Origin of Darkness - Forbidden Root
Collective Arts Brewing

Got this from Emma & Terry a while back. Cheers!

From a 500ml bottle into a snifter
Released in 2018
Bourbon barrel aged stout with cocoa, guajillo chilies and radish honey

APPEARANCE: Clear black pour yields a one finger, thinner looking dark tan head with okay retention. Black body and no carbonation evident. Head fades to a full wisp and cap. A slight wisp and ring remain leaving no real lacing on the glass as it empties.

SMELL: Roasted aromas, bourbon, milk chocolate, vanilla cream and some chocolate brownies on the nose. Hints of chilies in there as well.

TASTE: Bourbon, milk chocolate and hints of roasted chilies up front. Some decent alcohol at the swallow as well. Bold finish of chilies, bourbon, milk chocolate, vanilla cream, some lovely chocolate brownies and some definite booze linger on the palate. Really nice and flavorful, with a touch of chili heat.

PALATE: Medium body and lower levels of carbonation. Silky slick on the palate, creamy enough, goes down fine with a bit of a burn and finishes sticky on the palate. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: This is great. Look is solid and the aroma and flavor are great, with some mild and well measured chili heat at this point. Perhaps the chilies were more pronounced at bottling, but four years in, this is exactly how I like it. Great feel too, like all the others in the series. Great brew and well worth checking out. This series is definitely worth drinking now. Thanks again guys!

 

 

Served in a snifter glass from the bottle.

Appearance: Semi thick body coming off very dark colored brown...almost black but not too thick like I have had with other imperial Stouts.

Smell: Light malts with hints of pepper and caramel. Comes in and out the nostrils.

Taste: Semi sweet slightly bitter complex mix of spicy chocolate and coffee accented with a light teaspoon of honey. It's a little bit all over the place and I seriously love the light spiciness to the beer.

Mouth: Fall body with a super soft carbonation and comes off extra sticky.

Overall: Good brew, not a game changer but worth grabbing if you like Stouts with a bite. Salud!

500 ml bottle into a snifter. Had 1/10/20.

Pours dark brown and opaque, with a quarter inch foamy head and some foamy lacing. Aromas of chocolate, malt, oak, some chilies, vanilla and bourbon as it warms, light prunes and tobacco, a hint of molasses. Flavors of chocolate, chilies- no heat, cocoa, bourbon, vanilla, oak, malt, a light sweet note on the finish. Smooth, a solid full body, well carbonated.

The chocolate is the star, the barrels are terrific in the flavor, the chilies have a solid presence. Surely the radish honey contributed, but I have no idea what that must taste like. Well blended and very enjoyable.

2018 release. Served into a tulip at Culaccino - the last bottle they had. Brewed with cocoa, guajillo chilies and radish honey. Review from notes.

Appearance - Super black, thick and syrupy with a very small tan head. Truly the origin of darkness.

Smell - Bourbon, chocolate and molasses with a subtle bit of chili heat. Takes a little while for all the aromas to fully develop.

Taste - Bourbon, then some sweetness from chocolate and even a toasted marshmallow aspect. Honey interspersed and just a touch of peppery heat on the close. Bitterness is restrained, ever-present and never overwhelms. Radish honey is surprisingly prevalent as it warms and you finish the bottle after sipping for over an hour.

Mouthfeel - Slick and heavy bodied, some bourbon heat in the throat combined with chilies for a slow subtle burn. Carbonation is very modest, but works well with a big beer and slow sipper like this one.

Overall - Pretty exceptional stuff, great flavors the radish honey really surprised and a delicious contrast to my breakfast pasta which was very tasty as well. Well worth the price of admission.

Appearance: Poured with a half finger of head that retained exceptional well but did not lace. The body is a completely opaque black, something required with a name like origin of darkness.

Smell: Sweet, as I'm reminded of a Toblerone bar as a balance of chocolate and honey dominate the nose with a small hint of hot pepper with a hint of burnt malt and black licorice. Warming helps bring out the bitter and chocolate notes, which is welcome as it initially comes across as a bit too sweet.

Taste: Starts with a mix of mild dark chocolate and honey which then turns to a bit of a whisky and licorice bitterness and then ends with a power sweet honey, chocolate, molasses and sweet bourbon note that is a bit overwhelming. Interesting to find a stout so sweet and so diverse without lactose and going overboard on the chocolate.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is very subdued on this one, but it works here leaving it with that stout creaminess that I enjoy. What I don't like is the transitioning, as the shift from sweet to bitter and back to sweet doesn't quite do it for me here. Aftertaste is chocolate and honey that does cling, but just enough to stop it from getting out of control.

