Deschutes Black Butte XXI

Formerly brewed at Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter

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Serving glass: Poured from bomber into Snifter. Appearance: Very dark chestnut brown with moderate tan head and some nice lacing. Aroma: Rich molasses, dark fruit, caramelized sugar and vanilla, with just hints of chocolate, coffee and oak. Taste: Molasses, caramel, and heavily roasted malt core with nice layers of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and an overall oakiness. The chocolate becomes much more apparent as it warms. Fantastic complexity. Palate: Ultra smooth, rich and creamy with low carbonation. Simply luxurious feel. Overall: Just a great beer. Very complex and easy to sip. A chocolate lover’s dream. Sad I will never get to have XXII out here in Minnesota.

Pours inky brown, completely opaque in the glass, medium tan head, very fine clinging lacing. Aromas of chocolate, espresso, toast, toffee, leather, oak and bourbon. Medium body, velvety smooth, lightly dry. Medium initial sweetness, some distant citrus, then a mild to medium bitter smokey finish with a lingering aftertaste. Deep, complex, rich, and well balanced.

One oft he most overrated beer I have ever drunk. Simply terrible or in terrible conditions I onestly don’t know.

Mostly coffee on the nose. Bourbon comes through only in the finish with just a bit of noticeable alcohol and some chocolate. Very dark but not totally opaque. Normal Black Butte flavors are pretty dominated by the coffee and bourbon, but it is a solid base for this beer and carries everything well. On draft at Green Dragon, Portland, OR.

XXI Pours thin and black no head to speak of. Smells great, coffee, chocolate, licorice, tabacco, and some dark fruit. Coffee, chocolate, vanilla, toffee, and molasses. Mouthfeel is medium and the finish is coffee bitterness. XX Aroma: 8 Appearance: 4 Taste: 8 Palate: 4 Overall: 18 Total Score 4.2 Pours thin black just like XXI. Smells more roasty than XXI and I also get coffee, chocolate, licorice and oak. Taste roasted coffee, vanilla, licorice, and tabacco. Mouthfeel is medium thin and the finish is long and deep dark roasted coffee bitterness.

Vintage XX. Pours one black beauty in a glass, motor oil thick and the color of Donald Rumsfeld’s heart, with a brown, chunky head that solidifies on the side of the pint. Smells like chocolate liquor, brown and black and sweet and fruity and boozy. Chocolate and rum raisin hit your palate first, followed by an oaky, vanilla-dusted middle, then exploding into a coffee-fueled booze-rampage finish. Delicious, yes, but hot as hell, months after its release. Give this bastard some time; it’s tasty now, but will be classic soon. (5/29/09)

7/31/2009 Pours a dark brown/black with a smallish tan head that dissipates quickly but leaves some nice lace on the glass. Aromas of milk chocolate, bitter chocolate, coffee, and a bit of alcohol. This tastes a lot better than it smells, and it doesn’t smell half bad. The taste is a luscious thick chocolatey affair with coffee over tones. A touch of heat in the middle, a vanilla bourbon then a lingering roast and bourbon finish. A touch on the sweet side, but certainly enjoyable. Thick viscous body and feel, light carbonation. I really enjoyed this one. I was underwhelmed with the aroma, but loved the taste and texture. I’ll revisit this in a year or so and compare notes. Great stuff!

Draft at Toronado San Fran. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, nearly black and topped by a small head of khaki colored foam that leaves spots of lacing around the glass. The aroma is nice showing notes of bitter, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, mocha, and some earthy hop bitterness on the back end that goes well with the roast and help balance the sweetness from the cocoa. There is a subtle touch of bourbon and oak that blends well with the other elements. The flavor follows suit with the rich dark chocolate and roasted coffee up front while the earthy hops add some bitterness on the back end. Subtle bourbon and oak laden vanilla add further depth and smooths out the bitterness from the hops and roast. Nearly full bodied and very smooth on the palate with subtle carbonation that leads to a smooth dark cocoa finish. The bourbon use was subtle and added further depth to all the flavors rather than overpowering things. Really nicely done imperial porter.

XXI on tap at Beer Revolution. Pours a very dark brown with a small light tan head that dissipates quickly and leaves very little lacing on the glass. Aroma is huge dark, bitter chocolate. There is also some licorice and molasses as well as a bit of alcohol. The initial taste is sweet with dark chocolate going into some licorice and molasses. A little graham cracker as well. The finish is on the sweet side with a light bitterness and a decent amount of alcohol. Lightly astringent. Medium body. Low carbonation. The chocolate dominates almost all other flavors in this beer. The alcohol was also quite prominent considering the age on this beer. It was a solid beer, but I was expecting a little bit more.

22oz XXI bottle with a best after date of 10/17/10. Pours a black body with a finger-width, creamy, brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing throughout. Aroma is solid with a nice blend of bitter dark chocolates, black coffee, roasts, wood, vanilla, molasses, a few dark fruits, a hint of bourbon, caramel, and some floral hops. The vanilla-bourbon and rich chocolates come out more as this warms along with some oak. Flavor is similar. Lots of bitter dark chocolates and roasts up front with a good amount of caramel and molasses. Dark fruits and richer chocolates in the middle before the coffee really makes its entrance on the backend. A light oaky vanilla-bourbon throughout that plays off the roasty coffee and big chocolates nicely. Some floral hops come out at the end to assist the bitter chocolates and roasts to give this a medium-light bitterness. Just a slight peppery alcohol with a light malty sweetness to balance all the roasts and coffee. Pretty dry with just a bit of a powdery feel before leaving a lengthy aftertaste that follows a medium-full, smooth, slightly syrupy body and soft, moderate carbonation. Wood, bourbon, and bitter chocolates really linger nicely. Overall, a pretty excellent beer. Big, bold, and balanced with a nice sweetness and a solid barrel-aged integration that isn’t overpowering, but rather adds a nice complexity that leans towards the subtle side of things. Plenty of coffee, bitter chocolates, and roasts make this my kind of beer. Delicious.