Dark Horizon 3rd Edition - Nøgne Ø - Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri A/S

GbVDave

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from an 8.5oz bottle into multiple glasses. Thanks to everyone for the assist!

A: Pours a slippery charred black color with a tiny layer of dark rust colored head. No lace left behind.

S: Yikes! Sweet. Major "spilled the sugar container into the coffee" type smell. Some notes of chocolate and molassas.

T: Loads of coffee, but even more of the aforementioned sweetness. Tiring.

M: Slick and sloppy. Actually made this one seem sweeter.

O: So glad this was in the tiny format and we had a bunch of folks to split this with. Diabetic coma inducing...seriously. If you didn't have diabetes before drinking this, you most certainly will afterwards.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2011 20:16:13 | More by GbVDave

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

8.5 ounce (250 ml) bottle. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown with a thin tan head that fizzled away quickly. Just a small amount of lacing left on the glass. Nice malty aroma, the brew smells like roasted malt, coffee, molasses, bittersweet chocolate and a bit of booze. The taste is much sweeter than I expected it to be. It tastes like caramel, molasses, maple, vanilla, sweet booze and dark fruit. There's also some coffee and a bit of anise noticeable, but this brew is mostly sweet and sugary. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit sticky and slick with low/moderate carbonation. I thought that this was a decent enough brew, the sweetness was a bit too much for me at times but overall I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2011 22:10:54 | More by bluejacket74

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

3.23/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Even with an aggressive pour of the entire bottle, only a tiny bit of light tan foam forms. The beer is a shiny/glossy opaque black/deep brown. No lace anywhere.

Aroma is pretty thick. Soy, molasses covered alcohol….

Woow, a lot sweeter than I would have ever guessed. The molasses is front and center in the flavor as well. Could even guess maple if you needed to. Perhaps a note of anise. Some prune as well. Alcohol soaked raisins perhaps.

Not very tick on body, but still sticky. Slick

Ehh, it’s ok…. Just ok

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2011 00:07:46 | More by Reagan1984

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

250 ml is small, 2 people max on this one. Beautiful cannister, wrapping. Thick pour, one sixteenth of head on black body. Big roast aroma. Way too sugary for me, like 3 tablespoons of sugar in the coffee. Thick, ladies liquor.Cannot taste the alcohol behind the sugar.
Had again several weeks later with the same impression.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2011 00:05:29 | More by northyorksammy

FosterJM

California

3.65/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

840th Review on BA
Bottle to hotel water glass
8.5fl oz

Bought from Aloha liquors in Carson City, NV

App- A mix of very dark browns with a lot of black mixed in. The garnet edges add a layer of color as well. Almost no head formed as it was more of a flat pour. Poured like a coffee bourbon drink. No real lace or cling as well.

Smell- A lot going on but very tamed and sweet. It was a a lot of malts with a tiny bit of licorice and whispy booze. Dominant smell is coffee and dark chocolate.

Taste- A bit thick with sugary malts. On the taste there is some coffee but not as much as the nose. Much more spice notes enter the layers of taste and the booze is quite prevalent. A bit of yeast is on the taste as well. A bit sweet and sugary. A little unbalanced but still quite tasty and large for such a small bottle.

Mouth- Medium bodied with a low slick carbonation. A lot of booze and sweet coffee malts remain.

Drink- Overall its nice. I think I drank it too fresh, needs some time to mellow and let flavors meld together more. It was slick, malty and sweet. A good take on a bold, big style.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 16:45:38 | More by FosterJM

Trilogy31

California

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pitch black with a dark khaki head that recedes quickly leaving light lacing but viscous legs when swirled. Nose is a strong hit of kahlua, black wild licorice if that makes sense along with a little fusel alcohol. The taste brings more sweet kahlua liqueuer, oaky vanilla with anise, marshmallow and strong herbal alcohol. This beer lacks balance and comes across as hot as well as sweet.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2011 04:26:43 | More by Trilogy31

rarbring

Sweden

4.6/5  rDev +32.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer is dark, dark brown, a small tan head, no lacing and good curtains.

The smell is obtrusive, dark roasted coffee, dark fruits, candy sugar.

A big sweet surprise, candy sugar, caramel, marzipan, coffee, raisins, fig marmalade, dark chocolate.

Little carbonation, oily and sticky, a big fat body, a warm fuzzy feeling.

This is the ultimate dessert, much better than most other stuff you get.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2011 21:10:15 | More by rarbring

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

2.95/5  rDev -15%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

poured into a tulip glass.

