Bluegrass Dark Star Porter
A rich and robust blend of light, caramel, and dark malts sets the stage for BBC Dark Star Porter’s robust presence on the palate. This smooth but robust porter has complex notes of chocolate and roasted grains balanced by additions of traditional English hops, creating a delicious chocolaty and smooth ale.
3.2
283 reviews
Louisville, United States
Community reviews
12oz bottle, picked up last week at Party Town. Date notches on the label seem to indicate that this was bottled August, 2012. Very dark brown / red color, appears black. Thin light head, couple bits of lace. Medium body, a bit thin texture. Kind of crisp but stronger carbonation. Lightly dry finish. Chocolate aroma, light roast. Hint of nuttiness. Moderate sweet taste, light bitter. OK, but not my favorite porter. A bit thin, sweet, and 1-dimensional.
Pours black with a caramel white head. Big Smokey nose with a touch of hops. Taste is a toasted malt, sweet and Smokey.
Pint pour at Molly’s in Louisville. Mahogany body with a creamy tan head and good lacing as it descends down the glass. The aroma is a nice blend of coffee and chocolate with a malty sweetness and dried fruit. Medium body and a tad watery. The flavor was clean and smooth with nice notes of all the aroma elements.
Bottle. Pours deep brown to black with a medium tan head that dissipates with good lacing. Aroma is coffee and roasted malt. Flavor is about the same, roasty and only lightly sweet with a decent coffee bitterness. Lightish body. Not bad but a bit flat and uncomplex.
Draft to taster at BBC. Looks solid; an opaque drak brown with sticky beige lacing. Smells and tastes malty and roasty with notes of hops and an average mouthfeel. A decent example of the style.
12oz. bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours dark brown with a small light tan head that fades very quickly into a thin ring of bubbles around the edge with very little lacing that slides down into the drink. Aroma of roasted malts, hops, and chocolate. Roasty malt dominates the taste with a decent hop bitterness in the background. Not tasting anything else here. Somewhat bready tasting and actually rather dry. Lighter medium body with a boderline thin texture and decent carbonation. Quick finish that is a bit hoppy. Overall nothing special at all and a pretty basic, lackluster porter. I’ve had this before, although it’s been awhile and I don’t remember it being this boring. I will try this again, preferably on tap at BBC, and re-rate later.
Dark brown with a little red. Pale average head. Faint aroma. Strong chocolate with coffee taste with a watery feel. Bitterness toward the end.
Draft from sampler. Reddish brown with an off white head. Aroma is chocolate and some coffee mostly with light caramel malt. Flavor is chocolate malt with a light roasty bitterness. Medium body with a slightly thin mouth feel. Not bad, kind of thin and light.
29th September 2012
Borefts Beer Festival IV. Day 2 (warm up tasting in Jan & Charlotte’s room). Very dark brown beer, little pale tan head. Smooth dry palate. Mild creamy malt. Mild roast. A little lactose. Semi dry finish. Smooth Porter.
Bottle. Sweet chocolate malt aroma. Dark brown with a small tan head, heavy white sediment. Sour malt and metallic flavor, roasty bitter finish. Might be a bottling issue. LIght to medium body, flat carbonation.
Bottle 12fl.oz. @ [ Hotel tasting @ Hotel Tulip - Bodegraven ] before 4th Borefts Beer Festival 2012.
Clear dark red brown colour with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, light chocolate and coffee. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, roasted, dusty coffee, chocolate malt. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to fizzy. [20120929]
Bottle at De Molen After Show Party 2012 ... Deep brown ... thin tan head ... soft toffee roast ... soft woody malts ... too fizzzy ... ligth bitter chocolate linger ... ok but not great...
Bottle in Fonefan room Borefts 4. black brown colour thick beige dark head. Tasty choc and malts. Decent.
Dark, clear ruby-black with a light head and splashes of lace. The taste is smokey malt with bitter chocolate. There is no progress, the first impression lasting through the finish. Almost flat. Not recommended.
12 oz bottle. Pours black with no head. More of a coffee flavor than a chocolate flavor. No other aromas detected.
Originally reviewed: 12/6/09. Another awesome bottle received courtesy of bamadog (BA).
Poured this into my standard pint glass. Pours a deep blackish brown with a creamy tan head resting on top. Retention is fair. Leaves plenty of sticky lace on the glass, as well as some sip rings. Scents of minerals, alcohol, coffee, and a faint roasted malt finish. The mineral aspect is a bit strong.
