Black Buffalo (黑牛)
Mikkeller ApS

Black Buffalo (黑牛)Black Buffalo (黑牛)
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From:
Mikkeller ApS
 
Denmark
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
19.3%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.95 | pDev: 15.95%
Reviews:
34
Ratings:
76
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 10, 2017
Added:
Jul 18, 2011
Wants:
  20
Gots:
  23
Aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels.
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Rated: 4 by mtbdonn from Colorado

Nov 10, 2017
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.69/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
BOTTLE: 12.7 fl oz format. Green glass. Unbranded pry-off crown cap. Appealingly understated label art. Brewed & Bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef. Imported by the Shelton Bastards. 2015 vintage.

19.30% ABV. "Stout ale aged in bourbon barrels."

Served chilled into a snifter and allowed to come to room temperature over the course of consumption.

HEAD: At its beastly 19.30% ABV, I'm shocked this has a head at all - let alone such an appealing one. Khaki in colour, with nice froth and creaminess. What bowls me over is its incredible retention; this head sticks around a good 10 minutes. Shockingly robust for such a monstrously alcoholic brew, yet soft in appearance. Leaves both lacing and brandy-like legs when the glass is tilted. Sure, it could be a more appealing dark tan hue and could have a gilded shining complexion, but that this head even exists is impressive.

BODY: True to style, it's an opaque jet black. No yeast/lees visible within.

Appears well-carbonated. Terrific looking for its high ABV, but it's worth nothing the best expressions of the style do look better.

AROMA: Odd to say the least...I'd figure it for a red wine barrel aged stout given the grape, prune, cranberry, and date aromatics I'm picking up on. Gooey dark malt and chocolate malt sweetness does make it into the mix, and there're subtle hints of barrel char and barrel sugars, but this is lacking the rich white oak, vanilla/vanillin, and toasted coconut I'd hope for in a great bourbon barrel aged stout.

In any case, the fruit-emphatic aroma is appealing if unexpected, and it doesn't seem cloyingly sweet like many stouts in the ABV stratosphere nor does it seem bludgeoningly boozy like Mikkeller Black.

Aromatic intensity is average, but under the circumstances I think it's quite mild.

Roasted barley additions as well as more pungent bourbon barrel character is needed to elevate this aroma, but it's certainly appealing.

No overt hoppy or yeasty notes. No off-notes.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Depleted barrel vanillin does make an appearance (though it was absent in the aroma), guiding the beer's third act and lingering into the finish. Hints of subtle toasted coconut also emerge, as well as a kiss of oak and some barrel sugar sweetness along with some countering barrel char bitterness.

Specialty chocolate malt, roasted barley, and heavy dark/schwarz malt sweetness give this brew its robust backbone and gooey feel, playing to molasses-like thickness and sweetness without going too far; the roasted barley and barrel char balance the beer's sweetness with bitterness, never needing any overt hop bitterness to lend aid.

I'd refrain from calling it a boozy or hot beer, but there's no doubting it has some alcohol warmth - even if it's subtle on the palate, it hits you in the stomach. I'd call it a pleasant and apt alcohol warmth - just a bit of heat to play to the bourbon and accentuate this beer's winter warmer vibe.

It's a bit harsh mouthfeel-wise, tending a bit rough along with its appropriate dryness. I like that it's gooey, but it could do with a softer creamier feel to take the edge off all that bourbon barrel aggression. Heavy on the palate and even a bit sludgy at points; I'd expect this to turn to sludgy motor oil with substantial aging (5+ years or more).

Dark fruit weaves in and out of the flavour profile, lacking the prominence I expected given the beer's fruit-forward aroma but still delivering additional complexity to this already intricately built stout: prune, date, raisin, and grape.

I'm reticent to call the beer balanced since it seems to oscillate between an almost acrid ashen bitterness and a borderline fudgy sweetness at different points in its structure, but frankly those oscillations work for me, teasing the drinker with a rollercoaster ride of diverse flavours. Were its depth of flavour more impressive, this could be a world class brew.

Flavour intensity is high. Flavour duration is substantial.

Carbonation is slightly high. Full-bodied. Thick and weighty.

It needs more expressiveness in terms of malts and more pungency in terms of barrel character, but it's well built overall. There isn't quite an ideal harmony of texture and taste, but the beer delivers in terms of complexity and boldness. Not the booze-bomb I feared, nor the syrupy dessert beer it could have been.

