Dark Horse Winter Stouts collection

The last of the winter beers...I think...  So a while back at Sunset, I tried a Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout and it was awesome!  Come to find out, Dark Horse does a collection of stouts starting in November for 5 months, releasing a new one each month designed to " to help ease you through the cold and grey midwestern winters. " Unfortunately, by the time I found out about this, the only place I could find any of the stouts just had 3 of the 5 types in stock..One, Tres and Fore.  And do you think I'm actually gonna pass up getting them just because they don't have all five?

One Oatmeal Stout Ale.  8.0% ABV and unknown IBUs...The pour on this was much more indicative of an Imperial Stout, save the chocolatey, tan head.  Alcohol is the first thing on the nose, giving way to deep roasted coffee, smokey notes, roasted malts and dark chocolate.  Not a lot of the sweeter malts as most other oatmeals offer.  Taste was much of the same... thick and creamy.  Burnt coffee, chocolate dominate the taste, some darker fruits come into play like raisins.  A slight bit of the sweeter oatmeal taste  comes through in the finish and aftertaste, but still heavily focused on coffee..almost espresso-like.  A very nice stout, but a bit off-putting name wise...I would assume any oatmeal stout would be a tad bit sweeter, even thicker-bodied.  The name of the game in beer now is definitely putting your own spin on traditional styles..but having an oatmeal stout with almost no oatmeal tastes or aromas present...slightly askew

Skipping right ahead to Tres Blueberry Stout..much lighter at 4.5% ABV.  Same rich, black pour and deep tan head..quickly dissipated..the blueberry notes were heavily present even during pouring.  A shame this is released in January...it would go amazingly well with blueberry pie on Turkey Day!  A deeper focus gives hints of vanilla, roasted barley, some chocolate and even spicy black licorice on the nose.  And wow..this is damn tasty!  Compared to the pour, the taste is surprisingly light, uncharacteristically carbonated.  A sharp smack of blueberry taste comes through immediately that then gives way to slightly bitter coffee, milk chocolate, roasted (yet somewhat sweet malts), some false creaminess lent to some vanilla notes here and there.   The blueberries come back with a vengeance in the finish!  Like a blueberry soda of sorts.  A hugely welcome change of pace from any stout I've ever had and from the standard blueberry wheat beer as well!  A richly flavorful beer that is surprisingly light and manages to balance bitter, roasted, sweet, fruity and creamy tastes...  Kudos, Dark Horse!  Kudos indeed!

Fore Smoked Stout..another stout offering at 8% ABV...beast!  Definite smoke/woody tones to the nose, as well as some nice, coffee and sweeter toffee.  Maybe a little bit of underlying cinnamon as well?  Either way, a great nose to a beer, mixing smoky and sweet..roasted..all very nicely.  The taste was a bit heavy on coffee and mild chocolate hit the tongue right away...then the smoke!  It's kinda like eating the most burnt ends of an overly done steak tip of the grill..not a gas grill either, good ol' fashioned charcoal!  Wicked smoky mid-taste to this beer..like the hickory chips straight out of a Memphis smoker...WOW .  Dark roasted malts highly present on the finish of the beer with strong samplings of alcohol poking through here and there.  The general lightness to the body could've lent itself to a coffee porter.. but still a nice beer.  However..it seems a bit of a stretch to have a series of 5 stouts and expect them all to be standout and unique from each other.  Take away a bit of the sweetness from the Oatmeal Stout Ale and make it a bit lighter and you have the Smoked Stout...  would like to have seen what the Too Cream Stout and Plead the 5th Imperial Stout were like...   next winter?