“This heavy-hitting collaboration barrel-aged stout with our mates in Tasmania at LARK Distillery is a masterclass in balance. Aged in their famous Dark Lark whisky barrels for six months, the result was worth the wait.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black pour with a short brown head perched on top. Good retention and lacing as it ebbs.

Aroma: We don’t typically review beers from MC due to their high frequency of limited releases but when in Tassie one must partake in an MC (Hobart) X Lark BA collab impy stout. Dark Lark is a unique expression. It’s matured in ex-muscat casks so a naturally fortified fruit sweetness does take centre stage. Usually we’d be against any type of sweet fruit in a BA impy stout but this works well. Lovely oak/barrel qualities coming through too.

Flavour: The muscat barrels are providing a good amount of fortified fruit sweetness again. We’re also getting a hint of flambeed orange and Christmas spice too. The base stout is solid (in the past this has been a weak point for MC), it’s nice and rich, full of molasses and bittersweet dark chocolate. Enough bottom end to carry the barrel characteristics into a sweet yet rich and roasty finish.

Mouthfeel: Rather light and oily for its size. Slightly lifted Co2 and a well behaved 10% ABV.

Overall: Decent offering from MC. As we’ve mentioned, their stouts as a whole are very hit and miss so we must give some accolades when they do pull one off.