Mikkeller 黑 / Black

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Imperial Stout
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Bottle, 17.5%. Vinous sweet liquorice aroma, burning my eyes slightly. Black colour. Big stable brown head. Very thick mouthfeel, must be because of the intense sweetness. Very sugary with intensely rough campari-like bitterness. I think there is some aroma hops, but it is hard to be sure. Well, this beer is certainly interesting, but is it good? I do not know, but I do not think I will beer drinking more of it soon. Tried to drink the rest of the bottle mixed with some Helles, but it just will not do. I guess I should rate this high or low, but it will be in the middle.

The aroma of; alcohol, caramel, coffee, malt and a bit acidly. It has a brown head and is of course black. Flavor of alcohol, coffee, caramel and hops. It is sweet. I guess I will have to wait a couple of years to rerate this, when the beer has matured.

Pours opaque black with an average, light brown, creamy, pillowy head which is somewhat lasting and some tight but sporatic lace. Nose is potent, powerful, and intense; rum-soaked black currants, candied dates, black molasses, fudge, light notes of leather, and alcohol. Flavor is the same rum-soaked black currants and candied dates with some heavily roasted coffee notes, hop bitterness from perfume, cedar, and resin notes, and other notes of molasses, fudge, and some light notes of grapefruit into the finish. Palate is very full, maybe the fullest beer I’ve tried to date, soft to lively, very viscous but not quite syrupy or oily, and intensely warm with fusel alcohol notes. Finishes very long with lingering sweet notes of candied dates and fudge, heavily roasted coffee, and some resinous and grapefruity hop notes. This one was huge in every aspect and would certainly benefit from quite a few years in the cellar, but as is, it was extremely intense and interesting. Palate is amazing already and the nose was incredibly inviting; many qualities were quite port-like. I can’t wait to see what this will be in 3+ years; it may end up being similar to WWS, which would be tremendous. Mikkeller stretches the boundaries again.

Bottle, RBESG08 grand tasting.
Brown/black body, tan head. Nose contained chocolate, soy, dust and alcohol (surprise surprise). Aggressive bitterness, soy sauce. Roasty, malty but just overwhelming and not all that enjoyable in my opinion and I feel like I’m overrating it a little. Guess even I have my limits...

Aroma: very powerful, black malt, big roasted backbone. Alcohol, estery (elderberry), fiery, orange, slightly fudgy, vaguely of smoke & ancient leather, coffee, rowanberry.
Flavour: big, sweet, sourish, extreme malt bitterness, burnt sweet liquorice. Great balance of obscene & extreme falvours. Absolutely adorable. Alcoholic burn & mandarin sweetness. Some oak tones? Very bitter aftertaste with hints of beautiful hops, red onion & golden grapefruit.
Appearance: ridiculously dark - black coffee-/red-tinted with superfine dark tan head leaving a greyish film. Awesome.
Palate: very smooth, fluffy, vinous, oily, surprisingly ’fruit-juicy’... could almost swear they’ve put some juice in it.

Poured from a 12.7oz corked and caged bottle and served in a snifter. This stout poured an opaque black with a one-finger thick head of creamy, dark tan foam that would not fade. A solid sheet of lace coated the entire glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of burnt malts, coffee, licorice, and a healthy dose of sweet, perfumey alcohol. The flavor consisted of charred malts, burnt sugar, black licorice, cold coffee, bittersweet chocolate, caramel, and a huge, sweet alcoholic finish. Lots of nice flavors, but it was hard to get past the alcohol. The mouthfeel was heavy and full-bodied with minimal carbonation. A fun beer to try, but I think this would be really good if the alcohol was cut back to about 12%.

Bottled. Pours opaque black with a thick, creamy tan, head that leaves some good lacing. Nose of burned malt and caramel. Sweet flavour with roasted malt, liqourice, dark fruits and coffee. Oily texture. Alcoholic finish with some bitterness too. Very full bodied.

Bottled
Pours absolutely pitch black with a firm head. Sweet liquorice and soy aroma; is this Samuel Adams Triple Bock?? Thick and oily mouth feel. Flavour is sweet with notes of coffee, liquorice and dark, bitter chocolate. But most of all the flavour is bitter; really, really bitter! An extreme beer designed for beer masochists like us.