Dark Seas - Mission Brewery

Brushkanna

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - dark dark black body, someone wrote "pitch black", head is dark chocolate brown and comes back with a swirl of the glass
Smell - light smell with a little alcohol vapor wafting up, when does a smell on a stout really come up very much?
Taste - love this kind of dark toasted malty stout, more on the sweeter side, not bitter almost tastes like a it is made with lactose sugar
Mouth - great mouth, lasting chocolate coat in the mouth
Overall - I really like Imperial stouts like this, not to bitter but dark full flavored, give this one a try

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 23:47:37 | More by Brushkanna

Ilovebeer1549

California

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%

05-18-2013 04:09:46 | More by Ilovebeer1549

HoppySuds

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

05-16-2013 18:10:10 | More by HoppySuds

stevied71

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

05-16-2013 14:12:08 | More by stevied71

denver10

Colorado

3.79/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours black with a nice mocha head. A nice rich, roasty aroma with roasted barley and dark choclate. and a hint of some pitted fruit and some booze. Flavor followed suit with huge roastiness and dark chocolate, a kiss of some vanilla and a earthy bitterness in the finish. Some alcohol shows but not offensive. A fuller, mouthfeel. Overall, a nice solid RIS. Would happily drink again, glad to see 4 packs of this on the local shelves.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 22:47:34 | More by denver10

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.5%

05-15-2013 16:38:23 | More by twenty5

ChumleyX

California

4/5  rDev -1.5%

05-12-2013 23:01:00 | More by ChumleyX

timontheroad

Colorado

4/5  rDev -1.5%

05-12-2013 20:43:16 | More by timontheroad

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.84/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

maybe the best of the mission beers so far. this pours as its name implies, dark and stormy, with a big frothy head and no light at all getting in. there is a funny gray shade though, like not brown but an ashy color, not sure where it comes from, not super nice, and ive never seen it before. the nose is a little sweet, boozy, and complex on the grains, with varying levels of roast throughout. tastes like there is some oatmeal in here, with a little extra sugar and a nice smooth full body. I get a little tobacco and a touch of vanilla, but this isn't as intricate as some others in the genre. an odd bitterness creeps in in the finish, not from hops or burnt grains, but sort of unidentifiable. its not an off flavor, but I can place its origin. kind of a difficult beer to drink, full body and overly alcoholic. my bottle says 9.8% abv, rather than the 10.5% listed here, but it might as well be the higher number. overall mission beers havnt impressed me much at all so far. they all seems to be slight tweaks on the standard lineups breweries are expected to have these days without much different to set them apart. this one is a little better than the others, but still on the generic side, insofar as a Russian imperial stout can be generic...

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 17:16:09 | More by StonedTrippin

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.81/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of chocolate, some coffee. Taste is good, chocolate, roasted malts, some coffee, a touch of hops and alcohol. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a good quality beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 18:23:37 | More by tone77

Topher78

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%

05-09-2013 03:05:37 | More by Topher78

ADZA

Australia

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours a black oil slick hue with a chocolate laced two finger head and similar lacing here and there,the smell is dark chocolate,rum,booze,red wine and cherries,the mouthfeel is full bodied with moderate carbonation and has tastes of dark Belgian chocolate,dark fruits,candy,herbal earthy hops and finished with a burnt raisin bittersweetness and overall on a cold night like tonight this gets extra points as its the perfect winter drop with enough alcohol to warm you up but not put you on the floor will buy again for sure and a perfect nightcap cheers.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 16:27:29 | More by ADZA

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.31/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Paid almost 3 dollars for the single, poured into a tulip glass.

A - Such a rich deep mocha head, I don't think I have seen many this dark. Equally pitch black beer very viscous.
S - Ah nice notes of bakers chocolate, ashy roasts, vanilla, some hops with a touch of molasses.
T - Drinking this a tad cold I got a great deal of vanilla and bakers chocolate, not as sweet as I expected it takes the edge off with roasted coffee, some dark fruits notes of plum come to mind and a mild dry finish with some hops which are very balanced not bitter which I love. Man these guys got the style down well!
M - Medium to thick in body as expected yet smooth enough for big sips.

