Mikkeller 黑 / Black

Asphalt after a rainstorm. Sure, there’s the high-alcohol hairspray nose, and it’s hot as hell, and there’s the pine. Okay, fine, maybe it smells a little like Mr. Clean. Yes. But it’s 17.5% alcohol - have you tried Samichlaus? This makes Samichlaus taste like rocket fuel. Once your palate adjusts (or perhaps once the outermost 100 layers of bacteria have been decimated), fruit appears. The roast rises to the top. The sugar remains though ... one reason to age this for awhile ... or serve with ice cream. I had mine at room temperature in a Riedel brandy glass - my favorite.

Thanks to OSLO for sharing this one from Joebrew’s tasting the previous week. Black color with a thin head. Big array of aromas... roasted malt, wintergreen or mint, oak and madeira. Quite an overwhelming flavor. Rum and raisins. Crushing alcohol. Some oak and vanilla. Very astringent grain. JK compared this to DFH WWS and rightfully so. Definitely needs a year or two.

(bottle, thanks OSLO!) Pours black with a tan head. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malt, prune, and raisin. In the very beginning I could smell the asphalt that others have noted as well, but the smell disappeared for me as the beer warmed. The taste, when cold is very sweet, with a lot of chocolate. This taste is good enough, but the finish is just a bracing blast of green pepper, harsh charred malt, and alcohol. This god awful finish only intensifies as the beer warms, and the alcohol begins to dominate every little thing that was remotely good about the beer. If you let this thing warm for more than ten minutes, all I can say is good luck. I know OSLO drank this for a longer time than I, so I’m glad I finished it fairly quickly, and was not subjected to the alcohol bomb it becomes. This is just awful.

[Bottle, thanks joebrew and EddieB23!] Pours black with a tan head. Aroma is raisin, light chocolate, a hint of tar, and a very odd chemical that was familiar but I could not place. The taste is very sweet up front, then incredibly harsh roasted malt, chocolate and a lot of alcohol. When it was cold the taste was manageable, as it warmed though...watch out. A blast of harsh roasted malt and a huge amount of alcohol. Medium mouthfeel with a tragically long finish of roasted malt and alcohol. Overall, this beer fails on so many levels. Yes, it is over-the-top, but in an oh so bad sort of way. It’s incredibly hot, the roasted malt is offensive, and the chemical aroma started to make me feel queasy after awhile. Speaking of feeling sick, after warming the taste actually caused me to gag. I could barely finish my small sample, and if I had to drink a whole bottle (especially if it was warm), I would honestly vomit. This may be the only time I say this, but make your sample as small as possible and drink it cold, because at least then it would hide some of the offensive flavors hidden within.

375 ml bottle. Pitch black. Medium-sized beige fine-laced head. Motor oil. Papery and tight. Clean metallic hop aromas. Clean and nicely balanced. Intensely flavourful. Sweet and interestingly roasted. Wonderfully hopped. I love this. Very sweet flavours that are balanced by sharp hops that don’t punch you directly in the face, like in many of their other beers.

Medium dark brown head. Opaque black body. Intense burnt coffee and sugary pine needle aroma with alcoholic notes. Intense alcoholic burnt dandelion coffee taste with pine needle notes. Some wood. Very sweet. Alcohol taste is a bit dominant. Interesting, but not really that good. (0.375l bottle at Ole R’s.)

bottle, jet black color with a nose to match, brown head dissipates easily, has flavors of varnish and roast beef with burnt kahlua thrown in, finish is bitter sweet

Bottle. Blackish beer with reddish highlights and a brown head. Malty, light roasty, light boozy aroma with some chocolate. Chocolate, roast flavor with sweet malt and big alcohol notes. Medium-plus bodied. Lingering sweet malt, roast, big alcohol.