Deschutes Black Butte XXIII

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

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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pours a jet black with a thin khaki head, and some lacing. smell is of malt, come cocoa, and a little vanilla. taste is of milk chocolate, vanilla, and malt. ends smooth.

Coco, anis, caramel, chocolat et une touche de café. Le corps est confortable et transporte bien l’amertume jusqu’au final. Je cherche encore l’orange à travers tout le reste.

Bottle:   Black in color, deep cola highlights, large pillowy head, tannish, very sticky lacing.   Rich roasty nose, slight vanilla, a touch of oak, some bakers chocolate on the nose.   Roasty on the tongue, oakish, bakers chocolate, and faint vanilla.   Very smooth.   The chocolate I am having with this pairs well.   Slight hop bitterness on the backside.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full.   Cocoa appears more on the exit.   A little bit of heat shows this one as it warms.   Enjoyable, albeit a lot of the flavors are subtle.   Bottle says to wait until June 15 2012, but I think the only thing that will benefit at that point is the smoothness of the alcohol.   Its not a bruiser now, so dunno if you should wait.   Finishes slightly dry, a little chalky, lots of cocoa or bakers chocolate, slight vanilla, and a bit of oak.   Oh, and some heat.   Pretty respectable.

22oz. bottle. June 2012 aging challenge met, and exceeded! Aroma of dark chocolate, darkly roasted malt and fainter notes of bourbon barrel, prune, vanilla, alcohol and a certain herbal spice tone. Brown-black in color, but not truly opaque, it shows a dark brown color during the act of pouring. Head is very fine and slight, nearly fading away entirely. Flavor profile is full of dark, semi-sweet chocolate, with suggestions of orange citrus, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and pepper (Pasilla Negra chile pepper to be exact, according to the label). Lightly viscous, coating mouthfeel, body is ridiculously full. Quite rich in character overall but balanced out nicely with the heat of the chiles and the generous alcohol content. Interesting and tasty.

Bottle shared by mdfb79. Thanks Dan! The beer is dark brown, with 1/4" of light tan head and some random lacing left on the glass. The aroma brings roasted malt, chocolate, alcohol, and oddly enough, a spicy flavor I was not expecting. Zesty citrus and/ or chiles? The flavor consists of dark chocolates, roast, and an orange peel flavor that was not present in Black Butte XX or XXI. Similar to a dark chocolate candy bar with orange or orange peel. While this is interesting, I definitely prefer the previous anniversary editions from Deschutes. Medium bodied with appropriate carbonation. Decent feel. Overall, I much prefer the Black Butte XX and XXI to this year’s offering. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 07-12-2011

Just cracked this bottle with a couple friends for a mid-week treat. Pours a deep dark brown with light edges. This isn’t as dark as expected. A thin sheet of lace rests on top. The aroma is warming with mild bourbon, vanilla, oak, chocolate. The nose is the best part of this beer I think. The body is too carbonated. I would think that some time spent in barrels, albeit just 1/4 of this beer, would have mellowed this out. On top of that the time since bottling should have smoothed it out, but is bubbly, bordering on harsh. Some of the "bigger" beers I’ve had recently have had this unpleasant characteristic, unfortunately. The flavor isn’t as enjoyable as the XX or XXI. I realize the ingredients are different, but this one is my least favorite. Mild cocoa, light zesty tartness on the back end. Bourbon character is absent. There’s some sweetness here, but it’s fleeting. I appreciate their ingenuity, but this one fell short for me. Stick to coffee, vanilla, and cocoa, and bourbon - that combo was a sure winner in my book.

Drank with about 14 months of age. Really nice balance. A bit thinner than I was hoping for, but all the flavors have come together really nicely. Big dark coffee notes along with the cocoa. Bit of the chili bite but not getting the orange. Huge bourbon nose with vanilla and wood. Smells just awesome.

Pours dark, dark brown, with tan head. Aroma of malt, oak, and cocoa. Rich taste with oak, bourbon, malt, and chocolate. Nice notes on the palate. Smooth and complex, this is an excellent beer. Thumbs way up!

Pours very dark brown with a deep bronze hue and a soapy tan head. The aroma has lots of smooth roasted malt, vanilla, cocoa, light bourbon, hints of orange and an overall richness. Medium / full body that is rich and it has restrained sharp carbonation. The flavor begins with smooth roasty malt, chocolate, peppers, vanilla and oak. The finish has more hot spiciness, chocolate, spice and oak. Really nice.

Bottle, 08/31/2012. Pours practically black, thin but dense light tan head, fine curtain lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, cocoa, coffee, with a big orange citrus component, hoppy, bourbon molasses character to finish. Taste is rich roast, dark chocolate, licorice, citrus overtones, ash and coffee, bourbon, boozy finish. Full body. Not too shabby, but maybe still a bit hot.