Appearance: pitch black beer with a small less than 1 finger of light tan colored head made up of tiny bubbles. The head drops down to a ring on the outside of the glass. Sticky lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell: Coffee and salty pretzels. Roasty and burnt to the point of having an acidic smell. Over ripened dark fruits and molasses. This combination does not work well together.

Taste: Wow this beer is just super sweet. Maple syrup and vanilla are very prominant; molasses and flat rootbeer. Concentrated simple syrup. Maybe some coffee in the background, but the sweetness is hard to tame. Finished sweet and boozy with a little burn to it.

Mouthfeel: A beast of a dark beer. Full boded beer with low carbonation. Thick, syrupy. Thicker than motor oil.

Overall: I really do enjoy stouts and I even like sweeter tasting stouts alot. Man, this even pushed the envelope for my tastes. This stout overpowered my tastesbuds and changed my perception of how sweet a stout could be. This beer is a sipper that could only work as a desert beer. Almost to the point of too much of a good thing when talking about a really sweet beer. I now see why this beer is in a 8.5 fluid oz bottle i don't think I could drink 12 oz of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2011 04:59:13 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

Rickythejeweler

Maryland

3.2/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

There is a great backstory* to this beer, and it did not disappoint! Brewed 3/7/08, consumed 9/6/11.

A - Dark brown-black, thin soapy khaki head, almost no lacing.

S - Bitter hops, coffee, chipotle peppers.

T - Milk chocolate, coffee, bitter hops, whiskey, candi sugar, smokey malts.

M - Thick, syrupy, sticky.

O - Very sweet, dessert beer, glad I got the chance to try it!

*Backstory: Brewed in March 2008 with Grimstad water, malted barley (brown & smoked), sugars, coffee, hops, yeast. Sat, untouched, in conditioning tanks until August 2010 when it was dry hopped (with Nelson Sauvin hops) and dry "coffeed" (with Den Gyldne Sterke espresso). After a month of dry hopping/coffeeing, it was bottled/released in September 2010.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2011 17:38:20 | More by Rickythejeweler

jnn4v

Virginia

1.98/5  rDev -42.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5

A: Very dark color with some light brown / dark tan colored head.

S: Pickles, jalapeno peppers, soy sauce, tobacco, burning plastic, peat, islay scotch, and possibly burning garbage heap.

T: Unfortunately, it tastes a lot like the scent. Like someone took a bunch of tabasco sauce, soy sauce and some chocolate milk, mixed them up and poured them into a spittoon of chewing tobacco spittle.

M: Good viscosity and density. Above average level of carbonation.

O: One of the worst imperial stouts - actually, one of the worst beers of any sort - actually, one of the worst substances of any sort that I've ever put in my mouth. Ended as a very expensive drain pour.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 02:51:48 | More by jnn4v

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +29.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown color head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with notes of black chocolate and light coffee is quite enjoyable though also quite intense. Taste is sweeter then anticipated with some black chocolate notes and some light liquorice notes as well. Body is full with an oily texture with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol which is somewhat surprising considering the ABV. More of a sipper then something I would drink on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 19:11:37 | More by Phyl21ca

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Enjoyed with my brother-in-law last night.

Appearance – Pours a dark chocolate color into a tulip. Almost no head is achieved with a hard pour.

Smell – Coffee, vanilla, booze, dark roasted malts, chocolate, other various sweet aromas that I can’t put my finger on.

Taste – Good God. Are you sure this isn’t the “Sweet Horizon”? Just a burst of pure sugar and alcohol. Molasses, brown sugar, coffee, vanilla, maple, and dark fruits. Honestly, totally one dimensional in the fact it is just so freaking sweet.

Mouthfeel – Honestly, oddly thin mouthfeel, watery almost. I’m reading others that say it is a thicker mouthfeel but I do not get this here at all. Lower carbonation.

Overall – Ugg, I have one left in the cellar and don’t think I’ll be revisiting it for quite a while. I also have a Dark Horizon 2nd Edition and have heard it is better. I’ll have to open one of those up this Christmas. Not a beer I’d recommend.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2011 22:21:05 | More by SpdKilz

Vengeance526

Louisiana

3.28/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a dark black color with a very small head that disappears almost immediately and leaves only a touch of lacing.

Strong sweet aroma with a lot of chocolate and coffee upfront with brown sugar and alcohol in the back.

Taste of dark chocolate and maple syrup all around with light notes of coffee. Very sweet and boozy, not so bad at first but gets kinda harsh fairly quickly. Has its moments, but this is just too over the top sweet to be enjoyable for long.

Full bodied with a thick, syrupy mouthfeel. This one started off promising enough, but after the first few sips, it seemed a bit much. Could probably benefit from a couple years of aging, but right now this was a sweet syrupy mess.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2011 20:22:01 | More by Vengeance526

buyBinboaVodka

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a pitch black with a small ring of head that leaves almost no lacing around the glass.

