Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

Bottle, thanks mgumby. Black with a milky white cap on the top. Silky looking. Alcohol forward nose but does not detract from the oil of bergamot, patchouli, and roasted malt aromas. Very chocolatey, roasty flavors with cinnamon. Overall, killer shit!

Found at Seattle’s Bottleworks. As opposed to the Girardin Geuze had earlier in the tasting, this beer’s cork barely popped. Thick pour like balsamic vinegar with a respectable mocha head that quickly left us. Unreal lacing and legs, probably as much as I’ve ever seen. Inevitably draws comparisons to the World Wide Stout, which I think I prefer just a little more than this. Huge molasses flavor, heavy like port, ladden and syrupy on the tongue with minimal carbonation feel. Dark bean roast, smokier and tarter than WWS, definitely more ’out there’. Fascinating..

Thanks AgentSteve. Poured very black, smooth, alcohol, roasted malts, dark fruits, dark chocolate, coffee, little molasses.

12.7oz bottle, best before 12/12/2017. Pours a pitch black body with a thin, dark brown head that really doesn’t qualify as a head, but leaves a lot of surface swirls and lacing on the glass. Very nice. Wow...intense aroma. First whiff is straight booze, but after the initial punch in the face, it smells quite nice. Abundance of extremely dark coffee. Lots of dark, bittersweet chocolate and roasted malts. Big and sweet caramels, licorice, piney hops, oranges, and dark fruits. Just an onslaught of aromas....and flavor! Initially a sweet booze clears the senses. Very sweet malts and lots of fruit at first. Big licorice and cane sugar sweetness with bold dark fruits and orangey citrus. Did I mention it was sweet? After the initial blitz of flavor, the sweetness grows even more! But to really mess with the palate, the darkest and blackest burnt coffee taste comes in during the middle. Its moderate to light and seems to be in the background of all the flavors, but the insanely dark coffee flavor is hard to ignore. Lots of dark, bittersweet chocolate accompanies the sweet maltiness and coffee. I can’t forget to mention the decisive hop bitterness balancing everything out. All of these flavors then combine into one elephantine finish. Its a log-jam and it seems like the flavors just continue to grow. After slowly drying, the flavors start to mellow and the aftertaste is mostly that insanely dark coffee with a nice amount of bitterness and a candy, malty, fruity booze flavor. The palate is medium to full, silky, and flat. Overall, I love over the top stouts like this. I can easily see why people hate these type of beers, but I think they’re remarkable. The booze is clearly evident, but never becomes too hot to handle. IMO, this is incredibly well balanced for such a complex creation. Woh...

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.

375ml Bottle: Complex aroma. Smells of alcohol, chocolate, mocha, burnt malts, sugar, piney hops, and coffee, among other things. Poured pitch black in color with a thick, creamy, dense, shaving-cream like head that lasted throughout. Opaque. Beautiful head. Good lacing. Flavor of alcohol, bunt malts, mocha, dark chocolate, coffee, rubbing alcohol, and piney hops. Full body. Thick, chalky texture. Soft to average carbonation. Lightly dry, burnt finish.

Aroma:porto,chocolat and dark fruit... Apperance:dark black,light head... Flavor:porto,liquorice,dark fruit and chocolate,allcohol...

Thanks to Lithy for sharing this one at decaturstevo’s Februmergency Tasting. From my wants list too, Thanks again! Opaque black with a tan head. Bourbon, alcohol, coffee roast malts chocolate,and vanilla are among the aromas that come easily from this brew. The flavors follow the aroma. Full bodied sipper.