Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

Bottle. Bishops Arms Järntorget, Porterveckan. Black colour. Lots and lots of alcohol, raisins and soy sauce. Very boozy, very sweet, very bitter. Totally unbalanced. Hard to drink.

Pour is dark thick black with little head. Aroma of strong malt, chocolate, dark fruit, wild yeast, and toffee. Flavor is.......wow, i wrote that before I tasted it. Wow. Flavor is abnormally strong hitting you with sweet MALT, DARK FRUIT, and a HOP finish. This is suprisingly well blended for being so alcoholic. Alcohol is hidden well considering that it is so high. you definitely get the alcoholic warmth going down from this brew. This is dang good. Perhaps a little off style and crazy, but the world is moving towards new beers and this is one that could be leading the way.

THOUGHTS: Wow. Almost a liqueur. Great flavor, but not very complex. While it’s a different style, this reminded me of Sam Adams Triple Bock, but not as good — especially in the hiding of alcohol. Although I’ve never had a Triple Bock that wasn’t at least 7 years old. This one can really kick you in the ass though. If it could hide the alcohol at all it would be better. I could feel the burn in my eyes when I sniffed it and on my tongue as I drank it. Aging might mellow it nicely. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was completely opaque black in the glass with an average tan head that kept a decent sheet and left good to excellent lacing. The aroma was heavy to almost harsh, milk chocolate, chocolate syrup and cocoa powder, some hops and tons of alcohol. The initial flavor was extremely sweet and slightly bitter; while the finish was very sweet and slightly less bitter. with an average to long duration. There was chocolate syrup, soy sauce, cocoa, alcohol, slight hops, coffee, more alcohol, some dark fruit near the end and plain old chocolate. The body was medium to full in the mouth, but full going down the throat. It was oily and very slick, buts also very sticky on the lips like syrup with fairly soft carbonation and a moderate to heavy alcoholic finish.

Picked up somewhere...can’t really say actually because it would violate the law. Poured a very viscous black; a very nice and thick pour. Head was a dark brown color and looked nice but faded away QUICKLY. Sweet malt alcohol and champagne yeast aroma. You can really smell that champagne yeast. I don’t think the aroma is very impressive. A roast aroma does come through. Again, just not my favorite aroma. Nice thick flavor. Wow the flavor is so much better than the aroma. Nice deep roast flavor, and honestly the alcohol isn’t that bad. THe beer starts off as a sweet malt flavor and then that deep alcohol and roast just smack your tastebuds. It is a very nice developed roast flavor. Some great bitter flavors going on. Just a nice complex taste. The alcohol doesn’t kill the flavor at all. Not carbonated and very smooth. Pretty good, thought from the aroma it was going to be worse.

Bottle sent in a trade with pantanap I believe. Many thanks again Kan! Shared with wetherel and Sean at the PP Bottle Shop. This beer is seriously over the top! I almost don’t know what to say here. Black pour, with a big burnt malt and espresso nose. Holy sugar bombs! This crazy concoction slams the palate like a sledgehammer. Sweet sweet sweet; and then some more espresso. Ends with a slight bitter twang I couldn’t figure out...and then fiery cauldrons of alcohol burn! Difficult to drink, but it gets the points for intrigue I guess.

Color is intens black, the beer has a great viscosity and it is topped with a nice and stable warm brown fluffy head. Aroma is very powerful and is highly complex. First the coffee and dark sugars are comming forward, along with these primery sensations there is also some chalk-powder, tarmak, peck, orange based liquor like Mandarine Napoleon or Grand Marnier but also some stuff like Tia Maria. Like the Riedle Bordeaux glass filled up with this fine crafted beer is smiling to me, more complex aroma’s are showing up. Earth, fruit confit, mango and confiture d’ognion. In the end there are tons of hops that are super fine integrated in this masive brew. Taste is build like a B 52 with a lot of explosives on board The mouthfeel is balm like and very smooth, it is soft and complex sweet with an outstanding body of the best possible sugars, roasted coffee beans, black chocolats and top XO cognac. It reveals an extreem boost of hop bitters and a kicking spiceyness that works well with the body-warming well covered 17% of alcohol. Aftertaste is mega-complex and lingers on for a very long time. A big beer with with an outstanding elegance. Sorry guys, but this is top notch, Full marks for me. I do taste all my beer in the best possible conditions, DO YOU ? ? ?

Jet black pour with dark brown head. Aroma is roast, sweet molasses, vanilla and alcohol. Flavor is intensely rich and sweet. Caramel, bourbon boozyness and caramel molasses with tons of chocolate and vanilla. Palate is rich, full, velvety and creamy with a warming syrup like quality. AS the brew warms flavors develop into creamy roast, licorice, and syrup. Amazing brew.

Bottle from Sun Devi cracked at Atlas Bistro to pair with a chocolate dessert. Pours like motor oil with a trim reddish-brown head. Highly viscous. Smells of aggressively of alcohol, cocoa, and tobacco. Mellows in flavor with cavernous notes of soy sauce, raisins, dates, molasses, red wine, black licorice, chocolate brownie, and a touch of ash on the finish. Perhaps the perfect cigar pairing. Massive and delicious, but not for the masses.