Rickard’s Dark Review
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | Beer
Chris, the kind man that he is, patiently waited for me to arrive at his house yesterday to try Molson’s latest creation, Rickard’s Dark. I must admit, my expectations were not all that high going in – a major brewer such as Molson has aggressive sales targets and reaching sales targets often translates into brewing bland beer. Sadly most macro-brewed Canadian beer has to appeal to most beer drinking Canadians, and most beer drinking Canadians are intimidated by a dark flavorful porter. With that said, There is nothing stopping Molson from brewing quality porter and I was hopping for the best.
Chris displaying his pouring skill
Rickards Dark, a self proclaimed “porter”, poured a deep, but nowhere near deep enough, ruby-brown. Of course I was only able to appreciate the colour after removing the supplied blindfold. I would very much love to speak with the marketer who came up with that idea – most brewers are proud of their beer’s appearance.
Blind Taste Test
The aroma was quite mild and I couldn’t much detect any maple syrup. Similar to the color and aroma, the beer was mild and tasted quite similar to other Rickard brews. Faint flavors of roasted malts, chocolate and nuts was detected, key word being faint. For a more in depth tasting review check out Greg Clow’s review at Taste T.O.
The Final Verdict
Rickards Dark is just not a porter, it is much closer to a mild ale or nut brown ale. Porters are dark, rich and flavorful – Rickards Dark was neither of the three. It is certainly not a great beer, but not foul in any way either. My hope is that Rickards Dark will serve as a gateway beer, introducing many beer drinkers to the unknown world of dark beer.
Cheers,
Erik
11 Comments to Rickard’s Dark Review
I love porter, but this was no porter. I would describe Rickard’s Dark as unoffensive and uninteresting.
Brad wiensNovember 18, 2009
Damn! I was hoping it would be good.
PaulNovember 18, 2009
Hey Erik, I’m the senior brand manager at Rickard’s and glad you had chance to sample Rickard’s Dark. Just to respond to your review, we brew Rickard’s Dark in the style of English porters but with our own twist adding a touch of pure Quebec maple syrup to give our beer a distinct flavour that also makes it less bitter than traditional porters. We hope Rickard’s Dark will introduce a new set of beer drinkers to the world of dark beers and thank you for giving us a try.
Brad, it wasn’t bad, it just didn’t stand out as being good. It’s the sort of beer you could drink a few of and not really notice you were drinking beer.
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Paul, thank you kindly for the samples. I appreciate what you guys are trying to do in bringing different beer styles to the masses; I truly hope you succeed. A couple of questions though, first how much maple syrup did you guys add? I caught the faintest of hints that maple syrup was present. Also, have you ever tried Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter or Fullers London Porter? If so, how can you honestly say the Rickard’s Dark is an English style porter?
DayneNovember 20, 2009
Maybe a good beer to introduce someone into darker beers? I mean the “beer” that everyone is so used to drinking here is just not even beer so maybe this would be ok to gently get someone more curious into a more flavourful beer?
You are right Dayne, this could be a good beer to introduce someone to darker beers. If all anyone has ever tasted is Bud Light or similar yellow beers, then this beer might rock their world. However, if the road to fully flavored craft beers stops first at Rickard’s Dark, then that road might be too long to travel in one lifetime.
DayneNovember 21, 2009
LOL you make a valid point but hey you never know. when i started drinking beers i never thought i would ever appreciate a nice dark beer, or a great british pub ale like a kilkiney, yet here i am, so you never know 
You never know indeed, I was more just trying to be funny. The world of beer is vast and if Rickard’s Dark gets some people exploring more of it, then wooooooo!
ChristopherFebruary 6, 2010
I love this beer…I am getting a little tired of having to buy a tasters pack to get it though. Molsons…. please make it available in a 12 or 24 in Ontario
GraemeMarch 5, 2010
Hey Christopher, Rickard’s Dark is now available at the Beer Store in 12packs. Thanks, Graeme from Rickard’s.
Is it available in BC yet?
November 17, 2009