Body is crisp and bubbly. Carbonation level could be tamed down a bit for the style. Flavors of old coffee, mild dark chocolate, and a crisp hop bite on the finish. This is a good Porter, no doubt. Thankful for the opportunity. Thanks again, Rich.
Draft. Dark brown/red with no head. Very little scent, some chocolate. Taste is flat chocolate. This location needs some help!
12 oz bottle pours black with a tan head. Aroma is of roasted malts and chocolate. Taste is the malt, chocolate and a sweet nutty note.
12oz bottle -pours dark brown with thin beige head and thin lacing. nose is caramel or candy. Flavor is roasted chocolate and a little hoppy (spruce). Taste is mainly sweet but gradually becomes bitter. Burpy. Probably the unhoppiest BBC brew I’ve ever had.
This is heaven in a glass. Strong flavors with heavy coffee tones and some subtle chocolate hints. Great smell. Will put some hair on your chest.
Bottle oct. ’11 (first one I tried was an oct. ’10....no carbonation and sour smell...drain pour.) This one poured well, dark brown with a fluffy medium tan head, nice lacing. Nose is cola , dark chocolate, malt. Taste starts as dry, roasted coffee,grain and dark fruit, (prune? black cherry?) more frit-ness as it goes. a cloying sweetness starts halfway, becoming the predominate factor, then at 3/4, a distinct sourness kicks in. Acidic and unpleasant. Lacks any Porter "oomph" or body....NOT a fan of this at all.
12oz bottle poured into a pint glass.
Appearance is a very dark brown; almost black. One finger tan head with good lacing.
Smells of roasted malt along with some chocolate.
The roasted malt is very prominant in the taste along with some dark chocolate. Some moderate bitterness but no real hop flavors are detectable. Mouthfeel is a bit light but the finish is clean.
Overall a pretty middle of the road porter. It is good but nothing really stands out.
on draft and pours dark brown pretty much opaque and no real head to speak of. the aroma of roasted malts and roasted malts...hints of chocolate malt melded in between. the flavor is pretty decent. its a medium to light bodied beer but the flavor of the roasted and chocolate malts are wonderful. this just lingers on the tongue until the next sip...
Pours out of bottle very, very fizzy off white head, with reddish black head. Aroma has notes of roast, coffee, some chocolate and toffee, touch of sour grain, with notes of some slight earth. Taste is fairly simple, but the carbonic acid sours it a bit, with notes of coffee, some slight chocolate, toffee, some slight grassy notes, finishing slightly sweet, bitter and dry.
On tap at brewpub at 3rd & Main. Pours black with large dark brown highlights small beige head. Descent lacing, medium body, sticky texture, and low carbonation. Taste is roasted malt, some cofffee, and some hops.
Very dark brownish/black with ruby showing when held to the light. A tan head that was virtually non-existent. Left only a trace of lacing on the glass. Subdued coffee notes and only small amounts of chocolate. Some roasted and toasty malts are present, but they seem to be rather light on the nose. Just a small, minute hint of some dark fruit. The taste is like the smell in a lot of ways. Coffee and chocolate with some toastiness, however they are, once more, rather tame. It’s not bad, but just not enough "oomph" for me. As it warmed, the dark fruits came through a bit more and it got a bit chalky. Medium mouthfeel that was smooth and crisp on the palate. Mostly dry, but I would have liked for it to be a bit dryer. Left a little on the palate, but it wasn’t as good as some others I’ve had. As it warmed it became more thin. This is another Porter that I think would be great for introducing someone to the style. It’s not overpowering. It has all the flavors, but they are just toned down. It’s easily drinkable and its sessionable. It’s just ok for me. I wouldn’t turn it down. It’s mostly average in my opinion.
Black pour with tan head and lace. Sour malt aroma with coffee. Sour malt, some roastiness, decent malt bitter, with a flat sour flavor. Medium bodied with good carbonation.
Roast, espresso, and whiskey barrel aroma. Black with creamy tan head and nice lacing. Roast, chocolate, and espresso flavours. Decent balance; burnt roast and mild bitterness.
On tap at BBC tap room. Pours very dark down. Aroma of roasted malts. Flavor of chocolate, roasted malts, smokiness, and some hops. A slightly thicker texture than most beers. Pretty good porter.
Thick black pour with a huge brown head. Aroma of malts and chocolate. Flavor of heavy coffee and mild hops.