Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree Review

Name: Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 12%
IBUs: 55

I feel a bit ashamed of myself for reviewing this right now, because I have never tried the original of this beer prior to what I'm having today, which is Dark Horse's Double Crooked Tree. A few days ago when I was putting together a mix-a-six, the beer which we have today was present but the original Crooked Tree was not. Once I locate the original, I promise that I will do a review on it.

Now moving on....when they named this beer Double Crooked Tree, they were not joking when they called it Double because this has almost double the ABV of the original Crooked Tree, which has just an ABV of 6.5%, though the IBUs were only 47 in the original.

Appearance - Very hazy dark orange color with what looks like a very faint amount of carbonation; It's hard to tell with all the haziness in place. The head is approximately one finger in width and it takes on a light tan-khaki color. The lacing is also pretty good.

Aroma - My first impression is very sweet. You've got some very pungent grapefruit notes backed up by a ton of caramelized malts and a lot of toffee sweetness. I'm also getting some mild cotton candy notes, as in the kind you would buy at the county fair; That is something I wasn't expecting.

Taste - Much like the nose, it's very malty. You have the caramel and toffee maltiness vying for control on the front of the palate, with some fairly aggressive grapefruit & piney hop notes but they are still second-in-command to the sheer maltiness of this beer. That cotton candy aroma I mentioned earlier is also present as well and it lingers throughout the flavor. Thankfully the booziness I was anticipating is nowhere to be found as it is very well hidden here.

Once Imperial IPAs venture beyond the 10% ABV line, the quality is usually hit or miss and thankfully this one is a hit. Sure it's more malty than it is hoppy but I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed this. In fact, I'd even go as far to say that if you're looking for a good gateway Imperial IPA, this will do quite nicely; Just be sure you have a couple of friends with you because looks are definitely deceiving here.

Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree - 9/10

Dark Horse Scotty Karate Review

Name: Dark Horse Scotty Karate
Style: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
ABV: 9.75%

It's been awhile since I've looked at any scotch ales since the colder months of the year are now behind us, but I saw this in the store and just had to try it out. This is Scotty Karate from Dark Horse Brewing, based out of Marshall, MI.

The reason why I decided to pick this up is because whenever there's an announcement that this beer is in stock, its window of availability is equivalent to that of a mosquito at a summer picnic. So it goes without saying this a lot of people seem to like this beer. Let's see just how good this beer is.

Appearance - A very dark & cloudy brown color with no carbonation to speak of. The head is khaki-colored and thin but the head & lacing retention are both quite good.

Aroma - Very strong peated scotch notes on the front of the nose with some strong caramel malts to back it up. I'm also getting some chocolate notes and even some toffee sweetness in here as well. The smokiness which I've come to expect out of Scotch Ales recently is mysteriously absent.

Taste - Strong peated scotch, plums and roasted barley flavors dominate the front of the palate. Following this up are flavors of rum raisins & chocolate before finishing with a bitter hop and blackcurrant aftertaste. It's also worth noting that I get a warming sensation when drinking this as well.

It's a great wee heavy through and through, but I can't help but feel that trademark smokiness is missing from the flavor itself. As such, I think it may taste a little too sweet for some but I'm not going to continue to nitpick. Point is that it's a great beer and that any dedicated Scotch Ale fan will find something to like about this beer.

Dark Horse Scotty Karate - 8.5/10