Mikkeller 黑 / Black

[Bottle] shared by OSLO. Pours very deep black with a smallish tan head. Aroma is alcohol, toffee, strangely barbecue sauce, and soy sauce. Flavor is hard to find under the alcohol, a little roasted barley, charcoal, with a smooth, looooong finish. Overall, just way too much alcohol.

Pours black. Solid black. Tiny mocha-brown head - and that’s if you center-pour from about eight inches up. Smells like the World Wide Stout from DFH. Sweet, dark fruits, alcohol, chocolate, molasses. Flavor brought out a huge port note for me. Smokey, chocolatey, and smooth as hell. Thick, syrupy - exactly like I wanted the palate to be. The flavor has a little more coffee than the WWS, and doesn’t linger on your tongue quite as long, but this is still utterly fantastic.

Found at Seattle’s Bottleworks. As opposed to the Girardin Geuze had earlier in the tasting, this beer’s cork barely popped. Thick pour like balsamic vinegar with a respectable mocha head that quickly left us. Unreal lacing and legs, probably as much as I’ve ever seen. Inevitably draws comparisons to the World Wide Stout, which I think I prefer just a little more than this. Huge molasses flavor, heavy like port, ladden and syrupy on the tongue with minimal carbonation feel. Dark bean roast, smokier and tarter than WWS, definitely more ’out there’. Fascinating..

Draught at EBF. Black, quick brown head. Burned rubbery, slightly vinous nose with liquorice and sweetness. Quite subtle. Intensive burned, strongly mentholey flavor with cocoa, espresso and little rubber. Very sweet and syrupy. Full bodied, sticky sweet palate. Just a bit over the top, but I bet this’d make a great winter warmer.

Bottled 2007-12-12, 1 year old
Yes, it’s black; it seems almost flat, but pouring the beer from a height it forms a brown head; some big bubbles resist, it looks like fermenting wort. It has an aroma of wood, vanilla, chocolate, alcohol, very light cardboard. Good body strength (not viscous), with very strong sweet caramel flavor, rhubarb candies, light herbs and light roasted malt; then also some sweet liquorice appears, still hidden by the sweet caramel; no bad alcohol flavor, but a very burning feeling. Long final, balanced, with sweet caramel and some roasted malt and liquorice.
I like that it doesn’t show strong coffee character. It’s like drinking an Italian digestive (liquor; a mild version of Unicum comes to mind); a unique one, very enjoyable for me.

Dear God! Bottle from Bello. Dear God, I say! Another great example of a beer that is just too big. This 13 oz bottle ought to be split amongst 10 people. Thick aroma of apple, plum syrup, sweet chocolate, charcoal; flavors to match. Man. What a huge, painful beer.

Pours pitch black with a brown, sticky, roasted-looking head. Aroma is really intense: red wine, old fruits.. First touch with lips feels like drinking melted dark chocolate. Flavor reminds me of complex and full-bodied red wines, dark chocolate, coffee, dark old fermented fruits. Alcohol tastes and feels clearly but not in a bad way. Smooth, full-bodied, complex, delicious palate. This is the best stuff I’ve tasted so far.

Bottle. Pours motor oil black with a small brown head and fair lacing. Aroma of burnt malts, coffee, chocolate, alcohol and a hint of leather. Rich flavor of dark malts, bitter dark chocolate, roasted coffee, licorice, and lots of strong alcohol. Full bodied with a huge booze alcohol finish.