Dark Seas - Mission Brewery

womencantsail

California

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

Black in color with low carbonation and very little in the way of head formation. Heavy on the roasted malt with lots of licorice and coffee, maybe some molasses, too. The flavor has a nice burnt sugar flavor to it as well as some toffee and molasses sweetness. Quite a bit of roast with a bit of coffee to break up the sweetness of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 21:46:42 | More by womencantsail

UCLABrewN84

California

4.33/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

9.8% ABV per the label.

Pours a super thick and opaque black with a foamy 2 inch amazingly dark khaki head that settles to a thin cap on top of the beer. Thin foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa powder, and some coffee bean aromas. There is a slight cinnamon aroma that comes out as the beer warms. Taste is of dark roasted malt, dark cocoa powder, coffee beans, and some subtle port wine flavors. There is nice roasty bitterness and alcohol warming in the back of the throat with each sip. This beer has a really thick and creamy mouthfeel with a low level of carbonation. Overall, this is a very good RIS that took me by surprise.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 02:22:51 | More by UCLABrewN84

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap 11/28/2012 at Track 84, in Warwick, RI served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep black color, with a short brown head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains rich chocolate, roasted malts, some coffee and a faint touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with a strong creamy chocolate flavor followed by some flavors of dark fruit and coffee. Then a hearty roasted malt character comes in. The hops presence is very mild as it should be in this type of beer and creates a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, it’s a solid big stout but there are others in the style that I would pick first.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2012 02:15:59 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured out a beautiful black color, nice oily looking body with a dark brown colored head on top. The retention was very impressive on this beer. The lacing was good too. The smell of the beer is heavily roasted and almost has a burnt chocolate note to it. The hops slide in there a little bit as well. The taste of the beer is rich, roasted, chocolaty, some coffee in there too the bitterness of some intense hops sting the tongue in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is nice and thick, good carbonation to it also. Overall this is a pretty damn good RIS. I would drink this one again.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 02:05:17 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pour black with a medium dark brown head. Fair retention but with great colour.

S: Lots of dark chocolate, molasses, and licorice, classic.

T: Big dark chocolate flavour which dominates the taste. Nice sweet malt flavour, with notes of brown sugar and a good amount of backing hops, Yeti-esque.

M: Full-bodied and smooth, creamy and delicate.

O: A nice unbarreled throwback American RIS. Well made and tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

01-06-2012 03:05:08 | More by Halcyondays

akorsak

Pennsylvania

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

A 12 oz bottle from Tim Johnson, Growlin' at the Moon for March 2012.

A: Oily, a viscous mess (in the best possible use of the word) that can't escape its blackness. A bete noire in my glass.

S: Alcohol, roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee. Quite a bit packed into one 12 oz bottle. A pleasant hoppiness, not overpowering, hovers around. This is, though, a murky RIS through and through.

T: Dark fruits, almost vinous, drive the taste, transitioning to the dark malts. Those malts are roasted, burnt, with chocolate and coffee in the mix. The booziness, another ~10% beer, is heavy but doesn't distract.

M: The richness of the stout doesn't get lost in translation, plenty of bold flavors with a requisite amount of booze.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 02:09:55 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Excellent big chewy stout, dark as night pours with a chocolate tinted tan head...spent oil all the way. Big chugging bubbled carbonation, with chunky spanning lacing. Aroma has deep chocolate notes, dark bitter roasted malts, expressive with a bit of coffee like tones and ample hops in the back end mild citrus/herbs. Flavor is big upfront a bit of booze whacks you right in the kisser, but the chocolate creaminess/creamed coffee combo soothes the palate and it becomes a big dessert beer with bitterness from the herbal hops and dark roasted malts. Carbonation is ample pushes this big bruiser of a beer across the palate well no off flavors or lingering harshness, very drinkable big imperial stout. Overall I loved it up there with the best of the best in the imperial stouts, I like this and Black Out from Great Lakes just about equally.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 22:30:40 | More by WVbeergeek

mdfb79

New York

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked this up at Rick's in Alexandria last week. $5.99 for a bomber. Poured into my Cigar City tulip.

a - Pours a pitch black color with one finger of tan han head and moderate carbonation evident. Light spotty lacing left on the glass, and a few dark brown bubbles left throughout drinking it. Looks like a great RIS.

s - Smells of dark chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, vanilla, milk chocolate, toffee, and caramel malts. Very nice chocolatey and roasty notes.

t - Tastes of roasted malts, coffee, bitter chocolate, toasted malts, light vanilla, and light dark fruits. Little more coffee here and not as much sweet chocolate; a tiny step down from the nose for me.

m - Full bodied stout and moderate carbonation. Thick and creamy; very nice.

o - Overall I thought this was a really good RIS. Nothing really jumps out as amazing, but everything about it is good and solid. Would certainly pick it up again.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 01:39:54 | More by mdfb79

Zorro

California

4.24/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.25

Pours like used motor oil. Damn dark colored beer Black beer with a small dark brown colored head.

