Mikkeller Black Hole

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.

Pours an opaque black with a dense tan head. Aroma has roasted coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruit, and some hops. Flavor is rich and bold with chocolate, licorice, coffee, and darkf ruit flavors.

Pours opaque, deep brown with a full oatmeal colored head. Nose is chocolate and coffee. Flavor is the same, with a hint of smoke. A bit of a burn in the finish.

12.7 oz. bottle. After having a glass of this year’s release of the SPH RIS yesterday afternoon, I figured I’d follow that up with another great imperial stout this morning for breakfast. Pours black with a moderate light brown head that lasted until about mid-glass. Very pleasant aroma of coffee with notes of roasted malt and some citrus as well. The flavor begins with plenty of coffee and roasted malt flavor, which gives way to a seriously bitter finish. Its difficult to tell if the bitterness is from the coffee or the hops, and I suspect its probably both. Kind of dry, chalky mouthfeel which was a little off-putting, otherwise a solid coffee stout.

Tasted 2008-02-17. 6 months old bottle. Pours black with brown head. The head rather quickly disappears leaving it looking very much like a strong coffee. Aroma: coffee, roasty, caramel, chocolate, grass, leather, earthy, alcohol, liquorice, wood. Flavours: coffee, caramel, chocolate, grass, medium bitterness, slightly salty. Very full body, oily feel, soft carbonation, bitter finnish. Great beer!

Bottle. Pours very black with a tight, grayish dark tan head. The aroma at first makes me think of a barleywine, what with the alcohol, strong spicy maltiness, woody hops, and sweet caramel. But then I get wafts of chocolate and coffee as well, along with a really weird medicinal, antiseptic note. That strange antiseptic quality is the first thing I notice in the flavor, too, and much more strongly. It’s seriously like mouthwash. I think the combination of the slightly biting herbal hops and the alcohol combine in a way that makes it resemble the mouthwash I typically use. I just can’t shake the association, and it’s ruining the beer for me bigtime. But if I can pay attention to the rest of the flavor for a minute, it’s got a nice roasty quality to it with occasional hints of chocolate, smoke, and nuts. The finish is surprisingly bitter with plenty of alcohol warmth. Herbal hops linger in the aftertaste for an eternity. This has the potential to be pretty good, but the whole mouthwash deal is more than I can take.

12.7oz Bottle - Trade - jmikolich
Aroma – Huge black malt and dark crystal malt aroma. Chocolate and coffee all through out the aroma.
Appearance – Dark Black color, Then head and clear? Well it might be clear.
Flavor – Tons of stout flavor, Deep dark chocolate and coffee. This was super.
Palate – Great Mouthfeel, good texture with a dry finish.
Overall – Huge Impy Stout this beer will give your grandchildren hair on their toes. Huge flavor this is a sipping beer and a great finisher for the night.