Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

bottle tasted at home., bottled dec 2007. 17.5% aroma is alcoholic, coffee and roasted grains, appears pitch black, dark brown smooth head, flavor is very sweet, very roasted grains, borwn sugar and caramel. imo too much alc. and not enough to show for it. still of course quite an interesting brew.

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.)

This is good, certainly a love it or hate it kind of beer, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say I love it. The boozy, smooth palate with no carbonation reminded me of World Wide Stout, but this is not as good as that beer. The aroma has port and red wine, as well as oak and vanilla, along coffee that has been burned in the roasted process. Flavor has some some and alcohol, which is not hidden at all. There is also raisin and bitter roasted malt with other malt that is still sweet and not overly roasted. It might need some time, but this is a beer with complexity and various flavors and aromas.

Bottled. Group-pressure; that’s why I have sampled sampled it now, my friends from the GGBC beer-club (Stockholm/Gnesta) forced me to open up this beast. Luckily I have a few others left. Pours out in a opaque black colour with a surprisingly rich pale brown head head (for the ABV), which last for a long time. Big aroma of black coffee, wet wood, brown sugar, alcohol, roasted nuts and anise. Needless to say the body is huge with strong notes of black coffee, burnt wood, aggressive piney hops, salty licorice, tar, smoke and alcohol. Full and chewy mouth-feel. Extremely long-lasting finish of piney hops, black chocolate, espresso, alcohol, pepper and wood. I’m stunned...3-2-1-K.O!!!

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.

Bottle thanks to my girlfriend. Drank with I love dark beer. Pours with a big viscous black body. with a thick largish light brown heead. Aroma has lots of wood, lots of alcohol, lots of chocolate, lots of nail varnish and some cinnamon, apple brandy and rum soaked figs, molasses and brown sugar. Alcohol seems to add some complexity to the aroma. Taste is sweet upfront like a dessert wine (slightly fruity), then booze, chocolatee and some harsh wood. Really sweet. So creamy. Long finish that is all wood. Should mellow out over time to take on more of the dessert wine like characteristics. Very creative brew that I feel is quite underated.

Bottle @ Dutch Ratebeer Session. Aroma has paint/terpentine, alcohol, chocolate, vanilla. Black-brown coloured with not much head. Taste has let’s say potential. The ingredients are definately okay, but this is so over the top. No balance found, alcoholic, etc. Syrupy mouthfeel. Probably, it becomes better with time. But well, some work to get more balance in it would definately be a good idea. When that’s not the idea of this experiment --> Experiment failed... Next! :-)

PIB 2008. Over the top imperial stout... drool. Intense flavors of every sort, chocolate covered cherry, dark chocolate, molasses, rum, coffee, flavor and flavor. I can see some peoples point, it is over the top, but I’d be lying to say I didn’t enjoy every drop.