Black (黑)
Mikkeller ApS

Black (黑)Black (黑)
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From:
Mikkeller ApS
 
Denmark
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
15%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.8 | pDev: 17.63%
Reviews:
276
Ratings:
594
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 21, 2022
Added:
Feb 19, 2008
Wants:
  60
Gots:
  150
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij.

Ingredients: Water, malt, roasted barley, dark cassonade, ale yeast and champagne yeast.
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Ratings by tcblack4d:
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Rated by tcblack4d from Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

Jul 10, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.62 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 21, 2022
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottled in very dark green glass with those large bottle caps and purchased from The Epicurean in West Didsbury
Pours a jet black body with massive thick tan head
Aroma is port & dark chocolate and espresso
Flavour is big booze coffee grounds
Oct 04, 2021
Photo of mwilbur
Reviewed by mwilbur from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 375 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a dark black (it better!) with dark mocha thick foamy head with excellent retention.
S: Very potent whiskey, dark chocolate, molasses, leather, oak, vanilla, and a hint of red wine.
T: Charred oak, an intriguing red wine/berry note, dry dark bitter chocolate, soft whiskey, leather, and molasses. Super potent!
M: Medium body, but potent flavors and high ABV make it feel much heavier. Dark and bitter sweetness. Super strong and lingers forever on the palate.
D: Wow! If you are looking for a big beer, this one delivers and then some. Extremely potent sipper. Nicely layered brew gives this good complexity. Nothing gets out of hand or overbearing. I’m impressed.
Apr 23, 2021
Photo of thehyperduck
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

4.11/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
375 mL bottle purchased at the LCBO at least six years ago; listed at 17%, brewed and bottled at De Proef. Best before Jun 25 2024 and served at cellar temperature.

It's opaque and inky black - anything less and I'd be downright miffed. A deliberately rough pour produced about an inch of foamy, soapy, tan-coloured head that seeped away within five minutes or so, leaving behind a delicate band of stringy lace and a patchy, bubbly cap. Plenty of booze fumes on the nose, accompanied by notes of brown sugar and treacle sweetness, as well as roasted malts, licorice, dark chocolate, raisin and spiciness. It's not exactly what I'd call harsh, but the alcohol really does overshadow everything else. Potentially good for clearing out the sinuses.

Not a beer for the faint of heart - it's bold from start to finish, drinking more like a liqueur than a stout. I'm getting black cherry, plum, raisin and fig fruitiness at the forefront, with lots of brown sugar and molasses following shortly thereafter. Hints of baker's chocolate, licorice, almond, blackberry and herbal hops, as well as an anise-like spiciness, precede an exceedingly boozy finish that numbs the tongue; vaguely reminds me of cherry cough syrup in the aftertaste, with a touch of smokiness. Full bodied, with an oily, silky feel on the palate bolstered by only the barest hint of carbonation.

Final Grade: 4.11, an A-. Need some hair on your chest? Pop open a bottle of Mikkeller Black. It's hot, for sure - though I say that as someone who has probably never reviewed a beer over 15%, let alone 17%. I was honestly expecting a more harsh experience, and maybe that would've been the case if I'd cracked this back in late 2014 - but it seems that leaving this in the cellar was likely the most optimal strategy. A fine imperial stout that I found quite palatable: it's really too bad that I haven't seen this in years, because this would be an interesting candidate for a vertical review. Try this if you can, but I really do recommend letting it rest for a few years beforehand.
Jan 08, 2021
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

1.95/5  rDev -48.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5
Pours a pitch-black coloration with a huge, foamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of caramel malt, brown sugar and molasses, with just a hint of gasoline also coming through. Taste is a terrible balance of caramel malt, huge brown sugar notes, molasses, toffee and lighter dark fruit, with just a hint of chocolate and a really unpleasant, boozy gasoline presence in the aftertaste. Finishes sickly sweet, with some brown sugar and gasoline lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a very rich body and low carbonation.