OVERALL: I'm shocked how drinkable it is given its monstrous ABV; it's not that it drinks like its ABV is that much less - there's obvious alcohol warmth - it's more that it uses that warmth in service of the flavour profile so well the ABV doesn't matter. It's a remarkable imperial stout from the brewer who changed the landscape for the style in the 2000s with beers like Beer Geek Breakfast and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to others (especially those who unfairly dismiss Mikkeller as "too expensive" whilst happily buying The Bruery's beers). Mikkel isn't always on, but when he's on he's fucking on, and this ain't no exception.

B (3.69) / GOOD
Jun 04, 2017
Photo of Resuin
Reviewed by Resuin from Massachusetts

4.7/5  rDev +19%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Poured from a 375 mL bottle into a tulip. T

A: Pours black and leaves a finger + of tan head. The head leaves some nice lacing and lingers for a while.

S: Chocolate fudge brownie, caramel, marshmallow, woody oak. Wonderful aroma.

T: Chocolate brownie, caramel, tons of oak, marshmallow, alcohol heat. Very nice flavors combined with the alcohol heat which doesn't dominate but compliments.

M: Full body, low to medium carbonation.

O: This is a really delicous beer. Tastes like a dark chocolate caramel brownie with a bit of alcohol.
May 11, 2017
Photo of AndyAvalanche
Reviewed by AndyAvalanche from Massachusetts

4.93/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
12. 7 oz green bottle poured into a Duvel Tulip style glass. Comes out of the glass dark brown but (appropriately) black as it fills up the glass. Nice slightly darker thank kaki colored head, various sized bubbles that stick around a while. There's a skim at the top that states the entire time and a ring of small bubbles that stay at the edge of the glass. Decent lacing, but the lacing from the head goes away after a little while, there's still the syrup like coating on the glass. the whole session.

Smell is outstanding. Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, and maybe some cinnamon/cocoa blend. There's a slight sweet nutty aroma too not quite a hazelnut, but a nutty aroma. A little roast, but not quite smokey.

Taste is amazing! Tons of sweet roasted malt, some slightly bored caramel almost charred, vanilla, bitter-sweet chocolate and of course bourbon. Some nuttiness and maybe a little bit of molasses on the back end. Everything about the flavors are absolutely huge and are perfectly balanced.

Mouthfeel is perfect for the style. Full bodied with lots of lingering flavors after each sip. It starts sweet and maintains smooth throughout and has a bittersweet warm finish. Crazy drinkable, it makes absolutely no sense that this beer is 19.3% it drinks more like a 12% beer, it's so good.
Feb 26, 2016
 
Rated: 4.03 by Gasc0igne from Australia

Dec 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by nathanmiller from New York

Feb 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by krl2112 from Illinois

Sep 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Lare453 from Florida

Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by ChaseTheAce from Texas

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by pathman from Ohio

Jun 24, 2014
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.03/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
375 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Reviewed from notes.

Appearance - Vigorous pour yields a small mocha head. Then nothing. Glass-staining and very leggy.

Smell - Raisins and booze. A little bit of chocolate. And then more booze.

Taste - Really alcoholic. Raisins. Bourbon is present, but it's difficult to discern between bourbon liquor flavors and the alcohol from the stout. Intensely roasty malt. Very acrid and burnt finish.

Mouthfeel - Acrid, bitter, rough, and very alcoholic. Well carbonated, though.

Overall - Some interesting flavors, but one of the most unpleasant finishes I've ever experienced in a beer. I kept going back for more, though.
Jun 20, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by appetiteforparis from Colorado

Apr 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by afsdan from Colorado

Mar 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by M1A2 from Ohio

Jan 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by scott2269 from Ohio

Jan 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by DangerDawg from Ohio

Jan 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by wesley14 from Massachusetts

Dec 25, 2013
Photo of JackieTH
Reviewed by JackieTH from Minnesota

2.65/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
The appearance is brown-black, opaque, with a thin tan cap of foam that sticks to the edges of the glass. It looks inviting. Scents of burned oats, charry grass, burned coffee grounds are detected before being overwhelmed by the smell of grain alcohol. Wow it burns the nasal passages a bit as well. Taste is atrociously grainy, alcohol, burning. Background notes of dirt, burned tobacco, bitterness like spent coffee grounds. Not good. Mouthfeel is burning. It's medium bodied. A friend and I were splitting a 375mL bottle, but just two mouthfuls were more than enough for us and the rest went into the fireplace with a rewarding burst of blue flames! Wow this one wasn't good.
Dec 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by egrace84 from Illinois

Oct 26, 2013
Black Buffalo (黑牛) from Mikkeller ApS
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 76 ratings