Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Aroma is absolutely heavenly, at least to me as a porter/stout fanatic: rich, strongly of dark coffee and unsweetened chocolate, with an undertone of molasses. Pours just as black as its namesake with a thick, fine-bubbled, dark tan head. Flavor lives up to the aroma and appearance, like a rick mocha made from fine, dark roast coffee and bittersweet chocolate. There is even a hint of orange in the flavor. Texture is delightfully smooth and thick as cream. Strongly recommended, especially to my fellow stout nuts.

Let me put it this way: I couldn’t find anything wrong with this beer. It’s perfect. If you’re looking for a coffee stout, this is the one. Here’s where it differs from the masses of coffee stouts out there: 1) the coffee flavor is real, and just so intense. 2) there are other things going on besides the coffee. It’s expensive, but spend the money once, you won’t regret it.

Nice package w/ wire and silicon cork all wrapped in silver foil. BH pours next to black with a beautiful copper head that sits there like a stubborn blister. Good lacing to boot. Aromas of pot scorched espresso, tar, a twig of molases, and roasted cherry skins. Full nectar w/ good carbonation creating an expansive cottonball soft texture. A huge roast component is the backbone for this hive. Heavily roasted blackcherry skins, espresso, charcoal, iodine, tar, leather, black pepper, licorice, wintergreen, . As it warms a sour skankiness comes out an punishes me for being so shallow at times. The finish is long like a Sleestack winter with a dose of roasted asprin. Don’t forget to put the fire out. This stuff is so stout I could hit a baseball with it. BH is everything but a black hole. It’s very generous and expansive much like our galaxy. It’s warm, personable (Sam Kinison style), inviting, and charitable. I highly recommend this brew. * It’s seems that as it rises in temerature a void (black hole) occurs where the flavors turn a little ugly. But, then as it warms more it comes right back. It drinks better cold and warm. I wish I had a temp guage, my best guess would be the black hole occurs between 45 and 50f.

A black as a black hole can be, poured in a big Riedle glass, this beer is topped with a creamy and fluffy warm browish head. Ne negerkop da we zeggen in’t West-Vlams. Aroma is rich, powerfull and flowery with hints if mocca coffee, spring flowers, fresh torrified coffee beans, the best quality of the blackest chocolate one can imagine, all topped with a sweet-bitter accent of intens dark caramel. All these rich aromas are so well countered with delicate soft fruity and slight minty accents. Taste is very well ballanced, Again touches of freshly roasted cocoa beans, soft mocca expresso, dark caramel, flower-honey, burned edges of sugar bread and burned raisins. The mouthfeeling is very mild and has a silky carracter. The 12,5% is not detectable in the smell or taste, but afther emptying the flask you know it was indeed a 12,5%. In the afthertaste, the hints of dry figgs, dates and burned dark raisins are very well present. In the very finale of this serious challanger for Dark Lord the complex bitterings of hops, flowers, mild burned chocolates and coffee beans are so well in harmony that they making it a World Class brew. I think this beer has to be served straight from the fridge and it deserves a Big Tulip shaped glass. What can I say ? TOP

This is a truly pitch black beer with a small, but dark brown, creamy and lasting head. It’s incredibly complex from start to finish, maybe the most complex beer I ever had? Thank you Mikkel for making it possible for me to enjoy this fantastic beer as my personal rating # 2000 and my # 1000 on RateBeer!! The aroma gives me chocolate, vanilla, light smoke/tar (in a nice way), coffee and burnt figs. The mouthfeel is completely oily. The flavour reveals something new in each sip, and it takes forever to get through the finish, that is incredibly long and exciting. The dark roasted malt has some nice, bitter notes of chocolate, tar/smoke, licorice, coffee, chalk, a smooth light vanilla sweetness, that kind of lives it’s own life in the turbulent strong notes, and yet seems to tie them nicely together. The finish is sooo looong, several minutes, and I find a nice bitterness, sweetness, ash/chalk and wood. This is amazing stuff - a piece of art in bottle - woow - I would say so much more, but I seem to run out of words describing this beer.... 2000

Can’t believe I have not rated this one yet, this is one of my all time favorites and I always have a few around. Pour Is black with a thin quickly diminishing head. Aroma is slightly off in a pleasing way: chocolate, lurking sourness, coffee, roasted malt, pine hop, black licorice, tobacco, dried fruits, and faint alcohol. Flavor is brown sugar malt, chocolate, slight sourness, coffee, dried dark fruits, tobacco, and a late acohol bite. The finish lingers forever and is much like the initial flavor: sugary sweetness balanced by pine hops, coffee, tobacco, faint sourness, and happiness. The flavor lingers for so long that I only need a sip every 7-10 minutes to keep me satisfied. Tastes just as good now as it did 18 months ago. Ahh, so good.

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!!

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.