Deschutes Black Butte XXI

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

Thanks to 17thfloor for sharing. Opaque black with creamy small brown head. Peppery coffee aroma with dry roasted malt, dirty, really different, like nothing I had before, a little charcoal and chocolate, a little oxidzed cherry. Flavor is sweet cherry with coffee, a little woody, alc, a little oxidized, raspberry, a little cloying, bakers chocolate, a little hops, interesting but a little hairspray as well. Medium and light carbonation. Really sweet and alc is slightly off, this has a lot of really good merits though.

Pours a nice black color with a light tan head. Aroma is very dry, burnt coffee, leather, and some smoke. Flavor was also very dry, nothing standing out, but not in a bad way, all the complex flavors meld together very well and the alcohol is hidden extremely well.

Bottle. Black pour. Aroma is licorice / molasses, roasted chocolate malt, some sweeter chocolate and some alcohol / bourbon. Flavor is the same, sweet, malty, chocolatey, roasted, licorice / molasses, and a good amount of woody bourbon flavor. Pretty complicated beer.

From a 22oz Bottle. Dark brown, blackish colored body with a thin head of fizzy brown. Aromas of dark chocolate and bourbon, complete with a healthy dose of oaky vanilla. A subtle vegetal note lingers in the background, detracting a bit. After the nostrils become adjusted to the richness of the nose, the chocolate aromas start to morph into some roasted coffee, although I find it to have a somewhat flat, boiled coffee ground character. Noticeable alcohol. Medium full bodied, softly carbonated mouthfeel with a rich, chewy texture. Rich in terms of dextrin maltiness, not in sweetness. Flavors of cocoa and coffee come out right away, along with some light caramel. The roast qualities seem to fight with the bourbon for awhile, trying to decide whether to be astringent roast or supple vanilla. After a somewhat harsh coffee flavor, the bourbon wins out, finishing with a lingering caramel and vanilla booziness. The coffee flavor is hard for me to get past. After several sips, I think the coffee nose was the culprit behind the strange vegetal note I was picking up. Additionally, the boiled coffee flavor and astringency was not pleasant. Aside from that, the beer was pretty good. The chocolate flavors came out nicely and the bourbon was at a level that added complexity without totally dominating the flavors.

Bottle from ye olde ditmier. Very roasty malt flavor. Bittersweet chocolate aroma. A coffee bitter sort of flavor as well. There is a decent sweetness. The body is reminiscient of a porter but the flavor profile and sweetness are reminiscient of a stout. Pretty well done to add the extra oomph to a relatively low key style.

Fantastic. Chocolate. Stout texture. I get bourbon as well after it sits a bit. Amazing. Loved it.

Growler sample from a traveling friend. Black pour with a huge tan head. Malty aroma with lots of chocolate and coffee. Vanilla and chocolate flavor up front giving way to coffee and a bit of oaky bourbon in the finish. The barrel-aging is well executed as are the coffee and cocoa nib additions. Sublime.

22 oz bottle
Thanks to someone for bringing a bottle of both the XX and XXI to a tasting at Mike’s house. This was a solid imperial porter that is definitely big and bold. Even a year has not tamed it much.

Aroma / Appearance - Deep black and fluid the body swirls inkily around the glass. Cocoa, coffee, and strong malt blend seamlessly into a deep tapestry.

Flavor / Palate - Smoke, strong black coffee, and cocoa are the three most obvious components of a complex and rich brew. The malty aftertaste is warm which reveals the ABV to be high. I would not turn down another bottle but in some ways there are more accessible beers in the style which are better.