Hockley Valley Hockley Dark

3.2

251 reviews

Orangeville, Canada

Community reviews

2.6 473ml can. A "dark" ale, has the same marmite-like english yeast character of the 3 beers in their mix pack, maybe the most palatable of the 3 along with the golden, still nothing notable.

3.3 473 mL can. Pours moderate to dark brown with a thin cap of white head. Nose is leathery cocoa, sweet malt, nut and dark bread. Mildly herbal. Light sweetness followed up with a touch of roast and mild hop bitterness. Light bodied with modest carbonation. A nice brown.

3.2 Can. Pours a dark brown with tan head. Aroma of chocolate. Taste is slightly bitter. Overall good beer.

4.6 Pours caramel brown with a light, dissipating beige head. Aroma of molasses, malts, sweet breads, and subtle vanilla on the nose. Flavour has more molasses upfront with hints of candied sugar, hay, raisin. Light bodied and mildly carbonated. Finishes clean with a pleasant lingering hoppiness. A nice go-to dark ale.

3.2 Can’t beleive I never rated this one before. Brownish pour with a fast head. Molasses and caramel aroma with a hint of sweet vanilla. Medium body a tad sweeter than expected and has a sort of light vanilla cake or vanilla cola profile. Not as bad as I thought this would be. Light and thin on texture and lasting power. P

3.5 Tangy, effervescent and sweet, dark Amber brown with barely any head. Quite a taste of candy sugar.

3.5 Pours a dark ruby-black with a large light-brown rocky head. The aroma, which I really like, is of roasted malt, milk chocolate and caramel. The flavour starts with roasted malt and caramel then ends with a nutty lightly bitter taste. Nicely balanced with a good amount of carbonation.

3.4 LCBO can. Pour clear but dark brown, almost black. Nose is rosted caramel malt, molasses. Taste has some mild citrus, molasses. rosted malt, fruity. Nice and sessionable for sure.

3.0 An interesting beer, this one. For some reason I’m reminded of Guinness Extra Stout or a porter of some kind... Appearance is a very dark brown with a decent head. Aroma is not very enticing to me - quite hopped and sharp. Taste, however is full-flavored and hearty - a solid dose of hop bitterness mixed with a deep roasted malt flavor and hints of licorice. A bit too much of a hop punch for me, but for someone who wants to try Russian stouts and the darker porters but is a bit scared too, this is a good choice. Palate is lingering, bitter, smoky and pungent. Overall, it tastes nothing like other Brown Ales such as the famous Newcastle Brown, but rather more like a light version of a Russian Imperial Stout. Worth a shot for sure.

2.9 Aroma is molasses, caramel, rich sweet malt flavors. Slight vanilla notes. Taste is similar to the aromas with an almost chewy rich malt body with caramel and chocolate character. Very slight bitterness on finish. Appearance is a clear copper/amber body with a thin pearl head that retains poorly.

3.4 Licorice, baked bread and molasses are the smells coming off the beer. It has a very dark brown body with hints of ruby when held up to the light. Medium bodied in the mouth with a taste that starts out sweet and finishes with a touch of bitterness and roast. The after taste is just slightly bitter.

2.6 Can LCBO: dark brown with thin tan head. Weak aroma made up of malt, burnt toffee, and caramel . Tastes is sweet malt, caramel, biscuit, and a little hops. Thin, sticky mouthfeel. More body needed here, but not a bad dark offering.

2.6 73 ml can. Deep amber pour with minimal head that dissipated quickly. Nice caramel and chocolate notes. Deep malty flavor. Strong chocolate taste. Only the slightest hint of bitterness on the finish. Gentle carbonation continued. Creamy texture. Overall extremely enjoyable. Top shelf.

2.6 Good litter bite of bitterness on the end. Fairly high carbonation for what’s described as a traditional English ale on the can though. Nonetheless, it’s good enough.

2.6 Bought the random big 1 liter with the swing top. For just less than $10 for a liter is not bad, hopefully it’s worth trying. Pours a dark coke colour, clear with a little tan head that nearly disappear in no time at all. Smells good. Roasted malts, molasses and a little vanilla. Taste comes off a little thin, coffee, burn toast, little bitter hops. So this beer is Meh. Might be perfect for my Dad who doesn’t want any challenge in what he drinks, and that swing top will make him feel all fancy, but it just doesn’t cut it for his beer-snob son.

