Deschutes Black Butte XXI

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Bend, Oregon USA

22 ounce bottle shared by cdumler. Thanks! Pours a very dark brown color that appears black in the glass. Large tan head with good head retention and lacing. Aroma has notes of toffee, chocolate, coffee, leather, vanilla and roasted malts. Taste is toffee, bitter hops, vanilla, coffee and chocolate. Full bodied.

X tap at Brewpub: Black,small brown head.Huge roasty,cotton candy nose.Huge bodied carmel,heavy roast,licorice, chocolate taste.Medium alcohol heat .Complex and well blended. Aug 06/08: Just had this in a bottle and it doesn’t even taste like the same beer I had at brewpub. Very unrefined with harsh alcohol heat, not particularly pleasant. Would rate 4-5 points lower on overall

Bottle shared by sloth at the SSSSLT. Poured the usual deep dark black color with a choco colored head, solid retention. The aroma was chocolate and firm roasty notes. The flavor was chocolate, bitter cocoa, firm and bitter roasted notes too, faint wood in the background (not much else from "aging"). The flavor profile on this one was solid, things melding together quite well. Mouthfeel was slightly acidic, smooth, velvety, very nice. Thanks, Bert, a very nice selection.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a good size light brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of bourbon and black chocolate is dominant with some light roasted malt notes also discernable. Taste is also a nice mix between some well balance bourbon with notes of black chocolate. Hops are well hidden as well as alcohol. Full body with great carbonation. Interesting and well done but I was expecting to be blown away as I had been with the Abyss so I was somewhat disappointed by that one.

On tap at O’brien’s. Pours with a dark brown to black body topped by a thin head with little lacing. It’s bitter with roasted coffee notes, bitter sweet chocolate notes, a lihgt ash note, and a touch of sweet maltiness as well as a late arriving hoppiness. Full bodied and highly carbonated.

Dark, murky, and even a little smokey. Rich, clings to the tongue. Very slight butteriness in the finish.

Bottle from Holiday - Thanks Briana. Black with a creamy tan head. Sweet chocolate coffee, cherry, and caramel aroma and taste with very mild bourbon notes.

Pint - Eastside Tavern - Olympia, WA
Aroma – Huge Dark malt aroma with lots of molasses and light spices lingering. Almost peppery.
Appearance – Dark Black in color, thick brown head and clear if you can see through black. .
Flavor – This beer had flavor and then some. I get the tobacco flavor butt he spices are peppery and once this beer is warm this beer explodes with flavor. Huge dark malts and the alcohol comes through also. I also got the chocolate, coffee and dark roasty malts. What’s left the kitchen sink.
Palate – Nice Mouthfeel, great texture with a very nice dry finish.
Overall – This beer should age very nicely. I will hold a few bottles for some time. This beer had some many flavors as it warmed up this beer got a life of it’s own. More and different flavors each time. Should not be a cold served beer just luke warm for all the great flavors. This was a great 20th Anniversary beer. Way to go Deschutes.