S - Sweet dark fruits such as cherries and figs. Dark chocolate and roasted malts. Intense aroma with the malts.

T - Dark sweet chocolate up front with a sweet coffee flavor throughout. A bit on the warm side, but it hides the high ABV well.

M - very thin with little to no carbonation. Leaves a sweet sugary taste in the mouth.

O - This is am ok beer. IMO not worth the heavy price tag for the size of the beer. It is worth a try, but not one I will be rushing to buy anytime soon.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 16:38:01 | More by buyBinboaVodka

DaveHS

California

3.6/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Pours deep, shiny black with no head, just a ring of iced tea colored bubbles.

S-Bitter roasted coffee beans, dirt, chipotle peppers, Memphis style vinegar barbecue sauce. Weird.

T/M-Excessively sweet, with strong roasted chipotle pepper and coffee beans. The pepper flavor is kind of appealing, but this is ultimately just too sweet. Alcohol is well concealed.

O-Worth trying, though it is WAY too expensive for an eight ounce bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 15:27:57 | More by DaveHS

tbern007

Colorado

3/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Comes in a bottle that is packed in a can.
Very black, little head, gone quickly.
Smells of alcohol, coffee, woddsy, black licorice.
Tastes like a syrupy barleywine. Initially sweet then bitter then sweet again. Coffee definitely added and aftertaste is of sugary coffee. There is some roast malt and prune/raisin in there in the middle.
Overall average.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 03:44:34 | More by tbern007

Klym

California

3.83/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

A: As dark brown as you can get with almost no head besides a few tan bubbles floating around.

S: Smells hot, with maple syrup and hickory all over the smell. Smells intensely sweet and savory at the same time.

T: Maple syrup, brown sugar, terriyaki, coffee, steak. Sweet and a little savory, with pretty intensely thick flavors. A little hot but alcohol much more hidden in the taste than in the smell.

M: Heavy bodied with mediumish carbonation, it's almost a good thing this comes in such a small bottle.

O: Pretty good and not really what I was expecting. Definitely some intense sweetness to this but I would be hesitant to say it's overpowering as it's so anchored by the savoriness running through it. I'm not sure it's

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 02:04:56 | More by Klym

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +28.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

What a beer, poured out as a dark brown color with a decent brown looking head. The head settles into just a thin ring around the glass. Not much lacing here. The smell is huge, lots and lots of boozy coffee, dark chocolate, and some fermented sweet dark fruits. The taste is strong with coffee and chocolate, the other flavors are burnt, very sweet and dry. The mouthfeel is oily and slick, it coats the mouth really well. Overall this beer is huge, it's got so much flavor. I really enjoy this beer personally but it pretty pricy for such a little bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 18:42:04 | More by Knapp85

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4.18/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

appearance: Dark brown with some red highlights. Not exactly a huge head but reasonable for a 15% plus.
smell: This is unusual. Can't find the word to identify the particular dominant smell but it's nice. Not quite burnt, not quite nutty.
taste: Oh man, wasn't ready for that. I would have expected a dry taste based on the nose but this one starts with a rush of sweetness. First reaction is damn, this is gonna be a sugary mess but the finish smooths her out and leaves you with a damn, i want some more.
overall: Just short of great. Not sure what some age would do to this but sure glad i got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2011 22:58:48 | More by cindyjeffsmith

dgilks

Australia

3.98/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark, dark brown with some red tinges when held up to light. No real head.

Brown sugar. Coffee. More sweetness.

Sweet chocolate flavour with some cream coffee notes. Diabetes. THere's also a touch of earthiness but this is sweet!

Thick and oily mouthfeel with low carbonation. Cloying.

A big dessert beer. Thick and syrupy with lots of residual sugar. Very tasty on the whole and the combination is certainly more than the sum of its parts.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 04:12:49 | More by dgilks

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4.55/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark Horizon (3rd edition)! Bottle bought at Whole Foods Tribeca for $13.99 plus tax. Pricey, sure, but so glad I found this beer (which I didn't even know existed, and is available nowhere else in NYC).

Appearance: Dark Horizon the 3rd pours fluid and calmly, more like a sherry or port than a beer. Only a slim rim for a head, and even this disappears soon. This is flat, still and ominous. Black, thick, impenetrable.

