Dark Matter
Hoyne Brewing in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦
Porter Regular|
Score
6.18
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Dark Matter is the only beer we make where we don’t say on the bottle what style it is. This is for a very good reason. Even we don’t know! It is more easily described by what it isn’t. It is not as roasted as a stout, nor is it as sweet or high in alcohol as a porter. And don’t even mention brown ale in the same breath. Like the Northern Lights, it is seductively elusive, bringing the mystery of the universe into your glass.
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7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 8
355ml can at a friends house in Victoria, Vancouver Island on 13th August 2025. Red hue to the dark body, beige crown. Malt base with a dark fruit interior, not sweet, not sour or dry, just a nice balanced dark ale.
Tried
from Can
on 13 Aug 2025
at 18:45
6.6/10
Okay beer. Kinda thin and kinda boring. Below average, weak. Not worth it. Can sk beer
Tried
from Can
on 24 Dec 2024
at 04:20
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Tap. Pours clear black, small off-white head, decent lacing. Aroma is full of roast, deep deep roast, leather notes, ash. Aroma is light sweet, light plus bitter. Pretty dry and a bit ashy. Medium body. Ls, lpb, dry Medium body 4,7,7,4,14
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Nov 2019
at 20:03
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Glass, 10-ounce, draught, drunk at Tap & Barrel - Coal Harbour, trip to the Joint Statistical Meeting with Louise, savoured on July 30 2018; eye: black, opaque, ring of tan head, no effervescence, slight lacing; nose: coffee, roasting, acidity, light chocolate; mouth: coffee, roasting, acidity, light chocolate, finale in coffee with good presence of roasting, medium-full body, average carbonation, lightly sweet, slick texture; overall: fine
FRANÇAIS
Verre, 10 onces, en fût, bue au Tap & Barrel - Coal Harbour, voyage au Joint Statistical Meeting avec Louise, savourée le 30 juillet 2018; œil : noire, opaque, anneau de mousse fauve, pas d'effervescence, très légère dentelle; nez : café, torréfaction, acidité, léger chocolat; bouche : café, torréfaction, acidité, léger chocolat, finale en café avec bonne présence de torréfaction, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
FRANÇAIS
Verre, 10 onces, en fût, bue au Tap & Barrel - Coal Harbour, voyage au Joint Statistical Meeting avec Louise, savourée le 30 juillet 2018; œil : noire, opaque, anneau de mousse fauve, pas d'effervescence, très légère dentelle; nez : café, torréfaction, acidité, léger chocolat; bouche : café, torréfaction, acidité, léger chocolat, finale en café avec bonne présence de torréfaction, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
Tried
from Draft
on 30 Jul 2019
at 20:40
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
On draft at Keefer Lake Lodge. Pours a clear mahogany with a creamy tan head. Aromas of leather and toasted biscuit. Flavors are moderately bitter roast.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Feb 2019
at 00:49
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
650ml bottle. Pours a slightly hazy red-brown with a medium, creamy, long lasting, beige head that leaves curtains of lace. Mild, sweet aroma of roasted malt, caramel, nuts, chocolate and ash. Sweet flavour of roasted bready malt, caramel, toffee, dark chocolate, nuts and vanilla in a dry, mild bitter coffee finish. Light to medium body with a thin, watery texture and soft carbonation. Tasty, but more of a brown ale than a porter.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 May 2018
at 04:00
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6
Poured from the tap. Dark brown with beige head. Light roast malt and nuts, mild cocoa powder. A little thin.
Tried
from Draft
on 13 Mar 2017
at 18:22
4.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
Reddish dark brown. Smells thin, nutty, bland. Body is a bit better than the nose indicated, but it’s still this thin, nutty thing. Not really getting it done.
Tried
on 18 Apr 2014
at 17:13
3.5/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 2
Overall 3
Nice to see more and more Victoria brewers coming into the fold. This one has a sub-par appearance for a porter with quickly dissipating thin head and a bubby dark brown body, coca-cola like almost. Aroma of dog hair, grass, rotten barley, tin. Flavour is a thin mix of barley and metal with a weak dry finish. I tried another Hoyne that was quite nice, but this one is a total miss.
Tried
on 06 Jun 2013
at 17:53
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Has a little coffee. Pours dark mahogany with good head and lacing. Smell has some burnt toast. If this is supposed to be a porter, then it’s really not performing. Seems more like a dunkel or something. On tap at brewery.
Tried
from Draft
on 05 May 2013
at 00:54