Drinkability: Heavy on the body, like a good stout should be as it drinks like a chocolate rum cake. Has a slight dry tinge to it, but it never gets out of control. Low carbonation really makes it easy to drink, although the sweetness does make you back off a bit on it.

Final Thoughts: I lost a bottle of this stuff, as a bottle of it hit the floor and shattered, and I didn't know airborne stout was capable of turning corners as it was messy. Thankfully, I was able to secure another bottle. Oddly though, was little I was able to get from the first bottle did had a bit more a spiciness to it, which I felt that this bottle lacked. I think that note would have reigned in the sweetness a bit more and would have earned this beer a higher score. That said, it did a great job as is, so this is one I do hope gets a repeat. Two thumbs up.

2018 release.Pours into a snifter jet black with a creamy full one finger near mocha colored head that settles nicely into a frothy mass leaving a full ring behind.Dark chocolate over top of the chili's that give off a smoldering heat,a bit of molasses is in there as well.Love the full creamy low carbonated feel,almost airy,it glides down very easily.Dark chocolate and roast up front on the palate the chili is not as pronounced as the nose but it's there,never had radish honey but there is some caramel-like mild sweetness that lingers in the finish along with more hints of spice.I loved this beer,it's creative and very well made,vastly underrated in my humble opinion.

 

This is all over the place in the smell, earthy soil, minerals, fudge, honey, bourbon, and then slight peppers, coffee and malt. Together is pretty good, but keeps you sniffing. Taste is simpler, like a fudgey brownie with honey, slight peppers and bourbon, with a malt backbone that is earthy and roasted. Drier mouthfeel, but big booziness as it warms.

Poured from fridge temp. Pours motor oil black with dark brown head. Nose is milk chocolate, honey, molasses, licorice, cherries, raisins, and a touch of chillies. Taste is phenomenal. Dark chocolate, black licorice, toffee, brown sugar, slight heat from the chillies, and burnt wood. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Overall, this is an amazing BA stout.

 

Large bottle poured into a teku glass

Two finger brown foam cap that quickly recedes, sticky lacings

Aroma of cocoa, smokiness, licorice, slight pepper

Tatste of cocoa, slight pepper taste without the heat,

Light mouthfeel suds up a bit

Good beer

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This one smells like milk chocolate, slight pepper heat, espresso, and brown sugar.

I'm not entirely sure what radish honey is supposed to taste like, but I do get a nice dark spiced sweetness that I assume is from that ingredient. There's a touch of sweet pepper heat, and a nice fudgy sweet chocolate character, with some bitter oak, but not much in the way of actual bourbon flavor.

This is medium bodied, with a creamy silky body, and a good level of drinkability.

This isn't quite as bold as the best pastry stouts, but it's still a tasty treat.

 

Collab with Forbidden Root features the bourbon barrel treatment, of course, and then the use of guajillo peppers, cacao nibs, and radish honey... Nice brown-black pour goes black in the glass, with slim dark brown head that slimmed to a hazy sheen and collar, with some motes of lace trailing each sip... Aromas are chocolaty with vapors of bourbon wood and honey, followed by more of the same on the sip... Guajillo heat is mild, and if there's any sharpness to radish honey as opposed to, say, wildflower honey, I'm oblivious to it here... Moderately sweet, only mildly bitter with a bit of ash on the back-end of the sips... Smooth and medium-bodied, with a little stickiness left behind... Maybe not as interesting to me as their black truffle stout I had earlier today, but certainly a very enjoyable beer...

 

Collective Arts/Forbidden Root collab 'Origin of Darkness' @ 11.5% , served from a 500 ml bottle , third of six
A-pour is near black from bottle to glass with a small tan head leaving a minimal lace ring along the tulip
S-initial pour bourbon , pungent
T-initial pour hot tasting bourbon , second pour smoother bourbon
MF-mild carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-nothing special about the guajillo chillies , cocoa , radish honey
prost LampertLand

Appearance - Pours a jet cola black with two fingers of tan mocha head.

Smell - cocoa, bourbon barrel notes, oak, hint of chili spice, roasted malts, earthy and leafy hops, slight sweet aromas, and earthy yeast.

Taste - cocoa, bourbon barrel notes and oak upfront. The chili spice follows next by the roasted malts. The earthy and leafy hops, slight sweet notes, and earthy yeast finish the brew off.

Mouthfeel - Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with the bourbon and the chili spice lingering.

Overall - A flavourful variation by adding guajillo chillies. The chillies balance well with all other ingredients. A pleasant offering as the ABV is not even noticeable. Well done Collective Arts!