Brains Dark (Bottle)
Bottled; Regular.
Once called Red Dragon the famous pint of Dark has always been synonymous with Brains particularly in Cardiff with the dock-workers of old, the male voice choirs and with rugby fans down in the Arms Park. Nowadays its popularity has expanded and it is the biggest selling dark milk in Wales, continually winning awards both nationally and internationally.
‘Dark’ is treacle-coloured with a creamy contrasting head and brewed using chocolate malt, providing a clean palate with hints of liquorice and fresh ground coffee.
The intense flavour of Brains Dark goes well with pork and chocolate puddings.
Once called Red Dragon the famous pint of Dark has always been synonymous with Brains particularly in Cardiff with the dock-workers of old, the male voice choirs and with rugby fans down in the Arms Park. Nowadays its popularity has expanded and it is the biggest selling dark milk in Wales, continually winning awards both nationally and internationally.
‘Dark’ is treacle-coloured with a creamy contrasting head and brewed using chocolate malt, providing a clean palate with hints of liquorice and fresh ground coffee.
The intense flavour of Brains Dark goes well with pork and chocolate puddings.
3.3
184 reviews
Cardiff, Wales
Community reviews
Taster at the Craft Bar. Pours black, with a thin, beige head. The aroma is sherry, light balsamic, cocoa, bitter pecans, and vanilla. Sweet and oddly tart. Medium body, with a sticky, and kinda syrupy palate. Funky, but pretty nice.
Bottle, 500 ml @ my fav place, The Old Fishing Shack. Imptressive dark ale especially with such a low alcohol volume like this has (4.1%). Deep black with a reddish shade. Light brown foam, thin layer stays on top. Aromas are not so expressive, mainly chocolate biscuit and some sweet frappe, with a bit of sweet dark coffee notes. The taste is medium sweet, this mild ale doesn't contain hops at all, so it's quite sweet on thr palate. Not disturbingly, not agressively, it's smooth and creamy, moderate carbo, goes down nice and easy. Good one for a hot afternoon, it's just easy and gentle.
Chocolate and nutty aroma. medium bodied and smooth, slick texture. The best widely sold dark ale you will find in Wales and deserves its accolades.
A dark black mild/stout. Slightly roasted and chocolate flavours. A easy to drink beer but nothing special.
Very decent stout / dark mild. Like a slightly lighter Guinness, for an amateurish review. 3/5 rating noted in my 1001 Beers guide. Nice to see a Welsh brew listed in there. A firm favourite through my years of drinking real ale.
Bottle 500 ml. Dark brown color, creamy foam. Caramel aroma: walnut, esters, roasted malt. Taste: caramel, watery, slightly nutty, a little bit cold coffee, soft and velvety, a bit of earthy hops.
Bottle. Backlog rating from bottle collection and historic scoring. Source not recorded. No tasting notes kept, just rating.
500 ml bottle. Pours a black colour with a beigeish head. Aroma of roasted malts and milk chocolate. Taste is dryer dry and roasted, some dark malts, coffee and herbs, hint of chocolate.
den har en mørk smag, af lakrids og kaffe, og en middel bitterhed. god øl..
Bottle from Morrisons, Caernarfon. Pours dark brown with a short-lived thin tan head. Aromas of chocolate and light liquorice. Taste is treacle, but not in a sticky way. Quite thin in fact. More chocolate and light coffee. Slightly burnt note on the finish.
Bottle from supermarket in Wales. Pours deep black-brown, although clear to the light. Foamy smooth beige head. Aroma intense with strong espresso, vanilla, bitter cocoa and some butterscotch. Smooth in the mouth with rich coffee aftertaste.
On holiday in wales black dark brown colored body with an off white head and with a roasted malt chocolate aroma a roasted malt chocolate grain sweet bitter taste with a bitter finish
(bottle) Clear, dark amber colour with a short and tanned foamy head. Dark and mildly roasted malty aroma with notes of chocolate, marzipan and almonds. Roasted bitter flavour light but not watery body with an almost silky mouthfeel. Dry and roasted malt character with caramel, chocolate, again marzipan and almondy, nutty notes; almost lingering roasty bitter chocolatey finish. Good. 27.III.17
(bottle) darkest ruby-brown colour with a frothy off-white head. aroma of melted margerine and sugar icing, with some notes of earth, gently roasted wheat and cardboard. flavour is mostly lactose and caramelized malts, with lots of milk chocolate, some yeast slurry and a semi-dry toasty finish. medium-bodied with soft carbonation.