Overall looking back at others beers I had from these guys I would have never expected such a world class imperial stout. I think I like it better than Founders version AND that is saying a lot. Worth picking up and aged I bet it could be even smoother.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 02:41:39 | More by DrDemento456

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.68/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours pitch black with a lasting very dark tan head.
Nose shows heavy complex roast with loads of coffee. Also some soft booze.
Equally rich flavours, with lots more coffee and heavy roasted malt. Some noticeable booze.
Carbonation could be higher.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 00:46:48 | More by CrazyDavros

RWLawman

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%

04-30-2013 02:11:16 | More by RWLawman

TokyoCO

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-28-2013 02:14:37 | More by TokyoCO

TappaKeggaBrew

Ohio

3.99/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Very dark brown (mighty nigh unto black), with only the faintest hint of mahogany where light penetrates at the fringes. Even the head was a medium brown, like toasted wheat bread, albeit rather thin and short-lived; lacing was minimal.

S: The smell is not strong (perhaps due to lack of bubbles launching the aromas into the air?) It's mostly sweet smelling, with some bready malt, raisin, and perhaps bourbon (identifying the components was difficult, as they were all subdued).

T: Sweet, toasty malts are strong up front. Then comes an interesting mix of buttery dacetyl and mild, creamy orange. There's definitely some coffee in the mix, but pretty far in the background. Bitterness from hops was late and mild, just enough to balance the fading sweetness. It became more tart overall as it warmed up.

M: Smooth, thick/chewy, but not well carbonated; the finish was just a touch dry. I did notice a hint of booze when I took my first sip, but this became very pronounced and distracting as the beer warmed up.

O: A lot of good, but some low points as well. Head and carbonation weren't very good, and aromas were quite subdued, but the flavors were nice. I found it was much better when it was still fairly cold -- the negatives in terms of flavor and mouthfeel really became pronounced as it warmed up (and this is a sipping beer, so it will warm up unless you're drinking it it a very cold place...) Indeed, although I enjoyed the first half quite a lot, it got hard to drink the final few ounces, and I ended up pouring out the last couple. This may be a good one to split with a friend in the future to avoid those problems.

A note to Mission Brewery: boosting the carbonation just a tad would go a long way to improve the head/aroma and the mouthfeel (IMO).

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 11:32:55 | More by TappaKeggaBrew

Mebuzzard

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-23-2013 21:09:34 | More by Mebuzzard

PsilohsaiBiN

New York

4/5  rDev -1.5%

04-22-2013 18:05:37 | More by PsilohsaiBiN

Valleyview06

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +17%

04-19-2013 20:24:48 | More by Valleyview06

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.48/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle $2.99. Color is pitch black and the head is a little darker than most RIS, almost brown. Aroma is slightly malty, hints of some dark fruit. Flavor is malty, almost has a note of chocolate but then recedes into a plum or raisin like flavor backed by malts. Sort of reminds me of Stone IRS. Overall its not bad and the alcohol was well hidden. It is sort of thick, hevay and took me a little while to drink it.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 01:18:40 | More by ArrogantB

GilGarp

Colorado

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber served chilled into a goblet. ABV listed at 9.8% on the bottle instead of the 10.5% it says here.

Dark Seas is a very dark brown with very thin short-lived head.

Aroma is full of roasted malts, chocolate, and a sweet booziness.

Flavor is rich and strong with big roasty bitterness. There is some dark chocolate and coffee beans.

Mouthfeel is full bodied and a little over carbonated for my tastes.

Overall a very good double stout.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 00:47:22 | More by GilGarp

beergoot

Colorado

4.74/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Coal black with a rich brown head makes up the appearance. Anise and coffee notes in the aroma; a bit of mint; deep roasted grains; chocolate; charred toast. Wonderfully rich and bitter roasted flavors; subtly deep malt sweetness; semi-sweet chocolate; slight astringency; some alcohol warmth. Medium-heavy body, dry with a bit of milk chocolate richness makes up the feel.

Oh, yeah! This is a good one! Deep, rich, and complex. This could easily stand up with the best of the northern European dark ales that emphasize deeply roasted goodness layered with hop and alcohol goodness. Wild yet balanced in its intensity. This ain't your momma's Guinness! Seek and enjoy!!

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 22:50:02 | More by beergoot

Hanzo

Virginia

4/5  rDev -1.5%

04-14-2013 15:47:09 | More by Hanzo

GaryMarkle84

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%

04-13-2013 20:25:04 | More by GaryMarkle84