Mikkeller Black Hole

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

Bottled: Pours black, no head. Salty liquorice, chocolate and coffee on the nose. Rich mouth-feel. Flavour is roasted liquorice that somehow is sweet and salty at the same time. Very good and quite intense.

2007 Bottle. Poured into a big brandy snifter. The color is a bright glossy black with a swirly head of deep dark tan. The aroma is is pretty mild. I can smell some bitter coffee and dark chocolate; just a touch of alcohol. The flavor is a match of the aroma. A smooth blend of bitter coffee and dark roasted chocolate. There is a bitter nature to this stout, but at the same time I can’t say the flavors aren’t well blended and smooth on the delivery. The 14% alcohol is nowhere to be seen. The body is there, but I wouldn’t have guessed 14%, I would have guessed 8 or 9. That fact alone is impressive. I guess I’m undecided on this beer. The quality is more than evident, but where is the standout that makes it a top-notch beer?

Bottle. Black beer with a brown head. Malty, chocolate, coffee aroma with backing hops. Rich dark malt flavor with backing coffee and balancing hops. A bit of chocolate showing. Nothing overpowering - great balance with bitterness in background. Lingering malt, coffee, bitter hops. Good beer.

Very black color, great dark head. There’s a hoppy atmosphere around this black hole and I really didn’t get the kind of coffee that I’ve had in other top examples of the genre--that’s too bad. Thick, hints of smoke, like sitting next to a fireplace. Some bitter notes in the end.

Dark, almost totally black. Has a dark, lasting head. Aroma is deep, heavy, chocolate, coffee, esters. Perhaps a bit too heavy. Flavor is heavy sweet, bitter finish, complex. Fully body.

12 oz bottle from mreusch, thank you Matt! I feel bad even rating this already since I’ve not even sent yours in return yet, but thank you! Black hole... No shit! I poured about 4 oz. into a Corsendonk Christmas Ale glass, and there is no light that passes through this, even held up in front of a light bulb! Black with a short lived, thin, mocha tan head! Alcohol, light coffee, brown sugar sweetness and malt, fresh crushed malt, light caramel and dark fruit, and an herbal hop aroma that I can’t quite place between all the other aromas; All in the nose at first. A fruity chocolate follows, but I can’t distinguish the fruitiness. A moderate toffee as it warms... Also some spicy yeast character. And that’s just the nose! Flavor is sweet up front, chocolatey, lightly coffee, lightly tart from dark grains mid palate. Caramel, toasty malt, fig fruit, dark molasses slightly burnt/acrid flavor as it warms, but not strong. Actually adds to the complexity of the flavor. Toffee and toasty malt, but an odd sweet/tart balance throughout from the grains. Finish is lighlty coffee and toasty malt flavored. Very slight touch of smoke, hop flavor and other spice in the aftertaste. medium body, very light carbonation and well hidden alcohol, but the mouth dries out in the finish. I like it, but I’m not enamored with it! It’s well made technically, but I’m not sure I like the odd sweet/tart balance that dominates the flavor from up front almost to the finish. It’s a good sipper, but I’m not sure I’d want more than 1 of these in a night, and not just because of the alcohol.

Bottled. Pitch black with a small, beige head. Slightly salty with a lot of coffee and chocolate and some dry cocoa.

Black body with ruby tinges and good size, tight beaded, tan head. Coffee notes on the aroma then a strong whiff of smoke then chocolate. Chocolate and coffee in the taste although it is a little like a baltic porter with loads of alcohol.