Mikkeller Black Hole

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

courtesy of fiulijn - dark black coloured (of course...) with a little dark beige foam; robust aroma of coffee, honey and ashes; roasted; full-bodied and oily; incredibly bitter; long dry and deeply bitter finish of mocha and ashes - thick and powerful: the kind of black hole I would love to dive in

350 ml bottle courtesy of BrianK, big thanks. This one pours pitch black with a smaller tan head that forms a ring around the glass. The aroma is roasted malt, milk and dark chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and some fresh hops. The flavor is a delightful mix of roasted malts, molasses, coffee, vanilla, green hops, dark chocolate, and alcohol. I really like this now, but think theat age will do it some good. Medium bodied (I would like it to be thicker). This was a good way to get #400.

375ml corked bottle w/ cage - Lives up to it’s name, as it is about as black as a black hole, no light passes through whatsoever, pours totally opaque, with a tiny dark tan head and a bit of lacing on the glass. Aroma has chewy malts, fairly astringent roasty notes, bit of cream and vanilla, hints of dark roasted coffee, although not that strong, also with some dark chocolate, touch of cherry and burnt molasses. Flavor starts upfront with a ton of roastyness and some astringency, along with a bit of tartness, touch of cherry and toasted oak, vanilla comes in a bit later, followed closely by notes of roasted coffee and dark chocolate, with a bit of alcohol burn in the back as it slides down. Palate is fairly thick, slightly oily. A big, thick presence of a beer. Pretty good overall, although it is a bit much to take in at times. I can’t say that it hides its alcohol that well, but I still wouldn’t guess it’s 14%.

375ml. Super black pour with a tan head, looks great. The nose is all cocoa, coffee, alcohol, and oak. Taste is very strange - smoky, bacon, coffee, alcohol, dark chcolate, bitter almonds. Oily and chalky palate and a monster bitter finish. A huge beer.

Big thanks to ucusty for this one. Bottle. Aroma has notes of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, smoke, oak, dark dried fruit, port, and molasses. Pitch black hue with an average sized tan head that left decent lace and mostly diminished. Flavor is big with hints of coffee, chocolate, oak, and heaven. Palate is oily flat and full bodied. Just heaven from start to finish. I really good one.

This gets my vote for "Least Bang for the Buck." 12.7 oz bottle cost me $13 at Capone’s. Pours completely opaque black with an average tan head. Aroma is typical of a decent imperial stout... chocolate an coffee. Palate is thin and flavor is overwhelmingly boozy with a little coffee and bitter hops. Maybe this would mellow out enough with a few years on it, but I doubt I’ll shell out the $13 again to sit on it for 3 years.

bottle via Johnycat, big thanks! Pours almost black with a large tan head that sustains itself for quite awhile. Nose is full of toasted grains and roasted malts with lots of berry esters and fusel alcohol. Tastes is like the AROMA but with lots of plums, raisins, and licorice. Medium body. Pretty tasty for such a high abv beer.

Bottle. Pours black with a chocolate brown head. Probably the darkest head I’ve seen. Aroma of both sweet and roasted malt, with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, and fruit. Full bodied. The flavor isn’t bad, but the alcohol is just a bit to noticeable. Primary notes are roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, fruit, and some bitter hops that reveal themselves in the finish. But again, the alcohol just smacks you right in the face, lessening the impact of the other flavors. This isn’t a bad beer by any means, but I think it would be much better if it was more in the 9-10% ABV range.