Mikkeller 黑 / Black

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

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.

Thanks to OSLO for sharing this one from Joebrew’s tasting the previous week. Black color with a thin head. Big array of aromas... roasted malt, wintergreen or mint, oak and madeira. Quite an overwhelming flavor. Rum and raisins. Crushing alcohol. Some oak and vanilla. Very astringent grain. JK compared this to DFH WWS and rightfully so. Definitely needs a year or two.

Black pour with small brown head. Nose has chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Flavor is rich with a heavy roasted coffee, and bittersweet chocolate. Ultra full body that is filled with hop bitterness and a ton of alcohol. It finishes with a bit of tobacco.

My 100th Imperial Stout - not bad for a hop-head - was picked up at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Orland Park, Illinois. It poured out a thick dark brown that turned black in the glass, briefly capped by a small bubbly head that rapidly reduces to a film and a slender ring. I’m intrigued by those who look at a glass of what essentially looks like motor oil and go, "Oh yeah! That’s definitely a 5/5 look!" Me, I rate it a 3/5, the ale looking much like what I’d expect an ultra-strong Stout to look like. The heavy alcohol content gives a strong medicinal twist to the nose - and my broken schnozz really needs no more twisting. Beyond that it smells of bittersweet chocolate, burnt barley, licorice, grilled prunes, and charred elm twigs. Interesting blending of flavors. It starts hot with alcohol and bitter with charcoal. Angry dark caramel, bitter chocolate, and aggravated dried dark fruit follow after. The smoke of burning tar and damp cherry wood join the fray. ABC licorice and more alcohol finish it off. The finish is sweet with dark malt, bitter with something that didn’t want to be burned, and hot with alcohol. This was more fun to drink than it was enjoyable to drink.

Medium dark brown head. Opaque black body. Intense burnt coffee and sugary pine needle aroma with alcoholic notes. Intense alcoholic burnt dandelion coffee taste with pine needle notes. Some wood. Very sweet. Alcohol taste is a bit dominant. Interesting, but not really that good. (0.375l bottle at Ole_R’s.)