Mikkeller Black Hole

375ml bottle: poured very dark brown if not black. Light wisp of a dark beige head. Big aroma of sweet dark fruits, cocoa, a touch of nuts. Flavor is sweet, very sweet and too sweet for me. Lots of chocolate and slight coffee but with mostly a dark/over ripened fruit sweetness to it. Five minutes after that sweetness subsides, a slight bitterness gives way. Sitting in a hottub drinking this would most likely put me in a coma.

Bottle into snifter. Pours viscous, opaque black, with no real head at all. Nose is roasty, big cocoa, with a sweetly vinous quality that comes through as rich sweet dark fruits and some alcohol, bit of tar. Bit nutty even. This is not your run of the mill RIS nose. But good - intriguing. Taste is big and sweet - vinous, sour even. I think this one is a bit off. Nonethless, you still get a peek at the beer underneath - rich, some cocoa and espresso peeking through. But the odd lactic sourness - well, that doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to be there. Lots of berry flavors. Finish is vinous, bitter, lots of sickly sweet dark berry, sour. Mouthfeel is thick and viscous. This one’s like oil sliding down. Could have used a notch more carbonation, but the huge body makes it just fine as it is - if only it tasted right. Drinkability I can’t even comment on. I finished maybe half of the 375 ml bottle.

Bottle shared with, and courtesy of MartinT. Minimal head. Ink black. Dark smokey dry aroma. Flavour is like sucking on a crude oil and honey sugar cube. Vanilla finish. An oily good beer.

Poured very black, dark fruits, coffee, alcohol, molasses, vanilla, roasted malts, little dark chocolate.

Thanks to ygtbsm94 for this beer. Pours a deep dark black with artistic, thin mocha head. Bubbly lacing. Aroma of espresso, molasses, chicory and vanilla. Rich coffee flavor with toasted malts, vanilla and alcohol dipped dark fruits. Soft chalk flavors near the finish. Enjoyable.

Bottle from Belmont Station. Opaque black pour with minimal head. Syrupy with nice lacing down the glass. Aroma of burnt coffee, molasses, alcohol & roasted malt. Flavor is reminiscent of South Indian filter coffee - a blend of sweet roasted coffee beans and chicory - but also vanilla and toasted malt. This gives way to a bitter finish of hops and dark fruit. Alcohol is present with every sip. Very bold beer that’s definitely worth revisiting every year or two.

Courtesy of my beer director. No need to even describe the color of this beer...the name says it all. Still pours a beautiful, vibrant lacing...looks amazing! This is one very large and robust coffe stout. Aromas of coffee, dark espresso roast and even some hops. The taste is incredible with notes of coffee, molasses, dark fruit and this bittering hoppiness. The beer is pretty heavy on the palate and they really let the alcohol show. This is one stout that really pushes the limit.

375 ml "champagne" bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 13.1%. The beer is pitch black, impenetrable for light (hence the name). Nice brown head. Intense aroma of malts, alcohol, coffee, burnt sugar and vanilla. The flavour is intense and overwhelming: an aggressive malty sweetness, backed up by honey and dark sugars, with distinct notes of roasted barley (but not quite as extreme in that respect as I expected ), the coffee is distinct, and the vanilla is also noticeable. Distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish. Warming mouthfeel. This is a "sipping beer", to be savoured slowly - definitely not a "refreshment beer". Not for the squeamish or faint hearted.