UPDATED: MAR 26, 2020 Keg at The Portland International Beer Festival 2008 on 18/07/2008. This was the original ‘XX’ version, released that year. Holy heck; what a beer. Massive roasty and dried fruit notes. Loads of whisky, leather and oak in the aroma. Smooth and rich.

UPDATED: NOV 16, 2019 Bomber, XX edition. Rich roasted malt aroma with notes of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, oak and vanilla. Pours deep brown with a thin mocha brown head that has little retention or lacing. Starts with rich roasted malt, chocolate and coffee flavors as well as having a rich, but medium body and slick, viscous mouthfeel. Finishes quite smooth with bourbon, oak and vanilla flavors joining the rich roasted malt. May have lost a step after 11 years (especially in the body) but still quite excellent.

UPDATED: NOV 9, 2019 Vintage bottle shared by alexsdad06 pour opaque black with thin tan head. Nose mineral chocolate, molasses, prune, bakers chocolate. Taste mineral chocolate, prune, light anise, mild mineral.

Bottle via an impromptu trade with the Mitch that is mad cheers Ken; was going to save this for a special occasion with the KFC drought of 2018 and the beast from the east have fucked up my plans so I’ve decided to drink it alone, firstly it’s a shame this review will disappear along with Ratebeer I’ve gained about 2 stone because of this site which I don’t mind about because I was destined to be obese, but JoeT when we spoke you said you didn’t want to commit website suicide but you’re on that path but seriously I don’t care as long as I get to 10k, ok back to the beer it pours opaque dark brown with a thin creamy tan head, aroma has big chocolate and rich malt, taste has sweet chocolate, light bourbon, vanilla hints, very sweet, got some coconut, I like this beer,

Bottle at home on our last night in this house in Seattle. This week I’ve gone through XXV, XXIV, XXIII, and finally we’re down to the last bottle. I don’t know anymore why I wanted to buy all of these in the first place, or why I would want to hold onto them for so long, but those questions are irrelevant now. Dark pour with creamy brown head that dissipates to a ring but never disappears. Smells old (faded hops), but once it’s in the mouth it comes to life. Lovely milk chocolate with a surprisingly pleasant coffee backing. Moderately sweet; its age doesn’t detract at all at this point, and I can honestly say this is my favorite of the bunch. The rest ... aging did them no favors. Maybe that’s true here, too, but unlike those I’m actually enjoying this one. I guess they just don’t make them like they used to.

XXI Pours Black with dirty foam colored medium head. Big nose of roasted coffee. Flavor has dark chocolate, espresso and hints of bourbon. Nice thick body that is made to sip. From Old Notes

[Backlog 2014] Bottle courtesy of Eric at his place for a tasting. Pours a deep blackish brown body with nice thick tan head. Nose is oak, soft vanilla notes, toast, cream and coffee roast. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with notes of toasted malt, oak, bourbon, coffee roast, caramel and very faint sharpie marker.

First of all this is the XX version. Secondly, this is one of the weirdest beers I’ve ever had. Appearance is a short-lived brown head, no lace, and opaque brown black color. Aroma at first is dark ripe fruits, cocoa, coffee, lumber, leather, but soon that goes waaay bad - to a dirty public toilet! And that aroma kind of comes and goes, but it’s nasty. And when I went to take my first sip, my god, that nasty aroma was going into my mouth!! That wasn’t easy. After a bit the flavor gives way to the initial aroma qualities, plus whiskey, vanilla and a bit of tang and bitter. Body is so so as carbonation is on the flat side. Luckily the nastiness don’t persist into the finish.

Poured from the bottle into a small tasting glass, the first of many beers brought from home and popped open at Dark Lord Day 2011. Espresso brown in color and mostly opaque, save some amber highlights. A frothy, sticky, one-finger head the color of cocoa powder remains in place for a long while. Hints of bourbon and vanilla in the nose, along with tangy dark chocolate and too-old coffee, which may be a result of the beer’s age (close to two years now). A bit of Sourdough tang pops up. Interesting amounts of piney hops remain. When cold, Black Butte tastes like a mouthful of bottlecaps — it’s heavily metallic. Warm is much, much better, exhibiting espresso mingled with sweet cocoa powder and more bitter dark chocolate, as well as a bit of Sourdough bread and some pine. Smooth blend. Extremely light carbonation is all that remains. Silky, creamy, slightly chalky medium body. Alcohol in the nose. Coffee-forward porters aren’t usually the most graceful cellar beers, but Black Butte XXI is still pretty awesome after all this time.

Bottle thanks to Rick, pours a very dark brown with small tan head. The aroma is strong roast, coffee, wood. Medium mouthfeel with strong roast, dark chocolate, wood, vanilla, held up very well.