Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Reviewed 7/8/2009 (bottle dated 02/07/13): Pours an extremely dark color body, maybe brown, with a tan brown colored head, very small. Strong sweet aroma, dark fruit, molasses. Enticing though, not offputting. Some coffee too, coffee grounds. Some bitterness from the coffee. Coffee taste, followed by some dark fruit, with a sweet coffee aftertaste. Not alcoholy, very tasty. Hides the alcohol extremely well. Somewhat of a dry aftertaste. Damn, this is good! Not a lot of variety of flavor, but this is really tasty. Sweet coffee and only a slight alcohol burn. Soft mouthfeel, somewhat thick tasting.

Bottle. Pours a dark black color with a nicely sized tan head on top. The head leaves decent lacing on the glass. Aroma is full of coffee, chocolate, dark fruit, and dark roast. Wonderful aroma that seems to be calling me to drink it. Flavor is coffee through and through, nice dark roast flavor with sweet chocolate and fruit coming in as well. Alcohol is noticeable but not over the top. Nice and heavy on the palate which causes this beer to be a very enjoyable sipper. I am loving these beers from Denmark.

Bottle. The new batch (still got one bottle left of the old and a backlog rating somewhere). Black, brown head. Coffee, licorice, hopscotch and some chocolate in aroma. Flavour is packed with notes of burnt malts, coffee and licorice along with a good dosage of bitter hops. This is great! This is gonna be a short rating, coz I just wanna savour this baby instead of typing. Excited to see how it compares to the original, when I dig up my notes or try them up against one another.

From a 500mL Bottle, #36/100. Generously shared by Chris at the Woodshop tasting. Pours a pitch black, opapue, chewy color with a thin layer of creamy tan head. Loads of nutty, gentle fruity malts initially meet the nose. Some coconut, anise and dark chocolates as well. A little bit of prune flesh and high alcohols present, but the alcohol is gentle and soothing, not numbing or abrasive. Very intesting to note the radical differences in the nose of this one when comparing different pours into the different types of glassware. My snifter seemed to present the most pleasant balance of characters, highlighting the chocolate malt characters and darker fruits. Another, slightly differently shaped snifter-style glass really brought out some horse-blanket dimensions, not really the focal point of my glassware aroma presentation, but clearly present later on the palate. Yet another, tulip-style glass brought forward some really sweet, estery fruit perfumes. Definitely an intriguing, contemplative observation. Starts out on the palate with loads of rich chocolates spiced with some anice. The fruity, chewy malt body is replaced a few seconds later by a funky, peppery, rochefort cheesy, almost goaty flavor mid-way through the malt parade. It then finishes dry and bitter with a nice smack of celeryish herbal hops. Three distintly different, individually enjoyable flavor experiences that come together nicely in this well crafted brew. I love how this makes use of malt complexity and a bit of funk to create a uniquely delicious blend rather than rely on the tried and true concoation of sweet grain sugars, excessive roast, and prolific high-alpha c-hops.

2007 Bottled sampled at the Kulminator along with Mikkel who just happened to be there that night. Poured jet black with a 1 finger of head. Aroma is truly amazing. Loads of dark malt, American hops, dark chocolate, espresso. Hops and malts come out equally in the aroma as in the flavor. Flavor is really incredible, loads of roasted flavor, caramel, raisins, espresso, bitter chocolate, and resiny American hops all come together with perfect balance. Mouth feel is thick and satisfying. A truly incredible beer.

Pours black with some amber highlights and brown head. Aroma of chocolate, dark fruit, vanilla, some nuttiness, and some coffee. Alcohol present. Flavor of chocolate, abundant citrus hoppiness, coffee, some nuttiness, and alcohol. Palate is thick with a dry finish. Superb.

(Bottle, thanks Marsiblursi!) Black color, tan head. Sweet, roasted and hoppy scent. Strong roasted sweet licorice taste, also rubber. First taste almost overwhelms, in a good way. Rich mouthfeel, high bitterenss.

Pitch black with creamy lasting brown head. Smooth & filling, oily palate. roast coffee, chocolate, power hoppy in both aroma & taste. At the same time so pleasant & easy drinkable. Only light alcohol notes & warmth. Long end... World class....