Bottle. Roast, cigar smoke, dust. Dark brown, off white head. Medium light body. Iodine roast start, overall pleasant.
Black with little beige head. Aroma is coffee, nuts, coffee beans, roast. Taste is honey sweetness with lots of coffee bitterness. Full bodied and quite smooth. Good for its abv and the first mild ale, that I really enjoy.
Bottle. Pours dark red. Nose is very chocalety, caramell, coffee, toast, cereal. Palate is bitter chocolate, wheat, roasty. sweet finish. Really good for the 4.1 abv.
Bottle, many thanks minutemat! Dark brown color with nice tan head. Aroma is milk chocolate. Taste is milk chocolate, dark malts, bready, a touch roasted. Silky and creamy mouthfeel. Very nice!
Bottle that Dad shared- cheers! Black with a thick beige head. Tastes of sweet black coffee with roasty, almost charred notes. Some dates sneak in behind. Good rich mouthfeel. Felt like it was heading towards stout territory. Whatever style it is, it’s jolly nice- much better than I was expecting. Well done Brains! (Editors note: um... that sounds like something a cannibal might order in a restaurant... you might want to amend your rating here).
Bottle as a gift. Quite surprised I’ve not rated this as the cask version is one of my favourites. A good first rate for 2017. The pour is very dark brown and only slightly translucent. A lovely big khaki head sits on top but dissipates quite quickly. The scent is muted: there’s Ovaltine and coffee grounds, and a tinge of filtered-beer metallic artifice. The taste is where this beer comes into its own: sweet, milky and dotted with milky coffee, vanilla and chocolate malt notes. Smooth, creamy finish with a full body for the style and ABV. Not a patch on a well-conditioned pint of cask but still gorgeous.
500ml bottle. Almost black colour with a one-finger light tan head. Aroma: malts, light roasted, chocolate, liquorice. Taste: same as the aroma, lightly roasted chocolatey malt with a hint of liquorice, caramel. Finish is mildly bitter. Smooth mouthfeel, medium body and carbonation.
Served in a tulip from a 500ml bottle. Pours dark garnet-brown colour with a thick beige head, medium lacing. Aroma is very rich and complex with notes of roasted malts, smoke, dark fruits, molasses, liquorice and prunes. Taste is smoke, prunes, liquorice, molasses and dark fruits. Palate is as expected from a mild: very smooth, thin to medium body with medium carbonation and subtle bitter-sweet finish. Excellent mild with an added bonus of great aroma and taste.
A very dark mild with a tan head. Surprisingly full-on aroma of molasses, licorice, roasted malt. Palate is much more as expected: smooth and a bit on the thin side. Sweet with dark sugars, licorice, mocha, some slightly astringent roasted malt. Refreshing.
Origin: Bottle. Vessel: Bottle. Supplier: ASDA (Bristol). Roasted richness with smoky aftertaste.
Bottled, 500ml from Tesco in Banbury, Oxon. Very dark brown with off white head. There is a sweet, caramel flavour from the start of this, boiled sweets with a boiled vegetable bitterness alongside. Toffee in the close. Fairly dull.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Max’ place. Thanks Stas and Max. Black and headless. Roasty and malty and very bready aroma. Mildly bitter and malty taste. Medium body, malty, a little dry and bready finish.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Max’s place. Thanks Max & Stas. Very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma of malt, toast, nuts, caramel, a bit of vegetables. Sweeetish flavor, toasty, slightly roasty, with nuts, caramel, and a drier finish with a bitterish note. Light to medium-bodied.
Aroma: Medium rich chocolate sauce. Medium-light dried fruits.
Appearance: Very dark brown with ruby highlights. Small, light-brown head with low retention.
Flavour: Medium-high roasty, coffee. Medium-light chocolate. Light grapes. Medium bitterness. Dry finish with lingering roastiness/bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.
Overall: Great beer. Quite roasty.
500 ml bottle, poured. Thanks Andre!
11A. Mild
Bose is lactose, hazelnut, milk chocolate, cram and vanilla - sounds nicer than it is. Taste is very muted, very light chocolate as the dominating tone, with a light raisin and nut leading to lactose with a slightly acidic cardboard finish which detracts. Mouthfeel is fine but too carbonated.
Not particularly nice, I need to try it on cask.
Absolutely black with an ugly covering of greyish head. There are aromas of stale caramels, dodgy chocolates and maybe a hint of cola nut. This is replicated in the flavour with a body that was surprisingly astringent. There was a lingering impression of boiled tar and disappointment.
Ah well.
Yeah, nah.