Barley Johns The Dark Knight (Returns)
The Dark Knight - For those not yet familiar, the Dark Knight (yes, it is a Batman reference) is our double fermented Old 8 porter, aged in a bourbon barrel for 6 months. Double fermented refers to a second "feeding" of various sugars to increase the alcohol content as well as bolster the flavor. Chocolate, coffee, charcoal and bourbon, familiar notes from the previous batch return in this years incarnation of the DK. Served in a 5 oz pour, the bourbon note from this tap is very prominent as it is a first time use of a Jim Beam barrel.
The Dark Knight Returns - The same profile as the Dark Knight, however, since this is a second time usage of the barrel, the bourbon note is less prominent and the beer as a result is more rounded and balanced.
The Dark Knight Returns - The same profile as the Dark Knight, however, since this is a second time usage of the barrel, the bourbon note is less prominent and the beer as a result is more rounded and balanced.
4.1
390 reviews
New Brighton, United States
Community reviews
Growler generously shared by Hopscotch. Dark brown pour with brown head. Nice lacing. Lots of chocolate in the nose. Sweet with loads of caramel and chocolate highlights. Nice bourbon, vanilla, and oak lowlights. Good body and mouthfeel.
Dark Knight mini growler thanks to TheHoff - mega beer karma points for this one! Pours a dark black with a nice but small creamy brown head that dissipates fairly slowly leaving good lacing. Aroma has lots of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, some coconut and dark dried things (raisins and figs, mostly). Flavor is quite sweet and light bitter -- Homer’s booze soaked candy bar isn’t far off here -- lots of vanilla and bourbon notes with out a lot of accompanying astringency, which is nice. Body is perhaps a little light, the only real "drawback" of this really really tasty beer.
Black, no foam. Sweet raisin, fig, molasses aroma. Dark, roast, chocolate, fig, love the flavor. Has a flat syrup quality but definitely a winner.
Growler - pours dark black with slight tan head. Nice rich chocolate nose with a slight roast. Creamy, fudgy chocolate taste.
mini-Growler thanks to TheHoff43, as Dark Knight. Nose is a bourbon soaked chocolate treat. light vanilla and a ton of sugar in the aroma as well. Taste is decadent, like a booze soaked candy bar. There seems to be a delightful milky, lactose sort of taste to the beer as well, but it is never cloying. There is a moderate to strong chest warming alcohol presence, but it never seems hot. A light cinnamon type of flavor as well, but I think that comes from the Jim Beam, or maybe it’s just in my head. This is real good stuff.
Tap at brewery. Pours dark black with minimal head. Strong bourbon smell with a little chocolate and malt. Taste similar with a little wood and very slight vanilla. Really well balanced and delicious!
32 ounce growler. Pours black with a decent khaki head. Nice lacing. Aroma of malt, bourbon, and chocolate. Taste is roasted malt, bourbon, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and wood. Very enjoyable, would hold it’s own against most anything. Didn’t notice the 13%.
750ml wide mouth growler from the brewery poured into a snifter glass. Pours dark brown, near black with a pillowy mocha head that recedes to a rind around the glass with spotty lacing. Nice legs up the glass with bronze hues persisting. Bold aromas of sweet bourbon, oak, chocolate, roasted malts, nuts earth and some char. Taste follows the nose with nice chocolate and coffee interplay. The nice bittersweet forefront melts into some big roasted notes, char, toast, walnut....hints of caramel and dark fruit across the middle as well. Finish is bitter coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, oak and a warming bourbon heat. Nothing too abrasive and certainly well hidden alcohol for it’s weight. Really nice beer, glad to have tried it!
Fresh growler, filled 6 days ago. Thanks Matthew. Lots of bourbon aroma as soon as I opened. Black pour, rather flat but retained a mocha ring. Aroma is remarkably similar to BC barleywine. Taste had a lot of dark roast, warming caramel bourbon. Seems stronger than 12%. Pretty damn good stuff.
On tap at the brewpub. Pours black with a bubbly dark brown head that dissipates quickly to the edges and laces slightly. Aroma has a combination of bourbon and dark grains with a bit of roasted malts and chocolate underlying. Flavor combines chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and dark grains and some roasted malts.
(backlog) RBSG ’11 GT Growler. Black pour, no head, left but this was left to warm and open up by the time I had some. Sweet, chocolate, candy, licorice, bourbon and oak aromas. Flavors are sweet, dry chocolate, oak and bourbon tones.
Growler courtesy of rlgk. Pours black hole black with a rather small frothy dark mocha head that quickly dissipates without leaving much trace on the glass. Smell is sweet, salty and malty with heavily roasted malts, quality liquorice candy, high quality dark chocolate, dark roast coffee, bourbon, brandy, cherries in brandy, raisins, prunes, plums in brandy, moist soil, alcohol, caramel and burnt cookies. Taste is sweet, bitter, salty and tiny sour with roasted malts, dark roast coffee, bitter chocolate, bourbon, prunes, raisins in rum, cherries in brandy, alcohol, salty liquorice candy, charred wood, vanilla fudge, roasted coconut and moist soil. Mouthfeel is round, creamy, tiny roasted tart and near full bodied. Finish is tiny sweet and bitter with roasted malts, bourbon, charred wood, dark roast coffee, coconut milk, bitter chocolate and burnt caramel. Very nice beer which luckily enough has fared well in its growler.
2 hours after opening this the growler pretty much was an oxidized mess reminiscent of cheap red wine. I’m very happy we got to try this in good shape. Just a minor leak would have ruined this completely.
