Dark Horse Night @ Stubs

It was a special night this past Friday at Stub and Herbs, considering the Dark Horse guys were coming down and Jon had a special treat for everyone: Double Crooked Tree through the Randal. What is the Randal (sorry about the dark picture) you are probably asking? The Randal is basically a water purifier cartridge packed with hops. There is a hose coming from tap to the purifier and then out another hose into a glass. The water purifier is filled with cascade leaf hops. I had a very long conversation with Mike, the director of sales and marketing, and he said this was the first time DH has served a beer like this. The Randal has been used at places like EBF, but never around Minnesota.

I asked Mike what happened to the original 13.7% Double Crooked Tree and he said that the beer changed a bit after the first batch since they brewed more of it. The recipe has stayed the same since batch 2 and is consistent at 12% abv. For ever 21 barrels made, they use 90 lbs of dry hops! Onto the review and then more about DH!

Served in a pint glass with a finger of creamy beige white head. Very thick head. Leaves some thick lace walls. Color is a dark orange hued copper. A hazed beer.

Aroma: Tons of floral hops up front with an orange, grapefruit and tangerine citrus mix. Some caramel and bready malts.

Taste: Very floral and a mildly aggressive citrus blend up front. Low alcohol flavor for the 12% abv. Caramel malts balance it out a bit.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, and bitter. Medium to full bodied for the style. God carbonation. Ends slightly dry. Well done.

Overall, this beer is awesome and drinkable. My pint went way to fast and I wanted more (but had to drive). This beer was well done. Tons of hop flavor done right. Worth a try if you can ever get a chance at it!

Now back to some more on DH. I was very happy that Mike shared a lot with me.

Dark Horse Brewing is very small at a 7 barrel brewhouse. Mike said that is smaller than Stub and Herbs is (if you have been there). They Brew 4000 barrels and year and next fall they will be expanding and adding on a 20 barrel brew house for a total of 27 barrels.

Dark Horse beers get brewed and out the door very fast. Mike said he sometimes doesn't even get to try the new beers before they leave the brewery since they get them out so quick. Since they are so small, they have great turnover rates. No dust on the bottles for DH. I asked Mike why they (or other breweries for that matter) don't put dates on their bottles. He said that the machines to code and date the bottles are very expensive and also that it gives consumers a perception that the beer is bad before they try it. Many of their beers get better with age, he said. In addition, it brings a lot of hassle if the bottles got dates on them. Then they have to worry about shipping beer that is probably fine back to the brewery which can get very expensive. All in all, it is more hassle than what it is worth, especially with their turnover rates.
Mike said that the only times people complain is when they pour the settled yeast into their glass. DH beer is unfiltered and the yeast will naturally settle and is meant to be swirled and dumped into the beer or completely left out.

I also asked Mike about sour beers at DH since we got on a discussion about Jolly Pumpkin beers He says that they bottle a sour every holiday season and sell them at their 4 Elf party. They are bottled in 750s and sold only at the brewpub. The first sour they made was 'Lambeak Wants' and last year they made 'Lambic Framboozin' - a lambic with Oregon raspberries. Both of these beers were aged for 4 years in bourbon barrels. They have also done a brett beer - 'Whiskey Richard' which is a Belgian Pale Ale in bourbon barrels.

Well, that's all I got for tonight. Stay posted this week for a post on Firkin Fest and a post on a sweet tasting me and a few buddies had!

Cheers and thanks for reading!
-Ben