Mikkeller 黑 / Black

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Imperial Stout
Copenhagen V, Denmark

DLD ’08: Bottle shared by sprinkle and some other guy: Poured an oily black with a tan head. Aroma, boozy notes, dark chocolate, roasted malts. Flavor, rich and sweet, some heat from the alcohol, dark chocolate, big bitter notes from the dark chocolate, very roasty, also pretty damn hot. Would really like to see how it mellows with time. I could see it being quite good with time.

Pours pitch black, with a thick well retained light brown head. Smells of big roasty malts, mild dark chocolate notes, nuts, and a definite alcohol presence. The flavor was big and boldas expected. The alcohol burn was definitely there. Certainly wasnt balanced well, but i dont think they intended too. Just a monster of an imperial stout. The chocolate flavors really come out as it warms the palate as it goes down. Just a monster of a beer, but I enjoyed it, even as unbalanced as it was.

I really wanted to love this beer, because I love the idea of this beer: an imperial stout with 18% alcohol. But this is the first time I agree wth critics who call a beer unbalanced -- I love a good alcohol presence, but here it just overwhlems. Still, there’s a lot to like about this: pitch black pour with a creamy, khaki head, aromas of raisins initially, followed by lots of alochol -- not boozy, which iwould be good, just straight alcohol. Flavors of raisins, figs, vinous-ness, anise, some chocolate, not as roasty as some, and lots of (you guessed it) alcohol. The mouthfeel is not as thick as many imperial stouts, which I liked. There’s a back taste of cough syrup which becomes overpowering in the aftertaste. An interesting experiment, and one that could grow on me. But even though comparisons to DFH WW Stout are obvious and unfair, that beer does a better job of hitting the mark that this beer was aiming for.

Bottle shared by Robert at SL. Pour is deep, dark, motor oil-thick black, surprisingly generous choco-tan colored head (don’t remember the lacing). The aroma was hot dark fruits, vinous notes, chocolate and roast. Flavor followed suit, definitely big, figgy, caramel notes, somewhat similar to DFH WWS as far as I could tell - if I hadn’t had to drive home, I woulda grabbed the latter of the shelf and put ’em head to head. Mouthfeel is hot, sticky syrupy, yet fairly drinkable imo. A nice once a year treat. Thanks for generously sharing, Robert!

This is just way over the top for me! Strong alcoholic aroma with notes of leather, tobacco and shoe polish Bitter, sour taste. The aftertaste seems to stick to the back of the mouth pretty much indefinitely. Could still taste it this morning! Shared a bottle with myself, which resulted in complete sensory overload! If I ever try this again, I make sure to split 3 or 4 ways. One bottle is way too much. Not very pleasant

Bottle. Black colour with large creamy brown fully lasting head. Malty aroma with notes of coffee. Powerful lasting flavor. Creamy palate.

Blacker than black pour with a thin espresso head. Aroma is very strong chocolate and booze. Flavor has more chocolate, black jelly beans, cherry, alcohol, brown sugar, and molasses. Finished very strong, with huge overpowering flavors. Nothing was all that complex though, which was nice.

I’ve really wanted to try this for a while now. It has some of the most inconsistent ratings. Black pour, moderate to large tan head that lasts. Impressive given the strength of the beer. Aroma is huge alcoholic chocolate, roast, somewhat fruity. Quite vinous. Thick, heavy body, quite sweet but not overly so because it’s loaded with roasted bitterness, lots of alcohol as well. BIG BIG BIG. Balance is another issue, but I still enjoyed it.