Darkest Hour
Deep Ellum Brewing Company

Darkest HourDarkest Hour
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Deep Ellum Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
9%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.08 | pDev: 8.82%
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
97
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 27, 2020
Added:
Jan 21, 2012
Wants:
  15
Gots:
  21
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dac0152:
Photo of dac0152
Reviewed by dac0152 from Texas

3.88/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured at Lucky Lou's in Denton.

Well, the beer pretty well lives up to its name; it's obsidian black with a nice cream/tan head. No lace.

Darkest Hour smells sugary sweet! Chocolate-syrup is the front-runner here, but there are notes of spice and a smoky aroma that I suspect is roasted barley, but it keeps throwing me off. It's really hard to pick anything out because the sweetness is so potent.

The flavor is dominated by sugar and sweetness which, at first, comes as a surprise but is not a bad thing. Honestly, I did not think I'd be able to notice the rye but it definitely holds the flavors together and keeps the sweetness turning from delicious to disgusting. The smoke smell is overturned by a roasted character and towards the end of a sip, turns the sweetness into a nice burnt chocolate flavor. I bet this stout would be wayyy better when aged. The further down the glass I get, the more tired I get of it being so sweet, but the rye adds an important, yet subtle complexity it keeps me interested; Darkest Hour wouldn't be the same without it.

The alcohol isn't really present, even for 9%, but I can't tell if it's just hidden behind all of the sugar. Full-bodied but easy to drink. I don't know if I could drink more than a pint at a time, but I'd definitely order one again.
Feb 10, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of IPAs_for_days_13
Reviewed by IPAs_for_days_13 from Texas

4.12/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
L: Pours obsidian in color with a one-finger espresso head.
S: Smell rich of roasted malts, sweet dark fruits like fig, & a fair amount of hops.
T: Certainly follows the nose, has a nice malty sweetness hop bite balance.
F: Medium-full bodied, thick, coarse mouthfeel.
O: Super boozy stout that must be tried, cheers!
Dec 27, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Jul 08, 2020
Photo of russpowell
Reviewed by russpowell from Arkansas

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours a murky ebony with with a sliver of mocha colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Dark fruit, sourmash, kind of fades a bit

T: Follows the nose, barrel dryness as well, a little leafy hop, as well & a touch of Baker's Chocolate up front. Figs, Dark Cherry, much dryness, just a kiss or three of Bourbon & a little dark chocolate as this warms& a touch of red grape. Finishes with much dark fruit, a little oak, a kiss of Bourbon & a little vanilla

MF: Fairly chewy, subtle carbonation, warming

A nice take on this style , pretty darn drinkable
Apr 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.83 by ruzzal from Texas

May 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.81 by JamesBondGA from Georgia

Feb 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4.14 by Futbolmanby from Michigan

Jan 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.29 by Dreynolds1808 from Texas

Jan 13, 2018
Photo of sokol_1993
Reviewed by sokol_1993 from California

4.19/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Got it from the brewery, 21/12/17
Smell: sour, smell of dark fruits and roasted malt.
Taste: a bit sour, a lot of fruitiness. Probably this came from the port barrel they aged the beer in. Excellent taste!
Dec 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by cmbeddoe7997 from Texas

Apr 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.89 by aufie from Texas

Feb 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.88 by MI_beerdrinker from Texas

Feb 06, 2017
Photo of TBoneJones
Reviewed by TBoneJones from Texas

3.62/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
So the brewery's site indicates this is a 13% abv. release, yet the bottle label indicates it is 11%. Why the inconsistency there?
This looks fine, smells like bourbon barrel and roasted chocolate/malts.
Taste is largely barrel and toasted bitter bourbon and malts. Flavors rich cocoa that may have been in the nose are lost all but now. Fair for what it is, I'm sipping it, but the end result seems lacking to me,especially so given that I've already been sampling several other acclaimed bourbon barrel imp. stouts over the holidays.
Feels medium-thick and a tad sticky. End taste is a charry hop/ dry feel.
For me this suffers from lack of sweet notes of dark fruits, chocolate and even enjoyable malts. I'm still sipping it to see if that remains the case.
Dec 31, 2016
Photo of ThaneMcC
Reviewed by ThaneMcC from Germany

3.76/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
As far as imperial stouts go - this a fairly good representative of the genre.

Pours a deep black with tan foam, resolves with good residual lacing and minimal effervescence.
Smells is predominantly roasted malts, cocoa, espresso. Taste is sweet malts forward, some coffee, cocoa, hint of leather and smoke with transition to bitter hops mid taste and a rather bland finish.
Mouthfeel is medium, scant effervescence, not syrupy but a rather bitter aftertaste.

Overall, not bad - but something missing that would make this beer stellar. Aging in bourbon barrels? throw in some chillis? Mid note on is not good - I wouldn't seek this stout out and given its price point here in Texas - I feel rather gypped.
Aug 20, 2016
 
Rated: 3.83 by Stoutsman from Kansas

Aug 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4.43 by En29356 from Texas

May 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.98 by 6thstreetbrewpub from District of Columbia

Apr 17, 2016
Photo of Thomas_Wikman
Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas

3.98/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I’ve had this local Deep Ellum Imperial Stout many times. It is good but not the best that Deep Ellum has to offer.

(L) The color is dark brown almost black with a two inch thick light brown head

(A) The aroma is roasted malts, chocolate and coffee.

(T) The taste is sweet malts, chocolate, coffee, perhaps a bit too sweet, but overall pretty good.

(F) Velvety mouth feel but there’s a hint of the alcohol. I like it, but it is not top notch.
Apr 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by archero from Texas

Apr 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.2 by MrHolden from Texas

Mar 29, 2016
Darkest Hour from Deep Ellum Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 97 ratings