Dark Star Ale
Pints Pub

Had on tap at the brewpub arrived in a glass beer mug.

A cas conditioned ale at cellar temp with only natural carbonation. On arrival a one finger fizzy brown head is present. The head dissipates by about half maintaining a nice covering and ring around the glass.the body is a dark brown just shy of black, however when held up to light, nothing gets through and it's maintains an opaque dark brown color.

Aroma is a very balanced but distinctly English nutty brown malt combined with earthy floral bittering hops. Beyond that a foggy almost woody yeasty and dark malty and sweet note is present. Some dark chocolate is also present on the very back. A very English brown ale.

Taste follows the aroma but with a big wave of earthy and almost malty bitterness. The hops are almost entirely bittering amd again very English. More bitter than 90 Shilling by just a little bit, Almost ESB levels. Past that the malts are very nutty almost to the level of dark chocolate while maintaining a bitter amd astringent hazelnut flavor. Some figgy esters are present from the brutish yeast and dark malts mingling.

Feel is relatively flat compared to almost any modern draft or bottled beer you will drink today, but there is a very light natural carbonation. The finish is insanely long, almost like black coffee, from the roasted malts, but thr overall mouthfeel is a bit dry but the flavor coats your mouth and sticks around

Overall this is a very british but delicious brown ale with a big hit of bitterness from british hops and dark roasted barely. This is a traditional cask ale so carbonation is low but it is very nice and a good experience.

Much better than the IPA (which I am pretty sure was infected with something wild) but a pretty basic and boring beer. Drinkable but not worth ordering again.

I got Dark Star on cask, which added a nice wild ale kind of flavoring. It's advertised as an old ale, which I'd agree with, but the cask conditioning makes it better than your typical old ale/brown ale. As such, they serve this almost at room temperature, so be aware of that if you are picky about how cold your beer is. They've typically got a couple of cask beers on hand, in addition to their regular lineup, so this one's worth a try if you are interested in a little something different.

 

more of an old ale here than a brown, right from the hand pull. it doesnt ever really get much head though, just a few lazy bubbles on top of a funny brown grey colored beer with plenty of haze to it. the nose is sharply tannic, like a warm sparge pulled some undesirables out of the grain hulls, but it fits the theme, classic old ales often have this feature. there is lots of yeast character too, which goes great with the darker malts, that somehow stay short of sweet. i get a little dried fruit in the middle, and a dank woody finish. malt driven for sure, but it seems a little light, almost thin in body for what it is because of its tannic complexion. carbonation is fine, on par for a cask brew, and i think this is tasty overall, but it was the only beer i had at pints pub that i wouldnt really want to drink more than one of. sturdy and classic though, which i think is nice this time of year. great food beer too, being so flavorful yet not filling. black molasses adds extra fermentable sugar to this, lots of character.

 

Ordered a pint at Pint's Pub. Arrived in a standard pint glass. The beer pours a deep mahagony brown with amber red edges in the light. A good 1 finger tan colored head with some retention and lacing. Aroma of toasty malt, some chocolate, toffee, and a hint of coffee and a hint of earthy hops. Tastes just the same with a mild bitterness and lingering hop flavors. The yeast presents a nice wild flavor and compliments the beer well. Lighter end of medium bodied with low carbonation. Easy to put a few back, good beer. Recommended.

Cask into pint glass
A – Dark brown with red notes, half a finger head thinned to a scattered layer with the mild carbonation, no lacing 3.5
S – Dark ripe fruits, mild malt sweetness, florals 3.5
T – Sweetness, moderate hop profile, currants, berries 3
M – Medium body, watery and not fulfilling to me 2.5
O – Not so exciting for my first cask review, nice flavor but the mouth feel detracted, will skip next time I’m here 3

Served in a shaker pint glass.

A: Deep chestnut brown with a slight haze. A soapy cream head slowly falls to a ring at the beer's edge. Leaves no lace.

S: Roasted malts dominate the nose and are joined by a bit of black tea and lemon.

T: Starts out with flavors of toasted and roasted grain, plus a bit of coffee. Behind them is a well balanced bitterness that brings an earthy bite. Finishes dry, with a lingering earthy bitterness.

M: The light body has very little carbonation and feels a bit thin.

D: This is a nice beer overall and goes down easy. I'm glad I tried it.

