[1] Review by TheBeerLover from Washington, DC, USA who has tried this beer many times. (2/14/2006 1:49:06 PM)
"Heart of Darkness, a great novel, in which a great movie was based upon. And now even better for a beer lover, a great beer. Magic Hat Heart of Darkness is an outstanding oatmeal stout. Don't be afraid of the dark. This is a really great beer, oatmeal gives this beer a silky smooth mouth feel, like black velvet. This beer is also a ringwood beer, which means it picks up character from that distinctive ringwood yeast strain. I have been fortunate enough to have visited the brewery in South Burlington, VT, and I can tell you from first hand experience, this beer is fantastic on draught, as well as in bottles.
Heart of Darkness pours to an ink black opaque color, with a nice, thick, tan head, and a good carbonation. The nose on this beer is very complex, dark chocolate malt aromas mingle with ringwood yeast earthiness. There is also some good hop aromatics present as well. The palate is rich, and delicious. More chocolate malt flavors, a touch of coffee, roasted malt flavors, and a silky smooth mouthfeel from the oatmeal. There is also a nice bit of diacetal which is "buttery" a by product of the ringwood yeast strain. This beer finishes with more dark malt character, and just a touch more earthiness, with a lingering hop bitterness.
This really is an amazing beer. A very complex, rich, delicious oatmeal stout. There is a lot going on in this beer, you really can work on it, and pick up all those flavors. This beer is perfect as a night cap or would make an excellent desert beer. I would pair this with a rich and decadent triple chocolate cake, dark and milk chocolates, or perhaps fudge brownies with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
"
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
9/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.3)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $2 Unit Cost: $2.67 per Pint
[2] Review by willblake from Brick, NJ, USA who has tried this beer (1/18/2006 8:04:56 PM)
"12.08.04 12oz drink by 02/05 Nearly black pour with medium tan head. Thick tar and tobacco aromas. All malt, roasty, burnt flavors. Not much else. A simple, straightforward stout without pretense. Sharp finishing bitterness. Very enjoyable in its simplicity if unspectacular."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.7)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[3] Review by aracauna from Adairsville, GA, USA who has tried this beer (1/15/2006 10:21:13 AM)
"Good black beer with a sandy light tan head that lingers. Good roastiness in the aroma. I'm getting charcoal and espresso in both the aroma and the flavor. The roasty notes come in heavy up tops but fades into a light chocolate and bitterness in the short finish. Seems like it needs something else in there to support the roast up top. Still a good stout, though."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[4] Review by eaglefan538 from DE, USA who has tried this beer once. (9/18/2005 10:23:52 AM)
"Ok, not an impressive #500 to rate, but it may be fitting, since Magic Hat was one of the first (actually, I think it was the first) broadly distributed / bottled American Craft Brewer that got me into Craft drinking (beyond Yuengling and Sam Adams). Sampled this one straight from the bottle. Aroma was of light roasted chocolate. The flavor was similar (not so much "burnt" or roasted flavors, though) with a chocolate richness noted. A touch of bitterness to finish. A nice close to the evening of drinking."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by Sassy from Ringgold, GA, USA who has tried this beer once. (5/16/2005 9:26:44 AM)
"This has a nice, black appearance. Aroma and flavors are the typical roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate stuff. The palate's quite thin; overall, not very impressive."
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.2)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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(4.3)
