Deschutes Black Butte XXI

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

22oz bomber no date from BOLTZ7555, thanks Jason. Black with a one finger tan head and pretty good retention. Aroma has lots of cold coffee and dark chocolate up front with some pleasant bourbon and brown sugar notes in the middle and then some light alcohol and roast in the backend. Flavor is slightly more bourbony but still far from being too much. More roast and oak are also present. Some sweet raisin mixes well with the brown sugar component and the aforementioned coffee and dark chocolate are the same as the aroma. The finish is dry with alcohol not being too present, and bitterness peaked around a 3 1/2. Never got ashy, which was nice. Full thick body with light to moderate smooth carbonation. This was a really good beer that I wouldn’t mind having more of, but wouldn’t have a place to keep it.

Pours black with a small light brown head. Medium to full bodied looking. Smells of dark, bitter chocolate, coffee, creamy dark malt, and even a touch of dark fruit as well. The flavor seems much of the same, pretty creamy with lots of chocolate and coffee, with some vanilla to balance that out a bit. Pretty intense and rich. The alcohol was pretty noticeable throughout. Almost gave it a burnt woodsy character to it. Pretty nice though.

Pours dark brown out of the bottle, and appears black in the glass. Light tan foam, quickly fades into a collar, not bottle conditioned. Aroma lacks finesse and complexity, mainly dominated by heavily roasted malts, blackened fruits and alcohol. Nose lacks coffee and chocolate notes, as well as any type of barrel contribution. Still, at least it has an aroma. Flavor also lacks grace, but it does have a lot of flavor. Pretty crude and overly roasty, overly burnt. Bitter coffee notes and more blackened fruits. Doesn’t finish well either. I also don’t understand Deschutes theory of barrel aging. Aging 20% of the beer in a barrel is not sufficient. In fact, it’s basically pointness. There are no hints of whiskey barrel in the beer at all, in the nose or flavor. It’s also not bottle conditioned. Maybe it will age decently, but for now, it’s not a beer I enjoy.

22oz Bottle. I’ve now had both the 2008 and the 2009 releases. I know I’d rated the XX on here and the rating seems to have been toasted in the aliasing. Anyway...here’s my notes from the most recent XXI. Pours a blackish, smooth oily brown, with a nice coffeecream head. Aroma is soft, warming and roasty. Nice blends of coffee, booze, and some cocoa. Gentle and detailed. Flavor is equally rich and satisfying. I love the balance of the barrel in this beer, it’s really well-done, complementing the character of the beer with the bourbon. Rich chocolate, vanilla oak, and some raisins come out. Finishes on toasted brown bread. Delicious, drinkable, and very enjoyable. Thanks Laura and Darrell

A nice suprise for my 1500th. Aroma was slightly better than average. Alcohol, chocolate and coffee. Pour was a nice near black with a one finger tan head. Now after seeing this I thought this was going to taste like the typical boozy impy stout. I was wrong. Strong coffee, mocha and dark chocolate fill the mouth. The earth and wood come out as it warms. There is a hint of bournon in the aftertaste but it is not overpowering as most are. Nice mix of bitterness and sweetness with the alcohol being hidden well.

Decent sized brown head of dense and creamy bubbles. Strong chocolate and coffee aroma with some peanuts and saw dust. Color is essentially black. Wow, very zippy and light on the palate. Very strange. It is like a huge amount of effervescense is released upon drinking and just wisps it over the tongue. Very interesting. Bitter coffee and coarbon dominate the flavor. Some bitter chocolate and toffee round out the sweet portion of the flavor. Lingering burnt toast and bitter chocolate finish. Noticable alcohol presence which is very nasally in nature. Clears the sinuses. Ah, just read that this is classified as an imperial poter and I totally agree with that. Initially though that it may be an imperial stout at first and was going to have some issues with that. A very good brew and a fitting beer for my last brew until Christmas!

Bottle. Body-looks like cola-dark with a lot of CO2 clinging to the sides, cookie dough thin okay head. Nose-slight coffee, chocolate syrup. Taste-medium bitter chocolate, baker’s chocolate, medium alcohol, dry finish, the bourbon and coffee play off of each other very well. The chocolate is very dry and powdery. Solid, albeit over the top, porter.

Bottle generously shared by a local who brought this to Track 84 in Warwick, R. Pours deep brown with a tan head. Nice aroma of dark roast, coffee grounds, and wood. Medium bodied with a slight creamy texture. Non aggressive flavors of dark unsweetened bakers chocolate, coffee beans, and dark roast. Mid palate has some vanilla right before the dry and slightly woody finish. Alcohol is well hidden. Good, but not as complex as Abyss. A tad heavy on the coffee.