Smell: Wow! This could easily be the best-smelling coffee stout. EVER. Acrid, natural coffee- picture just-picked beans lying on a rustic burlap sack in Indonesia while the farmer smokes a hand-rolled cigarillo that further perfumes the coffee harvest. Yeah. Also smoke and cured ham/bacon, a farm in Appalachia manned by part-time coal miners. Intense! Man, I love it when a beer smells like this... it triggers the memory and the imagination. Liquorice and booze to round it all up, plus some mysterious sweetness I can't quite pin down.

Taste: My initial sip catches me unguarded and makes me grimace. What kind of fuckery is this!? The nose did not prepare me for the taste... but a second sip and I'm ready for more. Sure, this is sweet and then some, but in a good way. A roasty-smoky sweetness, like a wacky liquid dessert created in the kitchens of WD-50. More ham and nourishing taste. Cold coffee with tons of cream and sugar. Wood, barbeque, burning paper. A tad of honey, reminds me of being at the kiva of Picuris Pueblo in New Mexico. Wilderness. Oh my! I am in love.

Mouthfeel: No carbonation, but fine. Full body and flavor, super delicious booze. A little too dry, if anything.

Overall: I ran out of beer before the mouthfeel and could have used another 8 ounces to properly finish my review. Sure, this is super hot and boozy, but oh so delicious!! And for 15.5%, not that crazy, really... if it were cheaper, I would buy again in an instant.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2011 04:14:06 | More by DoubleSimcoe

rvdoorn

Netherlands

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Shared this beer with papaeugene and channan.
Look: dark black with a small brown head.
Smell: Cane sugar, malts, alcohol and coffee.
Taste: Sugar sugar sugar sugar and sugar, with hints of coffee, malts and chocolate.
Mouthfeel: medium-low carbonation, thick mouthfeel
Overall: After drinking the dark horizon version 1, I had quite high expectation of this one. Unfortunately, all that remained was disappointment. This beer is horrible unbalanced and sweet. Less sugar next time please.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2011 22:08:50 | More by rvdoorn

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Blind BIF #5, Beer #6 courtesy of abraxel.

A-Deep dark brown to black with just a little pool of tan head and no lacing at all.

S-Wow, that's boozy! Hot caramel, bourbon, toasted marshmallow, vanilla beans. Bring it on!

T-Hot hot hot! Sweet warm and boozy, bourbon balls, vanilla, caramel. Boy do I like this. Glad it's a 12 oz, though.

M-Medium bodied, lingering sweet heat. Very nice indeed.

O-Well, this is right up my alley. Delicious, warm, tasty, rich and wonderful.

My guess: uh, bourbon barrel aged imperial stout? If it's anything else, I could not guess.

The answer: Dark Horizon 3. Who knew Nogne O bottled in 8.5 oz (good idea, though). No barrel I guess, but that 15.5% ABV came from somewhere.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 17:55:02 | More by sholland119

mrbeermug

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - Inky dark and no light gets through it, with fine, soft-looking bubbles. Very typical of a Russian Imperial Stout. A little sediment towards the bottom of the glass.

S - Molasses, burnt sugar, coffee, and chicory.

T - Very sweet up front with flavors just like it smells, with the burnt sugar and earthy chicory root being prominent as well as a bit of spice. A little hot because of the high ABV, but the strong flavors counteract the alcohol. Not too much actual malt or hop flavors coming through and far too sweet for a proper Russian Imp Stout, but I'm judging this not on traditional stylistic lines since it's an experimental brew. The coffee comes through more prominently in the aftertaste.

M - Syrupy and a bit hot in the mouth and throat, but soft-textured. Lingers around on the back of the tongue. Not at all what one would expect for a Russ Imp Stout mouthfeel, but it's about what I expected given the deep, heavy sweet body.

Overall - I'd say it's definitely a unique and creative brew, but I think it would've benefitted from some fine tuning and tweaking in the brewery before being released. It's missing something in the smell, balance in the taste, and less syrup in the mouthfeel. I count the 2nd Edition among the best stouts I've ever tried, but this 3rd edition doesn't quite meet the hype.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2011 05:40:27 | More by mrbeermug

ckollias

Maryland

3.28/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Enjoyed this 8.5 oz bottle that came wrapped in orange paper inside of a tin can.

A: Dark black with a trace wispy brown lace that quickly dissipates.

S: Strong roasted malt aroma with mild hints of coffee and chocolate.

T: Booze hits you like a punch to the face. Strong syrupy sweet taste with flavors of dark roasted malts, fruits, and coffee. Very sweet from beginning to end – more than
I expected.

M: Very strong and boozy. Heavy body and minimal carbonation

O: This is a sipping beer if I ever had one beer @ 15.5%. The strong alcohol throw it off balance a bit and it is a little too boozy and expensive for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 21:35:37 | More by ckollias