Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

This poured black in color with a thin to moderate brown head of fine bubbles. The nose was filled with aromas of dark fruit, chocolate, roasted coffee and alcohol. In the mouth it was full-bodied, concentrated, sweet and alcoholic. The alcohol really pokes out in this one, almost like a cocktail. It is quite smooth with great depth of flavor but the alcohol and burnt flavors are a bit distracting. While drinking you come to terms with the alcohol but it becomes almost ponderous on the palate.

375 ml corked botttle. An opaque black beer with a very small, but never totally disappearing brown head. The aroma is very strong, heavily malty with notes of roasted grain, coffee, dark chocolate, alcohol and a just a hint of soy sauce. Overall quite pleasant nose. The flavour is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Good complexity, creamy and only lightly syrupy. Fully body, average carbonation, very long finish with high bitterness, highly alcoholic. I didn’t know what to expect before opening this beer and I was a little bit sceptic, now I think this is surely a worthy beer, not the best in this style or from this brewery, but a worthy product.

I had this on DLD and man was this strong and real sweet and bitter,thanks mike(SPRINKLE) for the sample,this also had lots of chocolate and was to hot needs to mellow out i like my IPS but this was a bit to much.CHEERS!

EBF08. Black with a creamy light brown head. Aroma is vineous, sweet, blackberry, liquorish and light alcohol. Flavour is vineous, sharp alcohol, liquorish, and chocolate.

Bottle. Poured blacker then black with a massive brown foamy head. Aroma. wtf? Taste. wtf? No seriously, wtf? I mean..... wtf? ok.... fine.... Aroma of burnt wood and molasses, coffee, and bitter chocolate... of course alcohol. Tastes of roasted wood, strong stuff, alcohol., and more strong stuff. I had to chase this with an expedition. wow. crazy. I’d like to try when I’m 84. thanks.

375ml corked bottle. Suprised its a green bottle actually. BB 12/12/17!!! Served at room temperature in a goblet. At a fortifying 17.5%alc/vol, this is a good amount (standard beer strength!) stronger than any beer i’ve ever laid eyes on, so i’m really not entirely sure what the expect! Cork is a bit of a struggle to get out, i’m expecting the contents to be reasonably low carbonation though. Tempted to get a cork screw! Pops open without a great deal of sound, and i’m presented with a dense, oily, opaque black liquid with shortly lived dark ring of lace that is probably darker than most stouts! Has legs that cling onto the glass for what seems an eternity! Aroma just screams potency up my nostrils. Warming fortified wine-like alcohol tends to dominate, but seems to keep a common theme of vinous character that seems more relevant to a port; dark berries, dried fruit, woody spice, characoal, bitter citrus, soy sauce, dark roast coffee bean, burnt toffee and roasted nuts. I’m kind of a bit afraid to take a sip! As expected, the body has the initial weight of a forified wine, but quickly dries out with a huge drying from tannic grain astringency and alcohol. Carbonation is low, thick oily texture seems almost enough to distract one from the ridiculous abv. Intense flavour is probably an understatement. I can (and have) see some people taking a sip and not even bothering, but I like to think i’m a bit more adventurous. Alas, it is hard to look beyond the alcohol, roasted grain and general bitterness, but underneath reveals layers of liquorice, roasted nuts, toffee, brandy, rich bitter chocolate, vinous dark fruits and citrus. And the list just goes on, and does the after taste! However, at the end of the day, this is a seriously brutal beer, and as the Best Before suggests, this has a good number of years left on it. So it’s be my recommondation to leave this bad boy in the cellar for a few years to mellow, because i can really see good things coming to those who wait!

Bottle. Pours pitch black color with a thin dense chocolate brown head. Aroma is intense of bourbon, smoke, roasted malt and over ripe fruits. Taste is way over the top. Lots of alcohol, roasted malt, and an odd hop bitterness with a long lasting after taste. This beer is extreme in every way. I don’t think I would want to drink another one.

Thanks to Beerlando for opening this beast up!!! Poured as black as black can be. The aroma is very boozy, for obvious reasons, with licorice pushing it’s way forward, allowing slighter notes of coffee, chocolate, soot, smoke and some dark fruits come through. The flavor is equally brutish, with the alcohol being very evident. Oddly enough, this beer is not syrupy and cloying, but oh what a few years might do to this one.