Deschutes Black Butte XXI

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

Bottle shared by durhambeer - thanks, Bob! Thick, grainy, yeasty pour. I was expecting a lot of roasts and so forth, but there was something oddly bready in there, with a slight tang to it no less. I kept getting flashes of tapioca so that’s what I’m putting down here, but I also couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Certainly there’s plenty of chocolate, coffee, and molasses too, giving the brew a bittersweet quality that emerges along with oak when it warms up. Pretty good stuff, but nothing super special to me.

Thanks to Santa. Black, big tan head w. nice lacing power. Nose is spicy coffee a-la young Jah*va, cocoa, alcohol, very rich hidden cherries. Flavor is spicy and aggressive coffee, chocolate, big tingly hops & alcohol. Some woodiness/bourbon comes through in the end. Overall tingly & rich.

Pours dark opaque brown with with a light brown lasting head. There’s quit a bit of character here, while still keeping itself pretty approachable. the chocolate, coffee, and bourbon barrel are all there and all share the stage well. Medium but rich body with a bit of pleasant sweetness in the finish. After having all of these nice things to say, I’d still rather have the Williamsburg porter.

Tasted 10/13/08. 22oz bomber. Pitch with an opaque hue and beige spotty ring of head. Big nose. Hints of cocoa, raisins and vanilla. Anise, dark chocolate and a touch pepper. Mild coffee aromas with an undertone of brownies. Full bodied with sweet inital malts, then a tingling effervescence mixed with bitter coffee acidity. Finishes sticky with a decent amount of woody alcohol burn. Lotta chocolate upfront, with a surprise citrus blast showing up in the middle of the palate. The Bourbon and the barrel aging shines brightest towards the end of the palate and definitely lingers in the finish. Great malts, solid complexity and flavors, Coffee and chocolate mixed with anise and citrus. Woody vanilla barrel notes smoothing out the high gravity and lingering Bourbon qualities. True sipper! Totally quality!

Rating #1300. Bottle as Black Butte XX. Pitch black body with a medium tan head. Roasted coffee beans, chocolate, dark roasted malt and light bourbon notes in aroma. The flavour is sweet malty, bourbon, coffee, sweet tobacco and light alcohol. Soft and creamy texture. A very powerful and tasteful piece of black butted beer!l

Nitro @ Brewpub: Dark brown, near black pour with an immense brown head. Aroma is roasty and coffee filled, light burnt malts. Flavor is roasty with coffee and chocolate and really compliments the barrel aging part of it’s character. Finished with light bitters. Labeled Deschutes Double Black on the x-tap. Re-rate: Bottled as XX, about 18 months old now... I notice a lot more smoke and charred wood than before. Coffee presence is still there, the bittersweetness of the cocoa is very minimal. Other than the burnt wood, no bourbon barrel notes. Original rating = 3.9 & re-rate at 3.7 for now...

pours a dark black .. great coco head .. light roast in the nose ... pretty tasty stuff, needs a bit of time to make it great ... could be a session beer in its ease ...i will revisit in a yea or too..

Pours a dark almost opaque brown color with a brown head. Aroma is caramel, oak, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, roast, and some alcohol. Flavor is caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, roast, some coffee, and a warming alcohol finish.