Smells sweet with a strong Chocolate Aroma. Toasted bread and rum and some caramel and a little coffee.

Starts out sweet with a fairly strong charred malt taste. Chocolate and coffee. And that is about it. Tasty stuff but does lack complexity.

Mouthfeel is extremely thick, like full fat Eggnog thick!

Overall a damn tasty RIS. On the sweet side so if you like your RIS dry this isn't your best choice.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 03:06:59 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Pours a deep brown, not quite black, with 2 fingers of rich dark mocha (almost milk chocolate looking) head. This retains with a ½ finger of creamy froth, which throws up a rich cascade of lacing that quickly slides down the sides of the glass but doesn’t stick a whole lot. The aroma smells of smoky roast, green citrus, dark fruit, chocolate, a touch of molasses. That roasted coffee character and dark fruit really start to emerge as this warms.

The taste is similar, with a strong roasted and bitter hop profile up front, with sweeter notes of chocolate and toffee coming in off the sides, before this finishes with a zippy espresso finish. Dark fruit is fairly hidden at first but much like the nose, starts to emerge in a bit way as this warms. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied and really opens up as this warms, with some sharpness on the tongue and then more of a chewy creaminess the rest of the way. The alcohol is handled pretty well here, mostly coming out as some underlying spicy warmth that adds a bit of an extra aggressiveness to this.

At first, this just seemed like a big American Stout, with a prominent roast and hop profile but then more dark fruit and even a touch of anise came out to play (after this really warmed up) to allow to this to come off as more of an Imperial Stout. This definitely could have used a bit more finesse but it overall wasn’t bad at all for the style at all. It just takes a little while to really get going.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 17:48:57 | More by Kegatron

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at TJ's, Paoli, PA

Served in a snifter, dark black pour with a small tan head that receded to nearly nothing, leaving a few stray bubbles behind. Great aroma, toffee, chocolate, anise, licorice, touch of dark dried fruits. The taste was similar to the aroma, but not quite as good, dark chocolate, dark malts, toffee and Werther's candy, subtle red wine / brandy, and a bit of anise and hop spice. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel, on the heavier side of medium-bodied, with a bit of inevitable alcohol warmth. Quite the pleasant sipper overall, I'd say.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2012 04:12:38 | More by Rifugium

HopHead84

California

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12/12/2011

On tap at Mission brewery.

A: Black with a massive light brown head. Lacing is all over the glass.

S: Rich dark chocolate and pronounced earthy coffee with faint nutty notes. Molasses is evident, as is a whisper of licorice. Dark fruit is evident and restrained.

T: Pronounced earthy coffee with a strong roasted profile. Dark chocolate is bittersweet and pervasive. There's a lower moderate bitterness with evident molasses.

M: Lower full body with medium carbonation. 

Overall: A good Russian Imperial Stout.

Serving type: on-tap

12-13-2011 15:21:04 | More by HopHead84

kojevergas

California

3.23/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a Guinness goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are average. 9.8%.

Served slightly warmer than refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a rich vibrant tan colour two finger head of excellent cream, great thickness, and great retention for the high ABV. Colour is a predictable nontransparent solid black. Opaque. Very appealing.

Sm: Chocolate, cream, roasted barley, and hints of a fruit ester (looking at the label, I assume it's plum). A mild strength aroma.

T: Cream, light roasted barley, vague chocolate, and out of place plum. Alcohol comes through. An imbalanced flavour profile. The cream is nice. It's built decently, but feels like a missed opportunity. After the appearance and aroma, I expected more. Not horribly complex or subtle. Pleasant to drink.

Mf: Smooth and wet. A touch too thick. Adequately carbonated. Complements the flavours decently. Should be coarser and more dry. Far too smooth and slick.

Dr: Drinkable for the style, but the alcohol does come through. It's a decent imperial stout, but will get lost alongside the many better beers in the style. Nice try, Mission, but you gotta do better to run with the big dogs.

Good call on the small bottle size.

C+

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 04:14:59 | More by kojevergas

mactrail

California

3.93/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Black color in the glass. Rich and malty with a big hop finish. Very boozy with some vanilla. I notice some Jack Daniels barrels around the brewery, for what that's worth. Nice aroma of malt with a hint of licorice. Black roasted flavors, but more of a sweet finish than the Black Patent charcoal. Winey and mellow taste, but hot with alcohol. Dries out a little as you sip.

Very decent Imperial Stout. My favorite of their beers. Listed at 75 IBU. On tap at the brewery bar.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2012 05:30:39 | More by mactrail

thagr81us

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from tap into a flared pilsner. Poured pitch black with a one finger brown head that subsided to a half finger slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of roasted malt, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and sweet alcohol. The flavor was of sweet malt, roasted malt, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and sweet alcohol. It had a heavy feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a good brew. The roastiness and sweetness on this one really helped to balance it out and make it quite easy to drink despite the alcohol content. While the alcohol flavor was present it definitely wasn't the dominate component by any means and rather added a nice level of flavor to an already solid backbone. Really glad I got the chance to try this one and I suggest you do the same given the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2012 18:31:40 | More by thagr81us

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Dark Seas
Mission Brewery
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.50 %

LOOK: Pours a midnight black, with a dense light brown foam. Impenetrable by light, it would be difficult to sail on these dark seas. The foam leaves lace of sips gone by.

