Deep Ellum Brewing Company Darkest Hour
What the brewers say
“We mash enough grain to overflow our mash/lauter tun, augment it with raw cane sugar and Belgian-style dark candi syrup, balance it with tasty hops, and then feed the resulting wort to our favorite ale yeast.”
What our panel thought
Aroma: “Deep in Seoul, Korea, in the middle of summer, there’s nothing better than an afternoon Americano, red-bean shaved ice, and some almond milk boba as you walk by a group of wannabe thugs smoking clove cigarettes. This beer hits all those moments in the center. Some dark fruit esters (plum and fig).”
Flavor: “Moderate chocolate, moderate coffee, light roast, light bitterness, dark cherry, fig, plum, dates, touch of umami. Long linger is dark chocolate, big cherry. Hops bitterness is crisp and adds structure. There's an interesting bit of toasty malt that reminds me of French bread crust fresh from the oven, but the roast almost masks it.”
Overall: “Big, interesting imperial stout strongly dominated by dark chocolate with dark fruity notes of fig, cherry, and dates. Not sweet, but plenty of body.”
