Dark Arts
Trouble Brewing

 

look: one finger off white head with excellent retention, some lacing, beer is a very dark brown colour, light just about passing through this beer.

smell: smells really good, great malt aromas, roasted smokey malt flavour, bit of that unami meaty malt but not much, lot of fruit flavour, dark fruits, fig, prune, plum, but also maybe a hint of cherry and apple, earthy, touch floral, lot of milk chocolate, inviting.

taste: bit of a let down there, flavours are all quite subdued, more or less all malt, roasted smokey malt, quite smokey, tobacco, some sweet dark fruit flavours, quite earthy, oaky, some hazlenut flavour on the finish, moderate bitterness on the finish too, yeah balance of flavour is just a bit off, weird one, sad, not terrible tho.

feel: light bodied, light carbonation, quite watery and thin, drinkable enough, sessionable and light, lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue.

overall: a letdown, possibly not the freshest can so maybe worth a re-review, but this is only ok, still wanna try more trouble brewing stuff though.

 

 

 

Very dark brown colour with a creamy nitro head. Whiff of pitted fruits under a heavy dry chocolate mocha nose. A lil sweet milk chocolate malt upfront then bitter dark chocolate cocao nibs, dry roasted finish that lingers. Creamy body with a bit of snippy carbonation. Italian dark roast notes.

 

 

 

 

Bottle 500 ml purchased in Mullingar Ireland. An enjoyable porter without the roast taste. Could drink this all day.

 

 

 

 

On-tap at Alfie Byrne's, Dublin, Ireland

A: The beer is black when viewed from afar. Upon closer inspection, dark amber hues are visible near the edge of the glass when it is held up to a bright light. It poured with a quarter finger high tan head that died down, but consistently left a thin head covering the surface and a lacy coating of bubbles down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of dark, burnt malts and coffee beans are present in the smell.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of dark chocolate malts and roasted coffee beans. The chocolaty flavors seem to become stronger once the beer warms up. No bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a fine representation of the style. It packs in a lot of chocolaty aromas and flavors while still managing to be easy to drink.