Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

Longue attente de 4 mois avant la réception de ce divin personnage chinois. Une fois la bouteille vide, nous pouvons constater la couleur verte de la bouteille. Reçu avec une étiquette écrite à la main ayant comme numéro: le co 11126872 et le 45.231B.00 et ayant comme date d’expiration 2017. Dégusté dans un verre de Gulden Draak avec Glandine. Une bière noir et liquoreuse avec très peu de mousse mais qui reste longtemps avec de petit résidut restant sur les parois du verre. Une arôme dès plus intense de mélasse, alcool, cassonde, fruits confit, vanille, hichory, fûmé de bois, café et coffe crisp. Un goût de noisette, sucre brun, sirop de café, grenadine, alcool, très houblonné avec un petit goût de soya. Une bière riche, crémeuse, ronde avec une amertume et un goût extrême dépassant mes espérances. Une bière complètement débile dans tout les sens du terme. Attention!, plénitude assuré...

I finally got the courage to open this bottle that I bought a few months ago at The Market of Choice in Ashland, Oregon because it was the only one I had. After peeling off the foil and pulling out the cork it poured like used motor oil and raised a small dark tan head and left very gluey lacing rings. Nose is strongly of alcohol with burnt malts and ripe fruit. Very thick in the mouth. If feels like it looks and smells...rich. The flavor is sweet and alcoholic with coffee. The finish is bitter and like two day old espresso. This is for sipping and while very interesting was not quite as enjoyable as many other top flight Imperial Stouts.

Bottle shared at Uber during the Cascade night festivities. This stuff was horrendous. Vokda burny nose on top of some dark roast and sweet dark fruit notes. Pours black with a thin head. Very think and viscous looking. More vodka burn in the flavor that detracts from everything that this beer could have offered had it been like 5% less alcohol. I guess there were dark sugars and roast, but the booze was too abrasive to help me enjoy and of the subtleties. This one could have used 4 more years to soften...

(Bottle) Compact black colour with brief, foamy, brown head. Roasted, malty nose with ashes, burnt wood, liquorice, cola, dried fruit, raisins, tobacco, brown sugar, dark chocolate and espresso. Sweetish. Intense, roasted, malty taste with sweet liquorice, ashes, sweet espresso, prunes, raisins, molasses, cough-medicine, liquorice root and dark chocolate. Lots of brown sugar sweetness. Full body with oily texture. Some coffee bitterness, but it’s overshadowed by everything else. It’s probably a bit over the top and way too sweet, but I still like this uncompromising beer. Seriously heavy stuff and obviously with a certain bite. I’ll probably save my second bottle a couple of years, a little more balance wouldnt’ hurt.

Holy crap! I’m coming in hot!! Pours an insanely think motor oil black with a creamy chocolate head that was bubbling in in what seemed like slow motion. Very sticky lacing left on the glass as well. Big nose of dark fruits, smoked malts, wood, chocolate and of course booze! Very tasty with a thick very viscous feeling on the palate. I have not been this shocked by a beer ( in a good way) in the long time........this one made me forget who I was.

[At Carlsens with Hans Ole.] Totally black with fluffy coffeehead. Fat aroma of coffee, sugar, burntness, chocolate and heavy alcohol. Flavor of the fattest sweetness ever, oil, complex hops, dried fruits, and more notes than ever before noticed. All ending up very bitter. What a miracle!

Bottled 375ml. Courtesy of Bov. Aroma: Shōchū, Christmas pudding, wood, marzipan and sherry in the nose. Flavor and palate: Walnuts, Christmas pudding, marzipan, cherries and late roasted impressions showing up. Full bodied, complex and warming. Reminiscent of cough syrup and Shōchū. Wonderful salty finish. An atypical Imperial Stout. Thanks Bov!

375ml corked bottle. Suprised its a green bottle actually. BB 12/12/17!!! Served at room temperature in a goblet. At a fortifying 17.5%alc/vol, this is a good amount (standard beer strength!) stronger than any beer i’ve ever laid eyes on, so i’m really not entirely sure what the expect! Cork is a bit of a struggle to get out, i’m expecting the contents to be reasonably low carbonation though. Tempted to get a cork screw! Pops open without a great deal of sound, and i’m presented with a dense, oily, opaque black liquid with shortly lived dark ring of lace that is probably darker than most stouts! Has legs that cling onto the glass for what seems an eternity! Aroma just screams potency up my nostrils. Warming fortified wine-like alcohol tends to dominate, but seems to keep a common theme of vinous character that seems more relevant to a port; dark berries, dried fruit, woody spice, characoal, bitter citrus, soy sauce, dark roast coffee bean, burnt toffee and roasted nuts. I’m kind of a bit afraid to take a sip! As expected, the body has the initial weight of a forified wine, but quickly dries out with a huge drying from tannic grain astringency and alcohol. Carbonation is low, thick oily texture seems almost enough to distract one from the ridiculous abv. Intense flavour is probably an understatement. I can (and have) see some people taking a sip and not even bothering, but I like to think i’m a bit more adventurous. Alas, it is hard to look beyond the alcohol, roasted grain and general bitterness, but underneath reveals layers of liquorice, roasted nuts, toffee, brandy, rich bitter chocolate, vinous dark fruits and citrus. And the list just goes on, and does the after taste! However, at the end of the day, this is a seriously brutal beer, and as the Best Before suggests, this has a good number of years left on it. So it’s be my recommondation to leave this bad boy in the cellar for a few years to mellow, because i can really see good things coming to those who wait!