Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Courtesy of d(TheCheeseMan)snowden. Thanks Dan. Pours deep and dark with thin light brown head. In your face aroma with loads of coffee grounds with lesser amounts of burnt malts and a hint of alcohol. The flavor starts with a sense of the big ole ABV (but totally in check) followed by the big coffee noted in the nose followed by some dark chocolate and a hint of dark fruity esters. Toward the finish the coffee slowly gives way to a delicious velvety dark chocolate note. YUM.

Bottle shared by Springslicker (thanks!). Opens with a barely audible hiss, but hey, it’s had a rough journey from Denmark. Black. Very black. Ultra Black. Uber Black. Very thin head. Aroma is tar (in a good way) and tobacco and just a whiff of alcohol. A mildly vegetal character compliments chocolate and coffee - lots of coffee, in fact - and a touch of charcoal (again, in a good way). As it warms, a hint of blackberry emerges. Seems a bit thinner bodied than I’m used to, but not in a detrimental way at all. Also, the characteistic I called vegetal earlier now seems more herbal. Oregano, in fact. Interesting and tasty brew. Thanks again!

Very black color, great dark head. There’s a hoppy atmosphere around this black hole and I really didn’t get the kind of coffee that I’ve had in other top examples of the genre--that’s too bad. Thick, hints of smoke, like sitting next to a fireplace. Some bitter notes in the end.

Bottle shared by Odeed! Nose of coffee, chocolate , and a little tartness; Beutiful apearing, absolutely black when lined up with the sun with a very small cinnamon tan head; flavor showed up a some tartness, a little bitterness, and light chocolate and alcohol, but not much else; After coming to 65 degrees it tasted better and the tartness pretty much diasappeared, but is this really a top 50 Impy?

375ml Bottle: Sweet malty aroma. Smells of chocolate, piney hops, alcohol, tar, roasting, vanilla, and coffee. Poured pitch black in color with a large, foamy, rocky, milk-chocolate-brown head that lasted throughout. Excellent lacing. Opaque. Flavor is medium sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of chocolate, piney hops, alcohol, coffee, cream, roasting, and vanilla. Medium to full body. Thin, chalky texture. Soft to average carbonation. Chocolate and pine hop finish. Overall, 14% ABV is well hidden. Nice amount of hops.

Rating #1500. 50 cl bottle #74. Yeast at the bottom. Pitch black colour with a nice creamy brown head. Lovely aroma of chocolate, roastedness, coffee and hints of brown sugar, hard to find the high alcohol in the aroma. Very very tasty flavour nearly like oil, with notes of chocolate, coffee, roastedness, vanilla, sweetness and alcohol. Maybe just a little to noteable alcohol finish, but very wonderful endeed.

Dark brown, nearly black, with a dark ruby tint around the edges - faint lace, no head - aroma of dark roast coffee, tobacco, damp oak, red wine tannins, alcohol (which gains an acetone quality as it warms, but just faintly) - low carbonation, slick mouthfeel - a cocoa and coffee bitterness dominates, and keeps the underlying sweetness from taking control - strong tannic character, notes of tobacco and wet ash - becomes more dry, ashy, and bitter near the finish - as it warms, I can’t really feel the alcohol, but I can taste it, so after a while the beer starts to taste like cheap vodka and chocolate - a bit thin for something so strong, and I’ve tasted more richness and complexity in coffee stouts half this strength - like a high gravity beer geek breakfast - another overpriced, overhyped mikkeller product - (new batch, marked as 13.1 abv).

The aroma is great with espresso, chocolate, heavily toasted malt, and dark fruit. The appearance is black with a tan head. The flavor is not good. It’s like the aroma but too sweet with a burnt coffee finish. The palate is average for the style. Overall it’s not one I would buy again.