Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Pours a very viscous used oil like consistency, pitch black, with really no semblance of a head. Lots of chocolate, anise, an odd earthy funky coffee aroma, and a huge dose of alcohol. Lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a powerful hit of molasses, chocolate, soy, light pepper, very nice alcohol dose, and a great oaky like dryness to the finish. Very nice, and definately will age well.

Foamy, frothy, yeasty aroma with some cherries and coffee. Frothy head. Oak, wood, leather, cream cheese, cherries. Mild palate. Not overly alcoholic in the flavors. Slight smokiness. Very drinkable.

Bottle from Bierkoning. Dark black with razor thin brown head. Sweet and dark chocolate nose. Taste of chocolate, sugar and then more dark chocolate. Notes of coffee. Just a beautiful thing. Really enjoying it. Nice tart choco finish. A great style and a great brewer. Seems clear to me.

Bottle. My first Mikkeller beer rated. Pours a pitch black with a dark brown head sitting rather obediently. Intense complex aroma of chocolate, caramel, fruit, licorice,vanilla, oak and alcohol. The flavour is very full bodied with a mix of chocolate, fruit,caramel, vanilla and alcohol. Thick oily mouthfeel. A mild bitter sweet finish. An extremely good beer.

My treat, shared with my good friends at Steve’s house, Dougboy and DrBayern, etc. Poured black, appearance is on an oily, sludge beer. Flavour is of a smooth, yet bitter Impy Stout. Burnt coffee beans, deep dark chocolate malts with a particular hop ending. Extremely impressive beer from our friends in Denmark!

Ok for all the posts I’ve made about imperial stouts being overrated and a fad, this beer may have changed my mind. I don’t know how many times I’ve said I’ll never pay $10 for another imperial stout...but I broke down and thought, when am I ever going to be able to try Black Hole...so I bought it. And it was delicious. Now I’m just mad that Speedway and Expedition weren’t as delicious. Now I’m going to have to spend more money on all those stupid Imperial Stouts I swore I was never going to try....

Anyway...Dark brown color with small diminishing dark brown head and very little lacing. The rich aroma is the best thing about this beer. Intense roasted aroma that’s a little musky and sweet. Flavor is very good. Extreme coffee flavor as to be expected, creamy and sweet in the middle and bitter at the end. At 14% abv it’s a lot better than Mephistopheles- more flavor and less alcohol burn. Surprisingly, I didn’t get bored drinking it like some beers- each sip was as great as the one that preceded it. There aren’t many 12 oz. beers I’d buy for $10, but this one was pretty decent.

Pours a pitch black color with a reddish tan head. Has heavy hints of chocolate and roasted malts. Hints of chocolate and cherries on the back end. Finishes heavy bodied with a refreshing alcohol burn on the throat. Great brew.

Tasted 2008-02-17. 6 months old bottle. Pours black with brown head. The head rather quickly disappears leaving it looking very much like a strong coffee. Aroma: coffee, roasty, caramel, chocolate, grass, leather, earthy, alcohol, liquorice, wood. Flavours: coffee, caramel, chocolate, grass, medium bitterness, slightly salty. Very full body, oily feel, soft carbonation, bitter finnish. Great beer! Edit: Revisited the same vintage 18 months later: A little bit more accessible now - but pretty much all the nuances has survived.