Deschutes Black Butte XXI

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Bend, Oregon USA

bottle, black opaque pour with strong tan foam, aromas of chocolate and dark fruits, flavors of whiskey, bitter chocolate, fruity with long finish

From the Bottle at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Wynkoop Brewery 25/09/2009 Big coffee roast aroma. Small white head. Black strong in alcohol and a little rich on the palate with a hint of dryness and bitterness in a crisp coffee roast finish.

Wow! Crazy aroma hits like a hammer. Black brew with a large, thick very dark brown cap with very good retention and maaasive lacing. The aroma is just excellent. Huge waves of chocolate and a colossal amount of malts almost put me into a coma. The roast here reminds me of a german bock, more chocolate, soy sauce, vanilla, powdered choc, coffee, ample sweetness, lots of nut early on, especially right after pulling the wax covered cap off. The taste is huge. How many times can I use the word huge in one review? Probably a huge amount of times. Chocolate, good bitterness that almost seems to hide the 11% but doesn’t quite allowing it to peer at me from around the corner. Light soy sauce, vanilla, coffee. Ouch... the alcohol from this night is finally catching up to me - an alcohol that seems more at place in a 26. Smooth, so smooth. Full bodied, light carbonation, huge heavy breath - a large roast fume that just won’t leave. Molasses and licorice spice is found on the finish when I forget about the other stuff. Just got hit by another chocolate bomb. Excellent f’n beer!

Intense smoky chocolate and coffee coming from the bottle, this aroma is off the charts good. Just got a wif of pool water. Brew looks deep dark blackish brown, a cap was produced on the pour but it gone very quickly. Aroma has turned almost salty. Taste is thick and epically full, chocolate, smoke, coffee, salty, all good!!!!!!! Awesome there is like 10 new York Rangers on the ice beating the crap out of one Canuck!!! Hockey violence rules!!!! So very good beer! Thanks Jeff you old man you.

XXI edition. Deeeeeeeeeep black pour, thin brown head. Amazing combination of coffee, malt, whiskey. I need to buy a few cases.

22 oz bottle courtesy of I do not remember. XX edition, cellared. Pours a pitch black opaque pour, black as the night, with a moderate brown lively head that settled to a decent layer, laces pretty well. Aromas evident from the pour, preaching bitter chocolate bourbon booze, roasted malts, caramel, vanilla, wet wood, chocolate chip cookies, good coffee flavors that take a more settled, rather than harsh coffee appeal. Whiskey isn’t dominant but is defintely there. Initial is a silky smooth full beer, roasted dark malts, barley, bitter chocolate and coffee meld, with a good bitterness on the back of the palate and lighter underlying sweetness. Chocolate and coffee dominant, as whiskey and barrel notes come in underneath, smooth and full vanilla, wet wood, alcohol. Warming, this beer coats the palate pretty well, leaving chocolate and coffee in the aftertaste, along with a sort of chocolate chip cookie appeal, although not overly sweet in any way. Perhaps the whiskey did it’s thing, as this gets a little smokey/ashy in the roast, a bit of char, however not really thinned out at all by the barrels. Kissed, so to speak. Very enjoyable, full, flavorful, a nice sipper. Cheers!

Poured obsidian black with almost no head, tasted of delicious chocolate with coffee after tones, and almost no alcohol. The bourbon aging smoothed it out quite a bit, an outstanding beer!

Poured a dark brown, almost black with a small tan head. Nose was chocolate, vanilla, and strong coffee with a hint of bourbon. Taste was roasted coffee, chocoalte, oak, vanilla, and a bit of a burnt, smoky taste. The coffee lingers on the palette in a thick, foamy fashion. Great beer Deschutes!