Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Labeled. Bottled on August 14th 07. Danish rating # 989. Pours a totally pitch black colour with a huge well lasting bubbly and creamy brown head leaving a good lacing. Sweetish aroma of alcohol indeed with lots of chocolate, roasted malt, coffee and some liquorice. Very good mouthfeel. The flavour is bitter sweet with lots of roasted malt and chocolate along with bitter coffee, some smoke, alcohol, hops, dark fruits and liquorice. Bitter, roasty, dry and softly alcoholic finish. Woooooooooo, what a brew. I�Lll get myself some more of this brew to store.

Bottle. Oily black with a small brown head. Dark fruits, Roasted, honey, vanilla aroma and taste. Full body with a sweet vanilla finish. A bit to much vanilla, but good. 8-4-7-5-16 Re-rate 8-5-9-5-18 Bottle. A black beer with a brown head. The aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee and vanilla, so is the taste. Medium to full body with a long dry warming finish.

Corked bottle. Black and opague. Licorice, roast, cream and dark chocolate in the aroma. Malty sweet, full bodied. Salty flavor with licorice, pepper and coffee. Creamy chocolate. Very tasty, the alcohol is well hidden, the balance is fair, but there are a few raw edges that prevent this beer from scoring even higher.

A Mes rate: One of the original hand sprayed bottles during Ølfestival.
I, don’t know who popped it open, but I can make a guess. However I have to say a huge thanks to Jens for making sure I got some and also that I got a good photo! I’ll admit to drawing breath when I noticed this most rare and impressively labeled of bottles standing on the bar. Sim appeared perfectly in time clutching an empty glass and Jens poured us a very generous serving. We were both absolutely gobsmacked. Appearance is about as good as I can imagine and then some. It’s beyond the radar. Black, just below oily thick and beautifully red at the edges. Unreal black coffee aroma with that special hit of Mikkeller alcohol. Heavy, heavy alcohol. Trust me you have never smelled anything quite like this. Flavour is nothing less than equally impressive. Very little in the way of finesse but really who cares? Look at the ingredients list, it’s all there. Not just in abundance, more like Jesus produced enough of each to feed the 5000 and then crammed it all into one bottle just for me. So very very hard to do this rate without swearing. Plop the effing bed its amazing. Finish is of biblical proportions, I swear I can still taste it days later. This is not a beer it’s the devil on crack cocaine and I love him. Mikkeller pleeeeease make more of this. My favourite bottle of all time and easily one of my favourite beers.

Bottle. [thank you Grovlam, this is soooo stunning]. Well, this was an experience.

It is absolutely pitch black as it reluctantly pours from the bottle, as engine oil, it slurps around until the head reaches the top of my glass. Head is not impressive, very brown, but only a small film. You would think that from an 12,5 % beer - difficult to maintain any head at that ABV. Aroma is stunningly complex. There are coffee notes, liqourice (though quite subdued), and oaky whiskey feel, some raisins, alcohol and a touch of sweet vanilla. Carbonation is quite low, lending the beer even more a feeling of engine oil. Flavour is both complex soothing, warming and refreshing. Roasted malts is the first to hit me - almost with a coal-like feel to it. Chocolate appears as well alongside the vanilla. Very full, very round and finishes with a good pang of bitterness at the end. Somewhere along the way, the oakyness settles in my cheeks and a lingering raspberry edge appears.

This is stunning brew art, and a million times better than Mikkellers X Stout (at least the 2007 version).

I heard a voice saying that this beer was to get a larger release!!

12.7oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured a dark black color with brown edges and an averaged sized deep tan head. Aromas of chocolate, vanilla, roast, green hopiness, citrus, and dark fruits. Tastes chocolate, roast, dark fruits, caramel, vanilla, and lightly smokey. Medium alcohol finish. Some lacing left on the glass.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 4     Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 5     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 5   Lasting: 3   Lacing : 3   Nitro : XX
Aroma:
Intensity : 5  
Yeast : 3   Bread : 3   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : 2   Ink : XX   Tar : XX   Olives : XX   DMS : XX
Malt : 5   Biscuity : 4   Burnt Toast : 2   Caramel : XX   Nuts : XX   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Coffee : 4   Dark Chocolate : 4   Vanilla : XX   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : 3   Cherries : XX
Hops : 4   Noble(1)->American(5) : 4   Leafy : XX   Floral : XX   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : 2 Orange : 1   Herbal : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : 3
Notes :   Earth : 3   Wood : 4   Mint : XX   Smoke : 2   Soy : 2   Bourbon : XX   Anise : 4
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Sourness : XX   Lactic : XX   Bitterness : 4   Complex : 4   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 5   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 3   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 4   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 3   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Extremely dark stout (Expedition black) with a considerable bitterness, both from hops and malts, but still plenty of residual sugars in there and this, to me, is its marking feature and perhaps the phase I like the least. Its citric hops cut a bit roughly this sugary intensity. Very roasty, woodsy, finishing strong on coffee, molasses and pure darkness. Evil stuff with a bit of everything.

Bottle at the shack of party banter tasting. Alround rating: Possibly one of the sorest drinks i encountered over the weekend. Roasty, packed with alcohol, really difficult to drink, i could only manage 3 sips before giving it to someone else.