Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Split this one with Ross, thanks man. Poured out very dark, almost like the absence of matter that I would suspect in a black hole. Anyway if you hold this up to your nose you get alot of coffee and toasted nuts. Taste is rich of espresso and dark chocolate, add in a touch of sweetness and a clean mouthfeel and there you have Black Hole. I will say the mouthfeel was thinner on this one than I expected but actually turned out just as well. I feel the thinner mouthfeel added to this beers drinkability and therefore added to the overall experience. Heavy on flavor, not heavy on feel. Great job, I guess the Danes do know how to make some good beer!!!!

Bottle, with many thanks to after4ever and hogfodder - I’m not sure which one of you came up with this bottle! Pours opaque blackish brown with a thin but lacy tan head. Pine and coffee aroma. Medium body and light carbonation. Chocolate, vanilla and fruit taste that gives way to the coffee. Dry espresso finish with a touch of pepper on the exit.

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

12.7 fl oz green bottle from the Shelton Bros. distribution. Pours a thick black with a tall soapy tan head that collapses with lacing rings on the glass. Aroma is strong. Lots of red fruit, molasses and smoke. Apples, alcohol, and charred malts underneath. wow. Really fruity and burnt flavors. Aged leathery fruits. With layers of earthy notes, tobacco, charred/burnt malts, molasses, anise, coffee, bakers chocolate, and alcohol. The hops, alcohol, and burnt malt add a slightly harsh bitter finish mixed with anise. The fruitiness and alcohol combination detracts slightly from the brew, but with a year this will be an amazing beer.

Re-rate: Another good tasting, although a slight notch lower than my first. The flavor this time through had some licorice and fruity/vinous notes, slight astringent bitterness, although still quite excellent, just not as solid as my original. Dropping only a couple notches. Original rating: Bottle, pitch dark black pour, nice chocolate colored slow developing head, good retention and head. The aroma was initially a bit vinous, choco, piney hops. The flavor started out a let-down, somewhat like the Dark Horizon did, acidic, roasty bitter, pine hoppy bitter, lingering bitter, choco-coffee malts, some dark fruits in there too. However, the serving temp was the culprit, and as this puppy warmed up to the 55-60F range, man a rockin’ beer, rich dark malts, only light roast, firm coffee (but not as strong as Speedway), well balanced with some chocolate, pine hops, and faint vinous/dark fruit notes (port wine like) underneath, lingering hoppy, almost spicey zing. The mouthfeel was silky smooth, full, prickly (carbonation and hops there), lovely. Glad I have another bottle, may go get a couple more, put it up against Speedway eventually. Wonderful stuff!

Black beer with a dark brown head that slowly dissappears. Complex sweetish aroma: mokka, coffee, chocolate, cherry licor (mon cherry like), dark fruits, ... Mokka taste, tintling on the tongue, some bitterness at the end coming from the burned malts. The alcohol is very well hidden.

12.7oz. bottle, courtesy of tytoanderso, THANKS Tyler! Pours a syrupy black with a fluffy two finger dark brown head, good lacing. Mmmm, freshly pulled espresso, complimented by brown sugar, molasses, dark chocolate, vanilla, and plum/prune. Flavor has an espresso flavor and bitterness, with molasses, chocolate, vanilla and dark fruits coming along nicely; gently warming. This is a great coffee IS, but agree with JK, and I’d give DDC’s Péché Mortel a slight edge. Great stuff either way!

Rate number 500! I’ll briefly take a break from my Eurotrip beer ratings to get the big five-double ohh out of the way in style with something big and dark. 375ml green bottle with a plastic cork, as is expected with Mikkeller. Serving straight from the cellar. BB 01/07/12, but I can’t wait. Cork proves quite difficult to get out, and a small pop upon opening might explain why. Regardless, i’m presented with a sinfully dark beer in my goblet. A centimetre of coffee-milk brown head sits atop a pitch-black body...no light gets through this one! Legs cling to the glass, almost like a port. There’s alot going on on the nose, several layers of complexity; sharp citrusy American-style hops bring lots of bitter orange and grapefruit rind, roasted malts percieved as very rich dark chocolate, tar, espresso. The alcohol is not shy and adds another layer of complexity with pepper and vodka undertones. And there’s still backnotes of dried fruit, sherry and rich earthy spice that want to break free, but they might require time to evolve. The body is joyous, luciously rich, thick like a milk-shake yet sticky like a late-harvest dessert wine. And then it all dries out with a counterbalancing roasted malt and alcohol drying astrigency. Low carbonation is quite welcome; I have a feeling any higher might destroy my taste buds! About the flavour, it is VERY sweet. Parrallels between a sticky dessert wine come to mind, especially with notes of honey, citrus rind and raisin hitting the front of palate hard. Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceburg; 85% cocoa chocolate, rum, espresso, mollases, charred wood, prune, nutmeg, dark cherry. Anything that is dark and sweet, it’s in there. Alcohol gives a nice warmth to the belly. Very highly bitter coffee-like finish, feels like i’ve had some sort of liqueur coffee. Dessert white wine meets espresso? That might just be my comparison for the time being; two of my favourite beverages together! Probably not as smooth as other RIS, but geez, this really is tasty stuff isn’t it!