SMELL: Deeply roasted malts in the aroma, as well as chocolates, coffee, dark fruits and alcohol.

TASTE: Robustly malty, showcasing charcoal, coffee, and dark chocolate flavors. Dark fruits chime in with some date, raisin, and fig flavors. Vanilla comes through more as it warms, and alcohol is omnipresent but not distracting.

MOUTHFEEL: Full bodied , smooth, creamy feel. Delicious lingering stout flavor that sticks to the taste buds long after the pleasure of drinking.

OVERALL: A big bad stout that can stand up to the biggest and baddest of the style. Quite good.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2012 23:08:22 | More by Stinkypuss

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.53/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle poured into a snifter.
9.8% ABV, no date.

A - Darker and thicker than used motor oil, this beer pours quietly into the snifter generating an almost red dark brown head which floats above the midnight beer briefly before capsizing into the abyss. Frothy waves of lace are left on the snifter.

S - Dry cocoa and heavily roasted chocolate malt slaughter the aroma with presence while chunks of alcohol-soaked raisin and plum follow through. Dark Seas has an interesting wood-paneled basement aroma though; dust, old funk, and dark-leaf tobacco in a humidor. Sweet molasses and brown sugar claim the last word and sweeten the aroma a tad.

T - Milk chocolate overcomes the molecules of dark, bitter chocolate chunk but cocoa still resounds, as do the dark fruit nuances of the aroma; raisin and plum. Dry, light wood caresses dryness along the beer's lingering finish which works well with the molasses component to it.

M - Don't look for it and you almost might forget this beer is carbonated. Small bubbles dance on the tongue if pause is given to see past the incredibly smooth, rich, and full-bodied beer. Roasted but balanced, this beer marries sweetness with acrid roast well for a great finish that lands a touch dry.

O - Mission, I'm glad you've decided to dock here in Wisconsin. Dark Seas is a fantastic Russian Imperial Stout that churns with rocky waves of malty depth for an incredible outcome of rather epic proportions. And the price is right which makes it that much better. I will be sure to secure more of this beer for the winter months.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 02:00:48 | More by BeerFMAndy

FosterJM

California

4.08/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

1633rd Review on BA
Bottle to Snifter
12oz

2012 release
Purchased a single 12oz from Total Wine, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

App- A huge inky black pour with a ton of brown highlights around the edges. The head was a good 2 fingers and clung well to the side of the glass. A nice density center and very deep saturated.

Smell- A bit like a chocolate milk, mixed with coffee only a bit deeper and less grainy. The chocolate is very aromatic and pairs well with the malts and then the coffee comes in with a bit or roast and toast behind it. A bit smooth and creamy as well.

Taste- This was a nice and creamy RIS. A good amount of balance was there between the malts and the chocolate coffee flavors. The bitter was a bit toned downed in relation to say Narwhal which I had the day before reviewing this. This had more richness and cream as mentioned and dialed up the chocolate.

Mouth- A very thick medium almost bordering on being a low bodied/thick stout. The carbonation was fairly dense and a bit creamy. Got a bit thicker and denser as it warmed.

Drink- I really enjoyed this. A good deal in a 12oz bottle. I will have to grab more of these. Nice semi-local beer. Gotta love all the stuff out of SD.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 16:09:40 | More by FosterJM

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

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.21/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Serious big beer. Poured at a good temperature with a small, brown head that soon settled to a swirl and a ring and no lace. Color is an opaque brown black. Aroma is roast, cocoa, molasses, new leather, malt, and dark ripe fruit. Flavor's similar to nose with cocoa coming out more along with bitterness that is just balanced by sweet and tang. Body is full and has the bitter points slightly rounded off. Finish is remarkably moderate in length and fairly easy. Alcohol is tamed. Very good brew!

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 05:18:32 | More by drpimento

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

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

Durge

Connecticut

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A really opaque black brown colored stout with a solid light brown head and lots of cascadding lace. The aroma comes out with deep dark chocolate malt and light coffe charcoal. Pretty much a classic quality hint of things to come but not a huge note for this style. The flavor brings in thick charcoal malt and light grassy raisin-prune. This stuff his full bodied with a near oily feel. Carbonation is tingly stuff. A serious entry for the style, no session brew but tasty and satisfying!

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 05:39:53 | More by Durge

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

srandycarter

California

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle is a little under 10%

A - Pretty darned close to black. No light gets through. Big tan head slow to leave. Lots of spotty cling lace.

S - Chalky cocoa, soy, sweet toasty malt, some booze.

T - Big chunk of dark chocolate, bittery cocoa. Anise in the taste was not found in smell.

M - Heavy body, nice carbonation and balance.

D - A keeper. I will buy more. I love this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 06:24:21 | More by srandycarter