3.7 Appearance: Pours a dark black with just a little tan head. Aroma: Dark chocolate and sweet malt Taste: Dark chocolate, malt, biscuit, hints of coffee Palette: Smooth with some effervescence Overall: This beer started out really well with lots of dark chocolate aromas and flavours but faded after a while to the point where I was mainly picking up coffee notes. An enjoyable brown ale overall but nothing stellar.

2.5 Mildly basic dark ale. Poured high foamy head that dissipated quickly. Non distinct taste. Unique bottle that will be put to other use. Not on my list to buy again .

3.5 Canette de 473 ml achetée à la LCBO de Hawkesbury. Dégustée le 7 septembre 2009 (mug). Bière limpide brune. Col moyen beige, éphémère. Peu effervescente, grosses bulles. Légère odeur de caramel, de brûlé, de chocolat noir. Très douce, très sucrée, assez amère en finale. Goût de butterscotch très marqué, de toffee, de noisettes grillés. Savoureuse, se boit bien. Un peu mince.

3.5 473 ml can. Deep amber pour with minimal head that dissipated quickly. Nice caramel and chocolate notes. Deep malty flavour. Strong chocolate taste. Only the slightest hint of bitterness on the finish. Gentle carbonation continued. Creamy texture. Overall extremely enjoyable. Top shelf.

2.4 Bière couleur de cola, limpide et où flotte un mince col ne marquant pas le verre. Des arômes légèrement torréfiés ou on note de l’érable et de l’aspartame. Peu amère avec une pointe acide. Elle est mince, de corps léger et se termine sur des arômes somme toute honnêtes.

3.6 Liquide rouge foncé avec un bon col de mousse crème, les arômes varient entre le sucre d’orge, le boisé et le caramel. En bouche, on retrouve les mêmes arômes, mais elle surprend par sa richesse et ses malts puissants, la rendant très ronde à défaut d’être complexe. Les saveurs de sucre d’orge dominent en fin de gorgée. Aurait pu être encore plus intéressante avec des houblons plus présents, mais demeure un très bon exemple du genre.

2.7 Poured dark brown with reddish tinge, thin tan head that disappeared quickly. Nutty malt aroma. Light body, almost thin. Slight sweetness, but mild malt flavour. No lacing on glass, seemed flat. No bitterness. Drinkable, mild, nothing memorable.

3.1 473 ml can. Pours a almost opaque ruby brown. Aroma of roast malts and delicious toast. Flavour is slightly bitter with some hints of chocolate along with the toast. Slightly warming going down, finish is dry rosary and very slightly sweet.

3.3 473ml can. Far and away the best of the three Hockleys I tried. Liccorice, coffee, ash, butter, citrus. Medium bitterness, full-bodied.

2.7 Pours a rich mahogany brown, with a thin head. Aroma is of malts, toffee, dried fruit, and oats. Tasting notes include rich malts upfront, but a thin watery middle, and a dry finish. Not bad, I have tasted much worse!

4.4 Pours dark with a small tan coloured head. Smooth crisp flavour. Easy to enjoy and one everyone should try.

3.0 Straight from the tall can as I prep my world famous drunken chicken marinade (takes 2 of these or other dark & malty bad boys as the base) is sweet & malty. Not as thick & rich as I would like but decent. The malt is pumped here. Decent. One more sip & then this puppy is going into my marinade.

2.1 thin head, looks like flat cola. Weak malty aroma. Flavour is sweet malt with a something soapy lingering at the back. A little fizzy. Poor

3.5 Canette 500 ml. De couleur brune foncée et quasi-opaque. Nez de malt rôti, de chocolat noir, léger de caramel toffee et de noix avec des traces de fruits foncés (cerises noires, mûres, notes de prunes). Moyenne-mince en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-fort ainsi qu’une texture légèrement crémeuse. Notes de fruits foncés (notes de cerises noires et de prunes) avec quelques traces de vanille lors de l’entrée en bouche rapidement suivi d’un goût de malt rôti (faibles notes brûlées), moyen de chocolat noir avec des petites notes de caramel toffee et puis en finale l’on retrouve un léger goût sec de noix. Post-goût moyen et aux notes sèches, légèrement amer de rôti, léger de chocolat noir et de noix grillées avec de très faibles notes fruitées.

3.0 Pours a mahogany brown with a fluffy, 3-finger head of tan foam. Up front aroma of deeply roasted malts, smokey coffee and mild hops. Taste of roasted malts, smoke, bitter coffee and some chocolate. A nice brown ale, but as other reviewers have noted, it is actually much lighter than many darks and stouts. Easy drinking, medium carbonation and mild hop finish.