Mikkeller Black Hole

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

500ml (#20/100) bottle generously shared by kramer17801. Thanks Jason!
The appearance is an amazingly rich and dark black body with a rich, creamy ice-cream textured, fine-bubbled head, about 1-2 fingers thick. Rich smoky, leafy, herbal chocolate nose, with strong notes of black tar and charred campfire wood, and rich, biting, bitter bakers chocolate and dark roast coffee. If I had to guess just based on the smell, I’d put this at around 9-10% ABV. It’s not hot or boozy at all. When slightly warmer, the yeast starts to show up more and more, with a minty, herbal chocolate and smoke character, almost lactic as well. Reminds me of some of the sludge in the 2004 Dark Lord bottles, the astringent, baked yogurt and sour milk yeast notes – no where near the level of that Dark Lord batch, just the best thing to compare the Black Hole yeast flavors and aromas to. On the tongue it’s creamy, silky, and rich, before turning a little pasty and acidic on the middle and back of the tongue. Creamy mint and smoky chocolate flavors noticed up front, with charred wood and some sour, lightly acidic yeast. Not extremely thick, more fluffy, but certainly not thin. I guess it’s pretty remarkable that at 12% it’s not viscous and it’s not boozy. What it is is chewy, resinous and then a bit sharp and biting in the finish, from hops or smoke or the yeast, I’m not sure. The finish is robust, sticky, a little hot, and very smoky. I like it a lot, but my personal preference is for more malt character and less hops, char, and smoke in imperial stouts.

Batch 2 (cork + cage) gets a 2.3

Bottle. (79/100)(thx to papsoe) It pours jet black, with a small brown head. Chocolate, coffee, burnt malt, a little fruityness and hops in both aroma and flavor. There’s some alcohol as well in the flavor. Full, sweet body. There’s alcohol, chocolate, some coffee, fruits and hops in the finish. It is one hell of a beer, but it lacks a little bit to reach the level of x-imperial stout 2006, hence the slightly lower rating. Lovely. (070510)

Bottled. Oh well, here I am after a long weeks work. Just had a Ølfabrikken Gl. Extra Porter and was very very pleased. This little buggar has something to live up to. Pitch black it pours out of the awesome bottle. Nice creamy brown head. Aroma is awesome. I have a balanced, fruitdense, chocolatish, roasted, alcoholfilled and light spiced mixture in my nose. Flavour is great as well. Loads of alcohol, fruits, roast, chocolate and spices(anise). Mouthfeel and palate is totally dominated by the alcohol. Maybe a bit too much. Quite dry. Ølfab. is taking the lead by 2 on flavour and palate. Ends on a a roasted alcoholdense note, and Ølfab takes the lead by 3. This is a very good beer, but tasting Ølfab. gl. ex. porter side by side, makes it impossible for me to give more than 4,2. This might win by beeing lagered. I’ll try that with my other sample. Get back with the result in 1 - 2 years.

From the bottle this pours a thick-as-oil dark brown that turns black in the glass, capped but briefly by a slender brown head. The roasty aroma has some dark chocolate, licorice root, bitter coffee, a light caramel sweetness, and a slight touch of floral hops. Very smooth in the mouth, and it’s here that the warmth of alcohol first reveals itself. All merges artfully in the flavor, the hop bitterness perhaps being more assertive, and a peppery sensation from the alcohol coats the tongue. The finish is bitter and dry with a solid alcohol burn. Not as complex as I had expected, but in an odd way that adds to the enjoyability of the ale.

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Dark brown with a dark seafoam looking head. Big mocha aroma; sweet coffee, light espresso, hints of roasted malt, mild brown sugar and toasted oak. Quite lively on the palate. Close to feeling thin, but enough richness to help restore the feel. Sweet fruity start with some berries, plums and prunes. Middle has some pipe tobacco, light tar, alcohol, heavily roasted malt and a touch of anise. Finish is quite hot with the vapor from the alcohol hitting the nose more than the throat. The stomach has a real fire now. Linger is light with toasted and charred wood along with a hints of toasted malt and hickory. This will be a killer (imo) in a few years. Right now it is a bit hot, but still a great imperial stout. The coffee actually added to the brew; rather than over-power as too many coffee stouts have a tendency to do.

Bottled #69, UDRBG, rating #3000. Aroma is wonderful, cherry, blackcurrant, moccha, licorice and more if you try again. Black as black can be, tiny brown head, fair lace. Sweet, bitter, roasted, coffee, cherry, blackcurrant, licorice, very complex flavors. Thick and every sip takes you 10 minutes to recover. Wonderful beer.

Bottle: Dark inky black, light mud, light head, a bit of lacing. Nose of bright roast, sharp astringency and same light deet and spent coffee grounds, starch and rhubarb. The flavor is strong, lots of alcohol warmth and brash roasty notes. Woody coffee and a light fruity musty undertone.

Corked bottle 13.1% from River’s Bend. Poured a black color with a large frothy brown head that mostly lasted and produced sticky legs and good lacing. Good roasted coffee malt,smoke and alchol aroma. Full body with a smooth texture. Complex smoke dark fruit stout flavor with a heavy smooth dark coffee finish of long duration. Very well balanced complex stout. This is a standout beer and maybe number 4 for style.