2 l growler. Pours pitch black with a small tanned head. Aroma is fruity molassis malty bready dark fruity. Flavor is as aroma with a balanced touch of all parts; drnkable
Bottle at "Darkness comes to town", 131116. Pitch black beer with a decent beige head. Roasted malt aroma, chocolate, cocoa, vinous, nuts, caramel, licorice, raisins, figs, nutcreme, woody, vanilla, tar notes, fruity, dades. Roasted caramel flavor, raisins, chocolate, cocoa powder, figs, raisins. Hugely drinkable and full of flavors. Roasted caramel finish with figs, hay, raisins and chocolate.
Thanks to foofaa for sharing this growler with all of us.
The Dark Knight Returns, reviewed from notes.
A - Pours pitch black with a nice one finger tall tan head, dissipating down to a light film, leaving spotty streaks of lace down the sides of the glass.
S - Smells of warm bourbon, vanilla, dark chocolate, molasses, toffee and caramel sweetness, oak and some dark roasted malt. Very well balanced all things considered, a truly lovely nose.
T - Starts off with the warm bourbon quickly giving way to a nice mix of sweetness; mainly chocolate, vanilla, molasses, toffee and caramel; oak and dark roasted malt. Finish is sweet with some dark roast and a mild booze burn, lingering long after the finish. Much like the nose it is really well balanced.
M - Big body with moderate carbonation. Smooth, roasty feel with a nice shot of warming bourbon at the end of each sip.
O - I really loved this one. As some of the other reviews have said it kind of smells and tastes like Bourbon County. It has everything I love in a bourbon barrel stout and yet it remains quite drinkable. I would love to have this one again in the future.
Growler sampled at RBSG. From notes. Bourbon, dark fermented fruits, chocolate and rasisns. Holy crap batman, this stuff rocks!
Growler at RBSG from Kbutler, thanks man! Pour is very dark black with a decent beige head. Tons of chocolate, decently boozy but in a good way. Lots of caramel on the nose to mix with the chocolate. Fantastic.
Growler shared at RBSG - thanks!! Dark black pour with a slight tan head. Chocolate and boozy nose. Big chocolate and bourbon vanilla and caramel. Excellent.
14th October 2011
Opaque black beer, small chocolate - tan head. Smooth palate, semi dry. Low carbonation. Aniseed boozy dark malt. Mild coffee and vanilla. Dark chocolate. A little plummy fruit underneath. Dry finish with more aniseed alcohol. Heady stuff but tasty!
On tap at Barley Johns. So excited to finally try this! Pours black with no head. Aromas are massive bourbon, then vanilla, dried fruit, and grapes. Flavours are bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, cherries, raisins, and some vinous qualities. Lots of warmth from the bourbon. More carbonated than I thought it would be. Great!!
Dark Knight Returns on tap @ Barley Johns (12/22/2012)- Nice chocolate, coffee, oak, and bourbon aroma. Pours an ominous dark brown color and is barely carbonated with a mocha-colored head. Flavors of coffee, chocolate, toffee, and dark barley malts. Not as thick as I would have imagined, but a very awesome sipper.
Snifter at the Brew Pub. Loved this, but I wish I could have had the original version - I think I might have liked it even more with stronger bourbon barrels. Was pretty close to forking over the $87 for a growler, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.
This was a fantastic bourbon imperial porter. I enjoyed it a lot and am glad I had the opportunity to finally try it.
Had Bells Black Note one day, and this one the next! Strong sweet bourbon nose. Dark black colour with attractive head. Flavour is bourbon, but not overly boozy, coffee, some bitterness, but actually rather sweet. Great beverage.
Big chocolate and fig like scents, pours a nice black with almost no head. Taste is big time bourbon flavors, some dark fruit and a bit of bitter chocolate. One of the best beers I have had.
On tap at the brewpub, served in a fluted glass, even as hyped as it is, this stuff rocks. 18months in bourbon for this batch and was definitely worth it. just a killer beer.
November 1, 2012, on tap at brewpub. Dark brown pour with tan head. Aroma of chocolate, dark fruit, bourbon, roasted malt and wood. Taste was consistent with aroma and the flavors were balanced nicely with a mild woody finish. Not overly sweet and not too much heat. I had been waiting to try this for a while and was not disappointed. Well done John!
Black with no head. Smells boozy with big toasted marshmallow notes. Big chocolate and whiskey note. Oaky and a bit sweet. Fantastic beer. A bit thin with nice carbonation.
Growler shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike!
The beer appears nearly black, with a small, mocha colored head that hangs out for a bit, leaving random traces of lacing on the glass. The aroma is fantastic, with delectable bourbon, oak, roast, and chocolate. The beer is so smooth and well balanced. Hints of brown sugar with a healthy malt, bourbon, and roast presence. Delicious! The beer is medium to full bodied and creamy. Silky smooth on the palate, with alcohol hidden extremely well. Carbonation is light, but present. Overall, an outstanding beer. Highly recommended.
***
Had several pours of a growler shared by Brad. Again, fantastic stuff. Would love to have this again.
Thanks suzygreenburg! Completely black, small dark mocha head poured from a growler. Dark charred nose, almost ashy. Dark and some tannic rich dark bourbon barrel. Aggressive. Extreme molasses fired oak, cherry and rich. Thinner body isolates these characteristics. Very warming, boozy. Too boozy for me and out of balance.