Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

Bottle. Very dark brown with a beige foam. Aromas are sorghum with rich roast malts. Oats with chocolate and rich coffee. Peppery alcohol and yeast. Flavours are sweet and sugary with coffee and some dark chocolate bitterness. Really thick caramel and sweet chocolate with raisins and bready yeast. Very peppery and warming on the finish. Fruity and herbal. There’s a lot going on. Great.

Bottle. Poursa black color with a small tan head. Roasted malty chocolate aroma with some sweetish hints. Rosated malty chocolate and coffee flavor with some hoppy hints. Has a sweetish malty warming finish.

I am rather amazed at the bimodal distribution of this beer’s scores, although I cannot say I am surprised. I have a lot of thought about this beer. I do not find it credible for someone to lowball worldwide stout and praise this one, because they share many similarities (I’d estimate 40-60% homology). I also do not find it credible to give it a lowball score for nose or look. At any rate, here’s my take, for what it’s worth. The pour (into my Stone tulip) is onyx, with about 3 fingers of dasrk brown head. I don’t think anyone can deny that this one looks great in a glass. The nose is huge, complex, and hot. For God’s sake, how could a 17.5% ABV beer not be hot on the nose and tongue? That is what I expected, it is what I got, and I relish it. Roasty malt, prunes, figs, red grapes, blackberries, dark chocolate, and spirits. This one smells wonderful. The taste is roasty dark malty, but the malt is indeed overpowered by the bourbony spirit flavor, but the heat seems to actually dissipate throughout this beer’s life cycle, almost as if the other taste components, including blackstrap molasses, figs, blackberries, dark chocolate, hops, and port, become more pronounced. This phenomena is likely due to the tongue normalizing the alcohol over time, but it is a phenomena that, in my mind, serves to smooth this one out as it warms, and cause it to transcend itself from being a heat bomb to being a beer/spirit hybrid of sorts, with blackberry merlot notes thrown in as well, that is perfectly acceptable as an aperitif or with a fine maduro cigar. I suppose the arguments over this one shall continue for years, perhaps decades even, as I hold no doubts that many will age it for a long time to come, and I rather welcome those debates; as a spirited debate is good for the soul.

Pitch black with a thick and lasting brown head. The aroma certainly gives away the alcohol content, but not in an unpleasant way - it has an alcohol aroma like a fine whisky or cognac - also a strong coffee aroma, some dried fruit and port, and some licorice. When it enters the mouth, the tongue is instantly attacked by the alcohol, but it soon gives way to very complex roast flavours. I’m very pleasantly surprised that it can taste this good three months after bottling. Initially there’s a sugary sweetness, then comes a distinct hop bitterness mixed with regular stout roastiness, and finally, the long aftertaste is hard roast coffee beans, charcoal and tar. If this gets a little smoother by aging, it will be insanely good. I wonder if I can fit a case of this for cellaring into my beer budget!

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, dark brown, mostly lasting. Body is opaque black (flashlight tested), bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, husks, dark chocolate, coffee), lightly hoppy (grapefruit), with notes of alcohol and soy sauce, hint of berry. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Full body, creamy/syrupy texture, soft/lively carbonation, heavily alcoholic. Like many of this brewery’s products, the aroma is the weakest link...there’s not that much to it and this one is somewhat vegetal. Sad, because the other aspects are quite decadent. Easy perfect score for the appearance (surprising head retention for the ABV, and absolute opacity). A rather harsh, burning finish, yes (and a little syrupy as well, hence no 5), but otherwise a very pleasant, luxurious mouthfeel. And a very rich flavor balance that has just enough bitterness to offset the immense malt sweetness. But yep, just not much interesting to say about the aroma...in fact, the first whiff I took upon pouring made me think the overall experience would be dull, but it definitely has a commanding presence in the mouth.

Creamy lightbrown good mostly lasting head. Black colour. Intense malty aroma. hoppy. Incredible strong burning flavor. Long power power power full finish. Fantastic brew. What will this beer be like in ten years from now?

Bottle from PC Market of Choice in Eugene, OR. Pours black with a decent dark tan head. Aromas of coffee, tobacco, dark roasted malt, and mayhap chocolate. Full bodied with thick, creamy carbonation. Flavor is sweet dark malt, milk chocolate, coffee, and leather. There’s heat, but it acts more as spice than interference. Finish develops a touch of cola. Somewhat sticky. FD&GtoH.

Bottle and served in my Expedition snifter: A beautiful display of jet black topped by a small but thick creamy head and left excellent lace upon the glassware. The aroma has notes of charred, toasty, husky, and chocolate malts. Hint of coffee sometimes as well. Found grapefruit and apple esters, minor resiny hops, and even some star anise. The taste is a powerful attack of sharp bittersweet characteristics of hops, espresso, burnt sugar, and warming alcohol which fit within the framework of the flavor profile. Moderately spicy and chalky upon the finish. The mouth feel is lush and aggressive, oily and yet biting at the same time. The finish is astringent to some degree and has a long warming trend. Overall a damn fine brew but I would be hard pressed to include it among the top 50 Imperial Stouts I have had (now at 197).