Dark Horse - Boffo Brown Ale

Good evening beer lovers!  I'm back after a week of vacation up north in Crosslake, MN.  It was beautiful!  Gorgeous weather, lots of golf, pizza at Rafferties (delicious btw) and happy hours on the lake.  Life couldn't have been better.  I enjoyed some Lake Maid from Schell's and Oktoberfest from Summit throughout the week along with some beer that I refuse to mention within the confines of this blog.  All in all, it was a great week.  I'm thankful to Dunz for keeping up the great posts throughout my absence and I'm looking forward to getting back into review mode this week!

Tonight's review is of another brew from our friends at Dark Horse.  These guys have been putting together some delicious brews over the years and Dunz and I have been fortunate enough to live in an area that has access to most of their line up.  We have reviewed six of their brews since starting this blog in December.  They include Scotty Karate, Crooked Tree and Double Crooked Tree IPA, Plead the 5th Imperial Stout, Sapient Trip Ale and their Amber Ale.  And aside from a bi-polar labeling machine we both have generally had great experiences with Dark Horse's creations.

Boffo brown ale is dark, almost on the verge of being as dark as a porter.  A nice tan ring of foam hangs around but doesn't stick to my mug.  Big whiffs of toffee and malt along with a bit of nuttiness foreshadow whats to come.  In true Dark Horse fashion this Boffo is big.  A full bodied onslaught of malt, bittersweet chocolate, roasted nuts and sweet toffee define what Dark Horse stands for; big bold flavors!  The sweetness is balanced by an astringent bitterness from the roasted malts and hops I presume.  Its tough to determine how the hops add to this brew since this is simply a big 6.5% ABV brown ale.

Overall - If you like brown ales you will love Boffo.  This brew assaults your taste buds with a creamy combination of big malt-forward flavors and strong toasty aromas.  I should take the time to mention that the labeling machine at Dark Horse must have been given flowers on the day this bottle was labeled due to the impeccable label placement.  Treat that machine nicely Dark Horse lest you wish more crooked labels in your future!