While this isn't quite as boozy as I had feared, apparently reducing the ABV down to 15% from 17.5% had at least some effect, there still is a certain gasoline aftertaste to it, while the sheer, sickly, syrupy, caramel and brown sugar sweetness that drowns out everything else is what truly makes this unbearable, with the Cassonade sugar obviously being WAY overdone here. I drain-poured it after just enough sips to finish this review, absolutely disgusting, how anyone can rate this above 2 is absolutely beyond me, This is just such a typical example of going for shock value at all cost without giving even the slightest regard to balance, it's the very antithesis of what a good Imperial Stout should be all about, while I've had one 17% and plenty of 15% Imperial Stouts that were a lot better balanced than this as well. Basically tastes like a ton of brown sugar dissolved in gasoline, with next to no roast or bitterness for balance.
Jan 03, 2021
Photo of SaCkErZ9
Reviewed by SaCkErZ9 from South Carolina

4.79/5  rDev +26.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Cork says 12/12/17. Assuming that's a "best by" date. I've had this for probably 10 years or more, obtained ownership via trade or BIF, or something like that, from Sudsdog. I couldn't find his info anywhere on BA so hope you are doing well my friend.

12.7oz of 17.5% black elixir. Poured into a La Fin Du Monde snifter.

Pours pitch black with a tiny ring of foam. Surprised there is any at all given the age of this one. I believe this is also the strongest beer I have had to date.

Aroma is wonderful. Less alcoholic than I would have guessed from such a big beer. Raw cocoa nibs, coffee, figs, cocoa powder. Definitely some alcohol but it isn't overwhelming and certainly isn't overpowering.

More raw cocoa nibs on the palate. Kind of sweet, but not too sweet. Figgy. Maybe even some pineapple, black pepper, fresh currant. Outstanding. Again, alcohol pretty well subdued.

Rich in the mouth, silky, smooth. Carbonation is very low but has just enough. Perhaps a touch sweet for me, but overall, a fantastic beer. I didn't know what to expect but my expectations are blown away.
Dec 24, 2020
 
Rated: 2.5 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Nov 15, 2020
 
Rated: 3.85 by zonker17 from Texas

May 18, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by crob3888 from California

Feb 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.43 by AlinD27 from Switzerland

Jan 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.03 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Oct 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by jroof1 from Massachusetts

Sep 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by Knickfan3 from New York

Sep 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by Hayley_86 from Netherlands

Jun 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4.37 by mishi_d from Romania

May 30, 2018
Photo of Thomas_Wikman
Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas

3.49/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
I just tried Black Imperial Stout from Mikkeler (brewing outsourced to a Belgian brewery), this years edition have an ABV of 15.10%. I wanted to like it, it's rich and complex, full of flavor, and it had a lot going for it, but it was too much. The strong and very long lasting coffee bitterness is what was too much for me. I think Imperial Stout's should have some coffee flavor but it is not good when it is too much. Like an IBU 300 IPA or a super bretty saison you can always exaggerate.

Look: Black, thick, oily viscosity with a thick mocca colored head

Aroma: coffee, roasted malts, licorice.

Taste: The flavor is roasted malts, it's very sweet and there's bitter dark chocolate, there's licorice, alcohol, it's a bit medicinal, and then comes an overpowering bitter coffee flavor.

Feel: full body, thick, viscous, oily.
May 22, 2018
Photo of SomethingClever
Reviewed by SomethingClever from Ohio

4.24/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
06 bottle of mikkeller black drank on 5-18-18 poured into a chalice glass.

A: nice small khaki colored head with tiny bubbles settles to a film. Body is a piece of coal as far as clarity.

S: lots of oak and wine lots of licorice some dark fruits like alcohol soaked figs.

T: Lots of rich dark chocolate and boozy figs and dates . Presents itself a lot like a port you are getting the wine and barrel but it’s so rich.

M: medium to a fuller body a good bit if syrupiness which is actually nice.

O: Wow I came at this thinking I was going to be disgusted and it’s jaw droppingly good. It’s so layered and complex, yet you can taste the oxidation. I want to say this beer aged like a champ but I never had it fresh.
May 19, 2018
 
Rated: 2.67 by matthewsween from Oregon

Apr 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.02 by TheBrewsky from California

Apr 02, 2018
Black (黑) from Mikkeller ApS
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 594 ratings