Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

(bottle, thanks OSLO!) Pours black with a tan head. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malt, prune, and raisin. In the very beginning I could smell the asphalt that others have noted as well, but the smell disappeared for me as the beer warmed. The taste, when cold is very sweet, with a lot of chocolate. This taste is good enough, but the finish is just a bracing blast of green pepper, harsh charred malt, and alcohol. This god awful finish only intensifies as the beer warms, and the alcohol begins to dominate every little thing that was remotely good about the beer. If you let this thing warm for more than ten minutes, all I can say is good luck. I know OSLO drank this for a longer time than I, so I’m glad I finished it fairly quickly, and was not subjected to the alcohol bomb it becomes. This is just awful.

[Bottle, thanks joebrew and EddieB23!] Pours black with a tan head. Aroma is raisin, light chocolate, a hint of tar, and a very odd chemical that was familiar but I could not place. The taste is very sweet up front, then incredibly harsh roasted malt, chocolate and a lot of alcohol. When it was cold the taste was manageable, as it warmed though...watch out. A blast of harsh roasted malt and a huge amount of alcohol. Medium mouthfeel with a tragically long finish of roasted malt and alcohol. Overall, this beer fails on so many levels. Yes, it is over-the-top, but in an oh so bad sort of way. It’s incredibly hot, the roasted malt is offensive, and the chemical aroma started to make me feel queasy after awhile. Speaking of feeling sick, after warming the taste actually caused me to gag. I could barely finish my small sample, and if I had to drink a whole bottle (especially if it was warm), I would honestly vomit. This may be the only time I say this, but make your sample as small as possible and drink it cold, because at least then it would hide some of the offensive flavors hidden within.

375 ml bottle. Pitch black. Medium-sized beige fine-laced head. Motor oil. Papery and tight. Clean metallic hop aromas. Clean and nicely balanced. Intensely flavourful. Sweet and interestingly roasted. Wonderfully hopped. I love this. Very sweet flavours that are balanced by sharp hops that don’t punch you directly in the face, like in many of their other beers.

Medium dark brown head. Opaque black body. Intense burnt coffee and sugary pine needle aroma with alcoholic notes. Intense alcoholic burnt dandelion coffee taste with pine needle notes. Some wood. Very sweet. Alcohol taste is a bit dominant. Interesting, but not really that good. Ɛ.375l bottle at Ole_R’s.)

bottle, jet black color with a nose to match, brown head dissipates easily, has flavors of varnish and roast beef with burnt kahlua thrown in, finish is bitter sweet

Bottle. Blackish beer with reddish highlights and a brown head. Malty, light roasty, light boozy aroma with some chocolate. Chocolate, roast flavor with sweet malt and big alcohol notes. Medium-plus bodied. Lingering sweet malt, roast, big alcohol.

RB#4600: 37.5 cL bottle. Pours pitch black with a creamy dense chocolate brown head. Fruity and dense roasted malt aroma. Bite from alcohol in the eyes. Sweet and fruity flavour with a heavy roasted malt flavour following. Impressive sweet flavour with cane sugar and somewhat else - kind of off. Roasted barley acidic dense flavour in addition. Sweet and fruity into the finish with a distinct burning feel. Utterly unbalanced. Has all the ingredienses yet not in a nice blend. :( I did enjoy the experience - although this is tough one.

Dark brown-black color with a brown head and oily consistency. The aroma is more than a little crazy, with alcohol, insanely strong black coffee, and dark chocolate. I thought that the aroma was something, then I took a taste. The flavor is like a mocha espresso gone horribly wrong, with some roasted malt and a bitter finish. It is rather thick and alcohol is somewhat well concealed, but I agree with RCL that I will be more than a little drunk by the time I finish this one. Interesting example of a truly extreme beer....