Ravendark
Ghost Hawk Brewing Co.

Ink black pour and body appearance; opaque; thick, sudsy head with spidery lacing inside the glass, khaki colored. Simple yet alluring smell; roasted grains with notes of soft toffee and char; a dash of cinnamon-like spiciness. Well-balanced taste; milk chocolate and toffee with an earthy spiciness undercurrent; grain char phenols and bitterness; dark roast coffee. Medium-heavy mouthfeel; smooth and silky with a sublime gritty dryness.

As a fan of classic beer styles with no to minimal adjuncts and additives, this beer nicely fits the bill. It is not clear to me if coffee was used, but the character (whatever the source) suits the beer. Balanced and nicely complex.

ABV: 7.3%; pouring temperature: 59.8 °F; canning info: 11/08/24
Source: beer trade with @not2quick

 

16 oz. pour on draught at the brewery. Served in a tulip glass. The color is a dark mahogany with a large, creamy, medium-mocha cap and thick, long-lasting lacing. A very appealing appearance. Its smell offers freshly-brewed coffee, dark chocolate, brown sugar, tobacco smoke, and nutty char. Like its look, the smell is inviting. The taste is excellent: a complex blend of roasted malt, fresh and burnt coffee, milk chocolate, charred nuts, and earthy char. The flavors are distinct but mellow and blend very well. There is a slight bitterness at the finish. The mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with low carbonation, and despite the 7.3% ABV it drinks quite easily. Overall, Ravendark is a very fine Foreigh/Export Stout. Not many brewers attempt this style and Ghost Hawk should be commended. The whole exceeds the sum of its parts.

Real nice straight-from-the-hip stout. Jet black pour with a sturdy mocha head. Ravendark has some intensity. Deep roasty malt flavor hits you immediately and doesn't waver or regress throughout the glass. Coffee and cocoa are an every sip part of the flavor parade. I wouldn't say this is an awfully complex or silky syrupy stout, but it does one wonderfully roasty thing really well.

 

 

I like Stouts - honestly, I do - but this one didn't quite measure up to what I expected. Oh sure, it's enjoyable and checks off all of the proverbial boxes but I can't understand how it achieved it's lofty rating on here, as it almost seemed as much an Irish Dry Stout as an Foreign / Export Stout...

Of course, this poured dark as it was a few shades short of black with a sufficient, mocha head full of tiny bubbles. Very little lacing was left behind as there were just a few hints of wavy rings near the center of my pint glass. Lots of coffee, milk chocolate, and Irish Malt in the nose as there was some oats, coffee, and espresso in the taste. Full-bodied, somewhat dry, and pretty slick at the same time, this was easy to drink as the booze was well-hidden. A bit of dark fruit stuck around in the aftertaste along with the growing presence of oats that made me want to crack another can open.

No date was written on the bottom of the can and it was quite difficult to read what was on the label but overall, this was a decent beer was plenty cloying and light on the hops. A bit burnt and roasted, this almost needed a chaser of water or creamer afterwards to finish it off. Seek this out if you can't find Guinness!

 

 

 

 

 

Solid dark black stout that’s not sweet. Smells of coffee. White mocha head. Very good beer for those that like dark not sweet stouts. Drinkable. Solid.

 

 

I loved this stout. It is one of the best classic dry stouts I've had in ages.
L: Near black and completely opaque. It has a just enough dark brown head that lasts.
S: Rich malty, black coffee, slightly smoky.
T: Rich roasted barley, balanced bitterness. Big maltiness without getting sweet. Mild hop favor it the background. Balanced is the word that keeps coming to mind.
F: Velvety and creamy mouthfeel. Clear presence of oats.
O: This beer is a throwback. No extra ingredients or flavors, just an excellent representation of the style.