Dark Arts - Magic Rock Brewing

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 330ml bottle with a BB of Oct 2012 (batch 2868). Picked up recently from Trembling Madness in York. Love these guys and their beers...

Poured into a Delirium chalice. A very dark brown; appears totally black in the glass. Yields a large head of creamy tan foam that hangs around for a while before settling as a thin surface layer. Aroma of dark roasted malt with notes of bitter coffee, burnt grain, indistinct aroma hops, cocoa, faint dried fruit, stewed hops and a hint of vanilla and spice. Complex and delicious.

Tastes of intense roasted malt with a bitter finish. Notes of burnt grain, coffee, cocoa, nondescript aromatic hops, a subtle hint of molasses and stewed hops. Mildly spicy. A lingering dry bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is silky smooth and tingly, with restrained carbonation and a lovely creamy body. Mildly astringent, with an aftertaste of bitter roasted malt and hop notes.

Deeply dark and tasty. Goes overboard with the roasted malt, but I rather like it. Dry, with plenty of bitter notes from the malt and hops. Aromatic hops add an interesting dimension to the flavour, though individual characteristics can't be picked out. Good body with light carbonation. The only thing that might benefit this beer would be conditioning with live yeast. Quality - well worth trying if you come across it.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 23:37:34 | More by jazzyjeff13

BrewSage1985

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap at the Rat race Alehouse in Hartlepool.

A: Black, no light getting through there. Slight dark tan head, didn't last long.

S: A lovely choclate aroma, slight nuttiness. Aroma was quite weak, could be a little stronger.

T: Smooth, full bodied and rich. Absolutely astounding flavours of dark belgian chocolate, roasted grains and hints of coffee. Tastes heavenly, few stouts come close to this! Slightly sweet but not too much. Slight grassy earthy bitterness with hints of choclate.

O: Excellent, one of the finest examples of this style. Tastes very similar to Elland - 1872 Porter but maybe less sweet. Not a session beer but a beer to be savoured till the last drop.

Serving type: on-tap

09-25-2012 20:26:14 | More by BrewSage1985

StJamesGate

New York

4.13/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Mason & Taylor, Bethnal Green, London.

Black-brown with tan parchment rim. Fish sauce and peat smoke nose – intense and unique, if not entirely pleasant.
Cookie dough, café au lait, fresh German rye bread and a sprinkling of cedar chip hops.
Spicy finish and slightly tart roasty linger. Smooth, medium, some cling.

Silky, complex and unconventional stout. Drinkable, too. I get the fuss over Magic Rock.

Serving type: on-tap

05-28-2012 15:26:07 | More by StJamesGate

HopHead84

California

3.5/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

4/6/2012

A: Black as a sunless day (My notes actually said this, I think I meant to say black as a moonless night). Big beige head.

S: Nutty and earthy with roasted grains and light chocolate notes. There's a burnt presence throughout with a little molasses. Coffee wafts from the glass.

T: Dark chocolate blends with earth and a firm roasted malt presence. There's a faint nuttiness. The roastiness approaches char and there are evident coffee notes. The finish borders on burnt with coffee and an earthy bitterness.

M: Medium body with upper medium carbonation.

Overall: An okay beer. A little over the top on the roast.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 18:10:22 | More by HopHead84

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a very very dark brown/black colour with an off-white/brown head and tremendous lacing.

Smells dark, rich and malty.

Tastes very smooth, coffee and dark chocolate-esque malt flavours with some hops mingled in too. A lasting but slight hop bitterness on the finish.

Overall a very good beer, shame it's so strong or it would make an excellent session ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 20:42:27 | More by CwrwAmByth

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Gravity halfpint at the Euston Tap.

A: Black with cloudy red-brown highlights and a full finger of ultra creamy dark tan head. I'm a little disappointed about getting a short pour, but the appearance is striking indeed.

S: Extremely roasty, with burnt malt absolutely dominating. Nothing but coffee, char, and more roast. Pretty nice, but a bit single-minded.

T: Opens with dark fruit and burnt coffee, then develops into charred graham cracker and dark chocolate - almost like a s'more that got dropped into the fire and half-consumed, but you were drunk enough to eat regardless. Very robust, with a bitter coffee finish. Good stuff, but not terribly interesting.

M: Highly frothy medium body. Ok.

O: This beer was all right, but definitely went overboard with the roasted notes. From what I can gather this brewery seems to be trying to do the "extreme" thing, and in this case they went a bit too far.

Cheers!

Serving type: cask

03-30-2012 19:16:25 | More by woosterbill

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle bought from MyBreweryTap.com

Poured a deep dark brown / almost black colour. Burnt brown head poured pretty thick, foamy and meringue like then faded to light covering with thick edging... some light lines of lacing cling to the glass...

Aroma - Toasted bread and lightly roasted malts, black coffee, some dark brown sugar sweetness, roasted nuttiness, liquorice and blackcurrant, some raisin fruitiness, very light oatiness, some faint smokiness coming through, leathery hints...

Taste - Nice lightly roasted dark chocolate maltiness mixed with light sweetness, charred malt loaf, anise, definite coffee notes, again some dark fruits (prunes, plums), light nutmeg traces, some pepperiness...

Feel - Smooth initially then a little sharpness comes through... pretty full bodied... dangerously drinkable as the alcohol is pretty well hidden...

Overall - A very enjoyable stout if maybe a little rough round the edges... Another fine brew from Magic Rock though and definitely recommended...

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 08:33:12 | More by mdagnew

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Black body with a thin, tan coloured head. Big notes of coffee and dark chocolate in the nose.

Black coffee, dark chocolate, floaty bits of liquorice and fruits on the taste. Nice, bitter finish.

Good body on this, and good carbonation. Carbonated but thick, but not overly carbonated. Not quite sessionable but a good way to end the night.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2011 00:11:04 | More by BDTyre

kojevergas

California

3.73/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from a cask into a true pint glass in a pub in London, England. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a one finger head of nice tan colour, good cream, and pretty good thickness. Colour is a solid nontransparent black.

Sm: Coffee, cream, caramel, chocolate, and slight toffee. A mild strength aroma.

T: All the notes form the nose are present, with the chocolate emphasized alongside light roast. The cream is restrained but nice. The coffee is very well handled. It's complex enough, decently balanced, and built with quality in mind.

Mf: Coarse enough, but a touch too wet for a stout. Fairly complementary of the flavours, but certainly not tailored to them.

Dr: Very drinkable and of good quality at a standard price for London. Give her a spin, lads.

Serving type: cask

08-20-2011 22:59:57 | More by kojevergas