A: Pours a dark brown, almost black with some red around the edges. A one finger tan head forms at first, but recedes in a second. Some light patchy lace.
S: Toasted malt up front. Toffee, light chocolate, and coffee. Some light hops linger on. Very nice.
T: Toasted malt, toffee, chocolate, coffee, and a lingering hop bitterness.
M/D: A medium body but under carbonated. Really easy to drink. I could have several in a sitting.

This is very nice. A simple, subtle, and enjoyable beer. If at the brewpub this is something that I would recommend.

I don't think this was listed as a brown ale, though. It was listed as a dark cask ale. But it was good. It an overwhelmingly strawberry jam essence to it. Obviously there was no strawberry jam in it, so that must have been accomplished with the yeast and hops. It was a delightful beer. The smell was of fruit, specifically strawberries. It had a bitter flavor initially followed by a warm malty flavor. Yet, inexplicably the strawberry hint carried throughout the beer.

(Served in a well used American pint glass)

A- This beer has a very dense brown body with a slight hint of light at the base of the glass. The big bubbly head fades after a bit. No sign of carbonation.

S- The soft smell of pale malt has a toasted nutty quality to it and a fresh green pungent hop hint in the finish.

T- The nice smooth juicy pine green hops fill the mouth for the first few sips. There is a slight sweet brown malt flavor that comes through stronger and stronger as my tongue gets used to the hops. The nice green hops bitterness hangs on after each sip.

M- This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel with a smooth finish.

D- This beer is a great session beer with a soft malt flavor and a nice robust hop flavor.

This is a cask-conditioned "live" ale, meaning it is quite warm and flat by American beer-serving standards. Please note this before trying the beer, because it is indeed meant to be this way. If you know you can't get past this, Pint's Pub's own Scottish style ale, the Gael Force Ale, has a very similar rich malty taste to the Dark Star, but it is served chilled and carbonated. I've tasted them both back-to-back and they are really similar- almost the exact same color and malt flavor, just styled a bit differently.

As long as you're willing to enjoy your beer in the traditional cask-conditioned fashion, then please by all means try this beer. There's almost no head to this beer since it's flat. Not too much hits the nose, but upon tasting, a rich deep malty flavor ensues. Rich flavors of toffee, dark roasted coffee and caramel are there, and it's complex enough to let the abundant malt fade into a dry hop finish. Enjoyable mouth feel, not heavy and creamy like a stout, more like a medium porter, but flat of course.

Quite a unique brew, not like a typical brown ale especially since it is cask conditioned and has stronger yeast and malt flavors. Certainly something to be tried at least once- and again, if you like a good rich malty brew, but you happen to like it served up cold and a bit fizzy, then you're in luck, get the Gael Force Ale.

Dark brown in color, almost black in the center, smaller frothy head fizzed away pretty quickly. The aroma was of biscut and tea, a bit nutty, a lot of good toasted malt, with a good floral hop aroma. The taste is much the same, a little bitterness from the darker toasted malt, but mainly caramel and toffee like flavors, definitely biscut flavor as well. What I liked most was the hop flavor that came through after the malt faded a bit. It's dry hopped so there isn't a lot of bite to it, but it was a very fresh, earthy, floral and citrus flavor. Decent drinkablility, after a few you would probably start feeling a bit full.

A dark rusty-black color to it, didn't look like a brown ale. Thin head that tried hard to stay, but it did fade.
Smell of caramel, roasted malt and biscuit. Hops were present, citrus mostly.
Taste had hints of coffee, but was fairly thin. Drank like a brown ale. Served at cellar temp. but was colder than the Lancer IPA. And I like beers colder.

Cask at what I found to be a very cool off the beaten path place...make sure you peek through the floor down into the cellar if you go.

Muted caramel malt aroma with a hint of Ny-quil-like alcohol. Dark amber in color with a limp head. Caramel, toffee, dark fruit flavors and an almost wine-like dryness and noticeable diactyl notes. I have to admit I wish it was slightly cooler than cellar temperature to start out with. I’m hopelessly American that way.

Cask conditioned Nut Brown Ale by their description. Poured brownish red with a thin head that stayed around for most of the beer. Low carbonation level and cellar temperature (as to be expected from the cask I guess). Lots of chunky sediment in the beer. Aroma was very yeasty, with some carmel notes. Taste was the same - lots of yeast, with some carmel, and a bit of butterscotch flavor. Finished pretty hoppy. I wasn't thrilled about this beer, but I haven't had a lot of "Real Ale", so it may be more of an acquired taste. I did feel like it was well made.