Black Mirror
Deschutes Brewery

Black MirrorBlack Mirror
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From:
Deschutes Brewery
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
Ranked #22
ABV:
13%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,774
Avg:
4.32 | pDev: 7.18%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
59
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 09, 2023
Added:
Dec 04, 2018
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  4
This American style black barleywine is deceptively unique with its dark color and full body. Direct to you from the barrel with aromas of coffee, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, whiskey, caramel and dried fruit. The roch malt character pleasantly surprises, brining a subtl sweetness to balance the oak in this monster of a beer.

45 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by morrowd3:
Photo of morrowd3
Rated by morrowd3 from Vermont

4.15/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Jun 05, 2019
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.99/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bomber from Homebrewstuff. Dark pour, almost black, thin collar of head. Bottom line: barleywine with a bit of extra roast. Aroma is burnt toast, coffee, cola, hint of booze. Taste offers light sweetness, roasty malts, molasses. Sweet, bitter, dry, warm.
Jun 09, 2023
Photo of Sandis
Reviewed by Sandis from Minnesota

4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22oz bottle on 6/19/2019. Barleywine aroma with more of a stout appearance. Boozy. A little dry, a little toffee, a little fruit. Pleasant.
Feb 18, 2023
Photo of TooManyGlasses
Reviewed by TooManyGlasses from Canada (AB)

4.49/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a rich dark brown that in the glass is an almost murky black with a half finger of reddish tawny head.
Aroma raisin, toffee, notes of molasses, hint of cherry/plum with vanilla and a hint of chocolate.
Tastes of rich raisin bread pudding, toffee, dates - boozy brown sugar sweetness; vanilla and again faint notes of chocolate.
Full bodied smooth mouth feel - well carbonated - sweet with bourbon boozy heat.
Feb 10, 2022
Photo of Radcpa
Reviewed by Radcpa from Washington

4.08/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Dark brown appearance with a slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a malt whiskey combination. Taste is a mild malt whiskey that is s little thin
Sep 19, 2021
Photo of laketang
Reviewed by laketang from Arizona

4.31/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured rootbeer brown. Not much head retention.
Anise is upfront, plum and molasses.
Rich caramel, raisons and gingersnap cookie. Bitter.
Medium feel, little carbonation.
A tad too much Anise, but a great barleywine.
Jun 20, 2021
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.37/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
On tap at Deschutes Roanoke

A- pours black in color with a one finger creamy light khaki head that has good retention and leaves some lacing behind

S- smells of coconut, chocolate, caramel, oaky bourbon and a hint of char

T- dark fruity notes of raisin, fig and date up front are followed by sweet malty notes of caramel, toffee, pipe tobacco and chocolate. The finish gives a big oak compliment with some bourbon, coconut and caramel on the linger

M- medium-heavy body with moderate carbonation leads to a creamy mouthfeel that continues into a creamy, slightly warming finish

O- dark fruits, caramel and toffee with the perfect compliment of barrel, well done
May 26, 2021
 
Rated: 4.16 by CraftFan5 from New Jersey

May 24, 2021
 
Rated: 4.14 by KAP1356 from Pennsylvania

May 13, 2021
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

4.3/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
2021-04-24
22oz bottle with black wax, served in a tulip. Bought it at the brewery last month. Bottled on 2019-02-18. I have been something of a Mirror Mirror fanboy in the past, so I'm pretty excited about this.

Pours very dark brown (but not opaque like a stout), moderate sized head that collapses to a mixed and moderately thick layer. Lots of very fine, very slow carbonation. Smell is boozy, oaky, roasted malts, something green. Coffee and anise if I try to block out the alcohol a little. Figs and dates are in there, too, if I think about barleywine.

Taste is along the same lines, but the alcohol is a little less abusive. I get more sweetness, like an oaky syrup, with a burnt sweetness too like burnt marshmallows. Dates and raisins come across.

Mouthfeel is medium or a bit lighter, something gives it a slightly watery impression. Overall, this is a very good beer.
Apr 24, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by TylerJ from Iowa

Mar 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4.5 by eawolff99 from Minnesota

Feb 19, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Jan 21, 2021
Photo of DokiDokiLitFam
Reviewed by DokiDokiLitFam from New Jersey

4.56/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark brown with barely a finger of light brown head. This isn't a super dense or dark looking brew like a 17% stout motor oil pour. It doesn't have quite the same gravity. It looks nice and you can tell its not quite a stout but it looks different than a normal barelywine.

Nose is mild bourbon and wood, vanilla, brown sugar/molasses, dark fruit(fig and plum mainly), mild smokiness, leather, tobacco. This thing is complex, expressive, and detailed. It takes several minutes to pick apart everything going on in here.

Taste takes it even further. Initial impact of bourbon and slight barrel tannic notes, then roasty and smoky malt. I get a hint of dark chocolate and coffee. I don't where chocolate and coffee came from, but it is most certainly there. Some dark fruit, slight notes of bitterness that remind me of tasting pure black strap molasses. This is all in the intro and mid palate. On the finish the coffee comes back and just lingers quietly. Subtle, not too bitter, enjoyable.

Mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied with medium carbonation. This is a nice consistency with some liveliness on the tongue. I'm used to bigger brews being extremely low in carbonation but this stands out.

Overall this is an absolute treat of a brew. Dense and complex in flavor. You can spend so much time simply musing upon and unraveling this one. So much character and depth. An absolute knockout from Deschutes.
Dec 13, 2020
Photo of Bitterbill
Reviewed by Bitterbill from Wyoming

4.43/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
At Old Chicago. Bottled February 18th 2019.

Pours pitch black with a small tan head of foam.

Smell is malty, loads of whiskey, fruity, chocolate. So complex.

Taste is strong with the whiskey barrel, dark fruits, chocolate, malty with a slight lean towards the good oxidation.

Full bodied with perfect carbonation.

Wonderful brew!
Nov 25, 2020
 
Rated: 3.65 by AllOfTheCats from Wisconsin

Sep 26, 2020
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.59/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nearly light proof black colored beer with a small brown colored head

Smells of preserved fruit, raisins, prunes and cherries. Slight hint of menthol. Smell of fruit brandy. Smells a bit boozy with chocolate and coffee in the fumes.

Starts out sweet and savory with a sour fruit after taste. Boozy and slightly bitter. Berry taste but much milder than expected. Mostly it is boozy and mild.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall it is strong but mild tasting.
Jul 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by paulish from New York

Jul 04, 2020
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
$ 15.00 (Including tax)/bomber ($ 0.682/oz). Purchased 7/8/19 from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. On shelf at store. Reviewed 6/4/20.
Stamped on middle left edge of label “BOTTLED ON 02/18/19”. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 60 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber (SRM 13), clear.
Body – Deep brown (SRM 30), opaque. When held to direct light, same.
Head – Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), khaki, high density with a few rocks, average retention, diminishing to a seven to a three mm dense crown and a complete thin cap with a few rocks.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Strong caramel malt with a bit of molasses, no hops, no yeastiness.
Flavor – 4.5 – Sweet strong caramel malt, no hops, no yeast. No alcohol (13% ABV, NOT marked on the label) taste or aroma. A moderate post-lingual warming does occur. Aftertaste is moderately sweet but lacks the distinct caramel taste. No diacetyl or dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 4 – Full, creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.5. WOW! An excellent barleywine! Marty has a few bottles of this lot still on the shelf, so back I go!
Jun 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Bandi from New York

May 31, 2020
Black Mirror from Deschutes Brewery
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 59 ratings