Mikkeller Black Hole

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

375ml bottle. Pours black with tan head. Aroma is dark chocolate, coffee, booze, dark fruits and some burnt sugar. Flavor is very sweet with chocolate, sweet malts, dark fruit, caramel and some light coffee. Mouthfeel is smooth but coffee brings bitter finish. There is a light alcohol burn but much lighter than you would expect from a 13.1% abv beer. Has about as much coffee as I like in a stout but is a little to sweet for my palate. Not as balanced as Speedway. Still a nicely crafted RIS and I can see why some people really like this beer.

Appearance: Pours a dark, cheerless black body with a thin, very short-lived covering of beige bubbles. Smell: Not overtly fragrant, but there’s some underlying aggression lurking there. Vague notes of chocolate, roasted coffee, fruit-flavored liqueur, and a G.I. Joe action figure being burnt by the amplified solar rays coming from a magnifying glass. Taste: Sweet, earthy malts upfront with tastes of milk chocolate, sweetened coffee, toffee, and molasses. Goodness gracious, me. Touch of deep, dark raisin fruitiness. Waft of acrid smoke. Continually sweet until a brief odd, almost rubbery taste enters the scene mere seconds before the alcohol hits. This eases back into the shadows, allowing for the chocolate and roast and sweetness to return for the warming finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Low carbonation. Drinkability: A bit brash and a bit hot, but at 13.1% ABV, what do you expect? However, bottles I’ve had early in it’s time line were exponentially harsher, so age has mellowed it some.

bottle provided by noblesquirrel. I was scared after the pour provided nothing in the way of carbonation, but this beer redeemed itself with its amazing balance. similar to speedway, but with less hops and less in your face coffee. very nice.

Blind Tasting. Boozy sweet, smells like a barleywine, has some grapefruit going on in the nose as well. Huge flavor, lots of citrus, with grapefruit being predominant. Light white head, smoooooooth palate, very boozy. Warm warm warm in the mouth. This is a beer that doesn’t bother sneaking up on you, pops you right in the face to save time.

Bottle from West Lakeview. Pours absolutely black with brown at the edge. There’s no head, it’s almost still, a vigorous swirl shows that there is carbonation. Nose is a subdued roastiness with anise, cigar, booze and a touch of honey. Taste is nice, slight coffee notes, minimal acridity. Some of the spice and a touch of rubber come through, but it is imminently drinkable, particularly at 13.1%. Could have appreciated more coffee, though. Overall, pretty decent.

Bottle enjoyed on New Year’s Eve 2008. Poured a jet black color with a small brown head that left nice swirls on the top of the beer. The aroma consisted of dark, bitter chocolate, coffee, dark fruit and sweet malts. The taste was extremely complex with rich chocolate notes, coffee hints, and sweet malts. It had a very enjoyable bitter taste to it. I also could not help but notice the nice lacing on the side of my glass. While I was drinking it, I kept thinking of FFF Dark Lord. Any beer that reminds me of that gem gets a thumbs up in my book!

Bottle. Aroma of dark chocolate, charred malt, tobacco, licorice, dark fruits, and of course alcohol, though well-integrated. Flavor again bursting with all these notes, rich and charred, powerful but complex. Great beer.

Crushed with Jakebra and vicariously with Honkeybra. Nose fulla coffee and dark chocolate. Beautiful nose. Flavor is surprisingly sweet, and its not a nice of surprise. Dark fruits yes, but feels like a bag of sugar was poured in. ABV is awesome and helps, and this is still pretty damn good, but could have been better. Expectation was about a 3.8. Pretty close.