Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Pours a dark black color with deep brown head. Aroma is kind of a let down with big nose of alcohol and citrus hop flavors. I really had to struggle to find a slight hint of chocolate or coffee. Taste is citrus hops, faint chocolate and alcohol. WTF? I was expecting more in an imperial stout brewed with COFFEE! The carbonation is mild leading to a creamy mouthfeel, and the alcohol is well hidden. It’s not bad, but just not what I was expecting with all the fanfare and price behind it.

Aroma is strong coffee. Average/virtally none initial apperance. Black body. Heavy bitter and strong tast of coffee, and a long finish duration. Medium to full palate.

Bottle pours black with a nice tan head that lingers and laces. The aroma is yeast, chocolate, coffee, - very nice. The flavor has a lot going for it. There is a distinct mild malt foundation up front that relaxes, followed by a bit hit of roast, darkness, bitterness. Finishing up the show is dark fruit, pepper spice, and a lingering ale fruitiness. As it warms, all these flavors blend together like a perfect, wide and shallow bell shaped curve. Additionally, the sweetness begins to show through. Smooth. The palate is rich with the nice cleans of some carbonation. Overall. a very nice Impy.

Well I am embarrased that I am about to drink a stout that I have wanted for a while and the only glassware I have is a plastic tumbler from the hotel bathroom. Oh well, it has been a fairy tale 3 days in Rome, with everything going as perfectly as they could. And now, thanks to John at Johnnys Off License, a great beer to end the trip. I know it is not an Italian, those are going home with me. Bottle, pours lightly thick and jet black. The head is very dark tan and dissapates slowly, but laces. This is how a RIS should look. One sniff and I know I will like it. Dark malt, expresso, and bakers chocolate, with a hint of mollassis. Yum, first sip, heaven. The mouth is perfect. Creamy with flavors of sweet chocolate, bitter expresso, and some hop presence. Just delicious. Slighly more sweet that I like, but I will not complain. Everything flows well, this is a powerful beer. ISO!

bottle. pours pitch black. dark brown head. roasted buttery aroma. lots of chokolate and liqerice in flavour. complex and pleasant. very good beer.

Inky black body with only the slightest brown hues around the edges when put up to bright light. Cascading bubbles form a dark tan head of just over a finger. It reduces to an amorphous cap, leaving fine sheets of lacing. Aroma is surprisingly hoppy, with an odd charred pineapple quality. Some tar, dark fruits, and chocolate are also detectable. Taste is again a bit odd for the style. There’s a nice RIS profile of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and boozy dark fruits, but there’s also a big dose of citrusy hops in the middle of the palate. It’s like part double stout and part double IPA. It’s interesting and it works pretty well. Points for uniqueness here. Carbonation is appropriately modest. Body isn’t all that full, but it’s still pretty velvety. Finish is exquisitely dry from all that roastiness. Booze is not apparent in the flavor but it really warms the whole body. A pleasant brew for winter nights.

Bottled. Poured black with a dark brown head. Aroma was acidic coffee. Flavor was acidic coffee and pretty flat. Some chocolate flavors, but mostly just a flat overly acidic beer with too much coffee in a bad way. I love coffee in beer, but this one was just really off on the flavor.

Poured as close to black as you can get with a nice brown head. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate in the nose. The taste is similar, slightest bit of hops and dark fruits, mostly cherry. Burns on the way down in a good way. Thick and creamy. A good imperial.