Dark Lord
George Bateman & Son / Batemans Brewery

Dark LordDark Lord
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From:
George Bateman & Son / Batemans Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Porter
Ranked #110
ABV:
5%
Score:
81
Ranked #25,360
Avg:
3.53 | pDev: 10.48%
Reviews:
33
Ratings:
43
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 01, 2022
Added:
Nov 19, 2003
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  0
Renamed "Mr. George's Ruby Porter".
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DerekKetelaars:
Photo of DerekKetelaars
Rated by DerekKetelaars from Canada (ON)

3.25/5  rDev -7.9%

Apr 22, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.62/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
May 2011, from bottle. At Copenhagen Beer Festival. Dark ruby colour, nearly black. Moderate aroma of malts and caramel, with only modest roasty notes. The fairly refreshing flavour has some fruity notes, in addition to the moderate roasty notes. Nice and drinkable, but not very remarkable.
Sep 01, 2022
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.34/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Dark brown with a ruby tinge, topped with a chocolate brown head.

Chocolate, toasted malt, very light. Honestly, not much going on.

Chocolate, toasted malt, slight sour quality, almost rust like quality.

Light to medium body, medium low carbonation.

Found in Bangkok, drank in Chiang Mai. Great label on the bottle, looks great, a little lacking in other departments, but overall quite a fair beer.
Aug 13, 2015
Photo of Hoppsbabo
Reviewed by Hoppsbabo from England

3.6/5  rDev +2%
This is not a porter.

A: Black body with a small off-white head.
S: Cake and marzipan.
T: Dry initially, too dry in fact, but there’s a lovely cakey flavour in the finish. Needs a caramel backbone. Too insipid. Actually there is some liquorice in there, but there's no malty caramel backbone to bring out all these qualities.
O: Some nice tones here and there but needs a pair of balls.
Dec 15, 2014
Photo of mick_cooper
Rated by mick_cooper from England

3.79/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Cola coloured, bit flat. Nice, interesting taste but a little watery
Sep 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by hookah97 from Illinois

Aug 13, 2014
Photo of Euan91
Reviewed by Euan91 from England

3.37/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
An ok ruby beer. Smells good, looks fine although small head. One issue is it seems very carbonated; leads to an underlying aftertaste similar to that of fizzy water. Doesn't leave a lasting impression. Wouldn't buy again but perhaps worth trying. Still quite an enjoyable beer.
Apr 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Mr_Pink_152 from England

Jan 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by WoodBrew from Ohio

Nov 11, 2013
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

3.88/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Not a porter
Midway, I must say between Ruby ale and a special bitter

A good solid bottled beer bitter tasting elements alongside rich red fruits

It's a good looking drink as well almost maroon in colour with a decent enough head and appealing aromas

it sits nicely in the mouthfeel dept. not at all flimsy but certainly not heavy going

Not world class but not all that far off (say if they did a bottle conditioned version the cask must be a marvel though) certainly way above average this is on of Bateman's
Nov 01, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by rulisekmartin from Czech Republic

Mar 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Beerstorian from District of Columbia

Feb 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Pelicanrocks from England

Sep 27, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by fionn13 from Ireland

Aug 22, 2012
Photo of CrazyDavros
Reviewed by CrazyDavros from Australia

3.22/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours very dark brown with a small head.
Nose shows caramel, toffee, diacetyl and soft roasted malt.
Similar flavours, more roasted presence but still showing some caramel and diacetyl. A bit plain in terms of roasted character.
Could use less carbonation.
Apr 30, 2012
Photo of shambeano
Reviewed by shambeano from Australia

3.73/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass.

A-Pours a cola like very light black, with some reddish tinges to the sides. about a half inch of head that quickly subsides. not too shabby.

S- a little bit savoury, licorice and herbs. some sweeter malts, and some bitterness there to round things out. a little light on the aroma, i feel like im searching for any flavour i get.

T- sweetish malts initially, then a savouryness comes through. Licorice, and molasses, a little bit fruity, plummy and raisins. a touch herbaly to finish, with a slight bitterness at the end. pretty nice.

M- on the lighter side, but with a nice carbonation that prickles the front of the tongue, the slight bitterness hits the back of the mouth, and there is a nice drying finish that makes you want to take another sip. good length too.

O- i really liked this one, not much on the nose, but it looks alright and tastes and feels pretty good.

Note: the label refers to the beer as a dark ruby beer, so i am reviewing it as a dark ale, and not as a porter.
Feb 09, 2012
Photo of Daredevil
Reviewed by Daredevil from Switzerland

4.33/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
not sure why this is classified as 'retired', I just happened to buy a bottle, which looked pretty much 'active' ... the design of the label seems to have changed though

this is an almost impervious black liquid with a very small head (maybe however the drink was just too cold when poured) .... the smell is very malty, with some sweet liquorice notes ...
the taste is very complex, liquorice again, with anisette and lime notes, very full and very dry ...

not an easy brew and not something I would like to drink everyday, but the elegance of the (quite paradox, I must admit) balance between bitter dryness, sweetness and citric acidity is astonishing ...
Feb 05, 2012
Photo of jazzyjeff13
Reviewed by jazzyjeff13 from England

3.8/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A 500ml bottle with a BB of Jan 2012. Named after 'Black Tom', a figure from the English civil war.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A very dark ruby hue with medium carbonation. Appears black unless held to the light. Forms a decent head of light-brown foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding. Aroma of sweet, fruity malt with notes of dried fruit, christmas pudding, plum jam, caramel, brown sugar and a whiff of alcohol.

Tastes of sweet, dark malt with a mild dry finish. Notes of dried fruit, plums, brown sugar, caramel malt, grain and yeast. A hint of stewed hops in the background, but no bitterness. Solventy flavour upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and lightly tingly, with some astringency. Aftertaste of sweet, fruity malt.

A nice dark ale. Not convinced this is a porter - it's more of a mild (the label describes it as a dark ruby beer). No bitterness or roasted malt character. At any rate, it's smooth and has a well-balanced fruity flavour. Very drinkable, and well worth sampling.
Jan 20, 2012
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.7/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dark with foamy white head but not clear ruby in light and the head leaves few trailers. Nose is burnt toast, red currant jam, a bit of tar, citrus oil and bark.
Roasted nutty malts with some molasses and sarsaparilla root, a sour lactic hit, then orange rind hops with a woody bite.
Kola nut finish and a dry leave. Light to medium and quite fizzy.

It may be renamed because of 3F, but it still sells as Dark Lord in the UK, so that's where I'm reviewing it.

Is this a porter or a strong dark mild? Flavors are in the right place for porter, but too light and lively for that. Don't mean to be a style fascist, but an indecisive hybrid for me.

*from notes
Oct 04, 2011
Dark Lord from George Bateman & Son / Batemans Brewery
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 43 ratings