Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Bottle from Marcus, corked and caged. Thanks Dave. Pours black with a decent dark tan head. Aromas of tar, anise, dark fruits, dark toasted malt, coffee and arguably cacao. Full bodied with soft and creamy carbonation. There’s a bit of heat. There’s a hint of tar. There’s a lot of dark malt sweet, but there’s balancing bitter from something. Could be overtoasted malts. The alcohol tends to be ever present. Finish is not all that sweet. Definitely a sipper. Very enjoyable in the mouth.

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. Extremely black. Tarry licorice aroma. Compact tarry malt. Lots of licorice, asphalt and more or less everyhting else too. Sweet, oily and full bodied with notes of lemon and vanilla. Somewhat syrupy finisish where alcohol warms.

Bottle. Black and viscous with a beige head. Aromas are roast coffee with lots of herbal and peaty smokiness. Light berries with dark chocolate. Flavours are berries and coffee with sweet caramel and raisins. Bready yeast with dark chocolate. Very boozy in a nice way. Good stuff.

Date: 04/15/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

solid black, wispy tan head, specks of lace, sweet roasted and licorice aroma with a hint of alcohol and a creamy milky dark chocolate character and a very light tartness, creamy body, very rich milk chocolate flavor balanced by a nice light roasted character, light bitterness in the finish, a bit of a powdery character, citrus hop flavor and aroma comes and goes
-------- /> Date: 11/17/2007
Mode: bottle
Words: throwdown 3

aroma is same as last batch, picking up dark malt tartness in the flavor, otherwise very similar to last batch,
-------- /> Date: 02/02/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting

much boozier than before, lots of the coffee and roasted dominates

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Tasted at the May Northern California Beer Tasting. This Imperial Stout pours a deep black color from a 22oz(?) bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is coffee and chocolate, with some roasty malt. Medium to full bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are coffee and chocolate. The hops are earthy. Good body. There is some pepper flavor at the backend. Hides the alcohol very well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Graciously shared by Brewfiend. Black color with no head. An almost salty aroma with some spearmint and herbal qualities. Again, a fairly herbal taste with plenty of English and Noble hop. Dry malt and roasted character, but subdued. Very, very little of the coffee and chocolate flavor I would expect. I find it almost funny how different my tasting of it was from JK and Skyview considering we had the same bottle. 7/4/7/3/15 Re-rate 12/13/07: Very odd... just a few weeks later and at a Cellar’s tasting again, this beer changes. A much heavier roasted barley and coffee aroma and taste. This is more like what I figured the beer would be like.

Huge, ultra-dark grey-brown head over jet-black beer. Dry, bone-dry hops and some Italian cafe breve struggling to get out. Incredibly concentrated; aroma’s of green husks, cucumber, moccha, black grain. Taste: coffee...yes; moccha...probably; higher alcohols...present, besides the ethanol; toffee...identifyable; milksugar...YES!; molasses...no doubt but well-hidden; rubber...suggested. Finally a flavour that is dessert-y, which I attribute to the vanilla. And after swallowing all that, I get tobacco. Incredibly porwerful, smooth, creamy & fierce. Wheat expresses itself in the MF. A truly complex and awe-inspiring beer - even for somebody not overly fond of coffee like me. Tour de force , which is at the same time its Achilles heel: it just wants desperately to be thé... Tak, Jeppe - og Carlo.