Friday 23 December 2016

12 Beers of Xmas #4 - 2014 Imperial Export Strength Stout (Dark Star)

For my fourth beer I am back in West Sussex.  Dark Star have been a leading light in my home county for many years and they are still expanding today with the opening of two new bars in 2016.  The Anchor Tap in Horsham opened in Spring 2016 and the Lockhart Tavern, Haywards Heath opened last month.  For some reason I forgot all about the Anchor Tap when I was compiling my Golden Pints so this has been amended as this bar is well worth a visit with a full range of Dark Star beers on cask and a tremendous keg selection from the very best breweries around.  They have certainly come a long way from when they began brewing in the cellar of the Evening Star, Brighton in 1994.  

At 10.5% ABV this impy stout has plenty of punch.  It was brewed in 2014 so it has had plenty of time to mature.  Flavour-wise it is nearly spot on.  Slightly on the sweet side although my wife found it too bitter.  I actually prefer even more bitterness but that's just me.  A lack of condition though is what lets it down for me and stops it from reaching the dizzy heights.  Actually I'm concentrating on the negatives far too much here because it is pretty gorgeous but I'm just trying to explain why it falls short of top marks.  Plenty more beers to come though and I'm sure one or two will be total perfection.

Cheers.

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