Dark Energy
Hardknott Brewery

Pours jet black into a half pint glass from a 330ml bottle. Fawn head is one finger, silky, and quick to disappate. The retention is good while it lasts, but lacing is light to moderate.

Aroma is all bitter expresso, char and burnt chocolate. The flavour follows the nose very closely with lashings of smoke, charred grain, roasted malt, and burnt expresso. The smokiness doesn't let up throughout the flavour profile giving one a full and rich beer, and a dark fruity sweetness ebbs into the aftertaste along with a black liqorice spiciness, and dry tobacco.

It feels medium bodied, lightly carbonated, and slightly tangy on the swallow leaving a warming dryness; somewhere between an Irish and English style.

This is a great porter, black, smoky and rich with a great depth of complex flavours. Received in a beer52 order and it's definately worth it. A great find.

 

 

 

 

Coming in a 330ml slim brown bottle, BB 03/2015, served lightly-chilled in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: pours an nearly black colour, coming with a nicely formed and well-lasting khaki froth, while the carbonation comes at a moderate level.
S: a very nice aroma consists of sour-sweet dark fruits, dried berries, in conjunction with roast malts and aromatic chocolates with an almost smoky kind of intense kick to it, while the lively hop aroma also lends a good depth to the mix. Given a good swirl, black sugar, earthy dried hops (Willamette is said to be used here) and burned walnut notes also come to the surface, along with a consistent edge of good fruity acidity.
T: smooth on the entry, the fulsome flavour comes mainly roasty and even smoky with a deep & good intensity of bitterness from black malts, ensued by a clean-ish bitter finish underlined by chocolaty aroma and a fine, focused dark-fruit acidity overall. Very smooth in the finish. Hops are rendered well on top of a really robust but not heavy body of malts, lending light fruity fragrance but not in the same way as some American interpretations do.
M&O: smooth but also softly refreshing on the palate, the body remains full despite 4.9%abv., this porter is really well made and makes one want to keep on drinking it. And quaffable it really is! Can’t wait to try this beer freshly served on cask~~

A 500ml bottle with a BB of April 2013. Label states that it is conditioned with live yeast. Also features trendy graphics and some blurb about physics....

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A pitch black hue - absolutely no light passes through it. Chunks of white sediment can be seen floating near the edge of the glass. Produces a large head of light-brown foam that lasts for a few minutes before reducing to a surface layer. Aroma of burnt/roasted grain with strong coffee notes and hints of chocolate, molasses and yeast.

Tastes of dark roasted malt with a dry finish. Notes of coffee, burnt grain, chocolate, molasses, dried fruit and a subtle spiciness. A flavour of burnt toast upon swallowing. No hop notes are discernible. Mouthfeel is smooth and full-bodied, with tingly carbonation and some dryness on the palate. Aftertaste of roasted grain and coffee.

Tasty - lots of roasted malt and coffee. An impressive flavour with a nicely rounded body. Perhaps a little two-dimensional, as the dark malt doesn't leave much room for anything else, but a solid effort. Well worth trying, particularly if you're a fan of dark ales.