolate. Hints of coffee, caramel, dark fruit, and toffee also show up in the flavor profile. The finish is a nice pleasing bitterness that cuts what sweetness there is.
Very thick body on this beer. Smooth and creamy. Very little burn in this beer.
Tasty stout overall, and happy I could try it.

 

 

 

First tried with our Stout Appreciation Night group but the 3 oz I had then didn't qualify for a full review; though according to my notes I got more whiskey presence from the 2022 version. This is the 2023 version.
Poured stout black with a very reasonable mocha colored head which left good lacing.
Aroma is sadly lost on my nose at the time. Stupid Covid.
The taste is almost sublime - I didn't give it full marks as I didn't get much whiskey presence, but for a sheer BA stout, this has an outstanding combination of rich malts presenting as fine coffee and dark chocolate with just a hint of molasses in there. If not for the ABV (This year it is 12.44%) I could sip on this for hours. So smooth tasting.
The feel is almost too thin for the ABV, but it matches with the taste ideally - lightly viscous and mouth coating, letting the flavors linger a bit.
OA, definitely one I will be buying on an annual basis. Very good beer.

 

Excellent overall. Very low heat and bite considering the sky high ABV. Very long finish; I’m still tasting the beer several minutes after finishing each sip.

Tasting notes include coffee, light char, toast, toffee, a bit of dark chocolate, cherry, and a relatively sweet mash from the whiskey.

 

2022 12 oz can poured cellar cool to a tulip glass. So black it blocks out the lettering on my glass. A vibrant dark cola head crackles like fireworks for about ten seconds, then fades to a still black lake. Lacing on the side instantly dries like brown glue. Nose is earthy, almost a peat aroma. First sips bring a load of rye, similar to the Willitized I had last night. That earthy aroma carries to the tongue, combined with extraordinarily dark malts in the base. Barrel wood comes across wet, with a clear drying effect in the end. Alcohol doesn’t bite, but brings much warming only a few sips in. As the temp warms, the hops come around to butter the tongue a little. Definitely a tasty, heavy sipper for this active blizzard weather.