Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

Bottle. Poured midnite black. The nose was sweet, and boozy. Definitely a beer to sip, 6oz took me almost an hour. Flavor was also sweet with obviously lots of alcohol. How do you hide 17%? As it warmed the burnt flavors became more prominent, and easier to drink. I liked it, but would order and drink carefully. Very strong bite in the finish.

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.

Black beer as the name implies, nice lacing, small brown disappearing head. Inky smell, cane sugar sweet, coffee underneath. Sweet, burned and slightly coffeeish taste. Not as good as black hole but I admire the whole intensity of this crazy brew, definetely a slow sipper.

Pours dark brown with an almost reddish tint and a small dark brown head. Aroma is earthy, vinous and pungent with truffles, chocolate and coffee liquours. Insane flavor of sweet chocolate candy up front with a bit of plum, fig, dates. It then settles into an incredible roasted, earthy finish that recalls a campfire and a mouthful of dirt and twigs. Very inky, its so bitter it almost chokes you. It’s definitely a beer I will remember for the good and the bad. Extremely alcoholic, obviously, crazy complex and lots of flavors, but way over the top.

Bottle. Rich and intense, lots of licoricey flavours, with some dark chocolate, heavily roasted malt. Tarry mouthfeel, with a lot of alcohol noticed in the finish. Packed full of flavour but perhaps a little OTT for me.

Pours an oily opaque with dark mahogany edges and a spotty-lacing dark tan head. Aroma of rich, sweet caramel and dark chocolate with a good amount of licorice and molasses. Body starts dense and dark malty sweet with a big amount of burning alcohol toward the finish. Also has some lingering dry roasty notes and bittersweet dark chocolate. Sort of a brute-force, over the top imperial stout that doesn’t really have the finesse of a Dark Lord or Expedition. Nonetheless, all the malt and alcohol fumes help to boost the aroma. I’d say the peak will come in 10 to 30 years, not 1 to 3 years.

a dark beer. go figure. a tan head showcasing larger than normal bubbles. Nose was substantially rich and vinious with notes of banana, chocolate, alcohol soaked pumpernickel bread, pot wine, and possibly other aspirtiffs. Flavors were charred, smokey, and sweet. The sweetness seems to hide the alcohol, but then theres extreme bitterness behind everything. THe beer is somewhat of a war zone with the smokey, earthy, sweet, bitter nuances all fighting for a stance, creating somewhat of a muddled mess.

My Bottom Line:
This Mega Imperial Stout remains a noble sipper despite its heft, aligning plenty of dark chocolate and caramel malt flavors which end up in a gripping roasted malt bitterness, itself emboldened by poignant alcohol.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam skirts the darkness.
-The body is thankfully not too heavy, making the mouthfeel rather classy.
-A touch of elderberry-like fruitiness works quite well with the malt profile and the alcohol vapors.
-That intense finish is a tad too much to make me want to revisit this beer often.

Bottle.