Mikkeller Black Hole

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

12.7 oz bottle. Dark brown with a tan, pudding-skin head. Nose is milk chocolate, coffee and molasses. Almost medium with a minimal carb tang. Flavor is huge but in need of some melding. Chocolate syrup, coffee and black jelly beans; hints of Good ’n Plenty. Veins of candied citrus and pithy grapefruit add contrast. Alcohol well-hidden despite the high ABV.

Yet another solid Mikkeller. Creamy. Black. Roast taste. Lovely all around. I’m drinking a heavy stout like this in the summer. That’s right. Summer. So sue me.

Black, but dark brown around the edges. Quickly receding head. Very roasty and full of booze in the aroma. This seems like it needs some time to mellow, but beyond the booze there is some charcoal, hops, and licorice. Taste is a little green, needs some time on it. Taste is also roasty, with some bitter chocolate and a boozy finish. This may be worth aging, but I won’t be loading up on this one.

375ml corked bottle. Opaque black color with a minimal, quickly fading head. The aroma is deep alcohol and chocolate. Taste is surprisingly drinkable at 13.1%. Lots of roasted chocolate sweetness typical for the style. The most unique attribute to this beer is the alcohol/taste balance. Remarkably well done. An almost peppery taste compliments the sweet warming aspects of the alcohol perfectly. A new classic.

Bottle #55/100 - Very good beer here. Lots and lots of roasted malts in both the flavor and the aroma. There was some interesting aroma profiles I found though. Peppers, smoke, charred wood, a touch leathery. Nice nose. Appearance was jet black with a small 1-finger thick brown head. Flavor had some puckering quality to it, which made me think of astringency. Reminded me of some kind of bitter espresso thats a day or two old. Also some smokey flavor on the palate, a nice bite of piney hops...very acrid. Overall a very nice impy stout.

375 ml bottle, corked and caged. Cork date is 14/08/11. Purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA. Opens with a pop. Pour is black, with a nice 1/2 inch deep tan head. Nice lacing on the glass. Head appears very oily. Aroma of bright pine hops, coffee, black licorice and alcohol. Taste is initially quite bitter and acidic. The coffee is present immediately, as is the pine. The coffee, mellows really quickly. Alcohol is present in the taste, but it was much stronger in the nose. The finish has sort of a sour sweet taste to it, somewhere in the middle of the triangle of citrus, soy and licorice. Palate is oily, with a very long, lingering hot finish. This was a well made beer, but was a little to sharp (bitterness, alcohol, etc) for me.

Tasted at the May Northern California Beer Tasting. This Imperial Stout pours a deep black color from a 22oz(?) bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is coffee and chocolate, with some roasty malt. Medium to full bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are coffee and chocolate. The hops are earthy. Good body. There is some pepper flavor at the backend. Hides the alcohol very well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Black oily with not too much head. Actually none at all. Smell is coffee, powerful alcohol, and roasty. Slick taste with roastiness, coffee, alcohol, and malts.