Black Death Beer

Black Death Beer

Black Death Beer has a pitch black colour and light brown creamy head. Aroma is roasted malt with strong notes of coffee and chocolate. Sweet spicy flavour with smoky aftertaste. It was launched in Iceland in 2011 and has been very well received, especially among younger beer drinkers (20-30 year old). Black Death is a brand owned by Valgeir Sigurðsson, an Icelandic native who launched vodka and snaps lines under this brand in the eighties with great success in many markets. The brand became famous when Slash, the famous guitar player of Guns ‘n’ Roses became an aficionado.
3.4
160 reviews
Akureyri, Iceland

Community reviews

3.4 Seemed a bit weak for a Baltic porter, but it was still decent. Slight creamy body, lager type malts with a slight coffee blend.
3.5 black liquid with frothy tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee. Taste: medium sweetness, lightly bitter, lightly sour, coffee. Palate: light body, creamy, average carbonation, long finish,
4.2 Black, they promise at the label, and black it is. Just as black as Slash’s hair and hat. Baltic porter, smells amazing with coffee and chocolate up front. Tastes very nice, and for once it’s not that sweet as porters tend to be. Produced at the same brewery as the Einstök Icelandic Porter, but in my opinion a better beer. A moderate ABV of 5,8 makes this a very easy drinkable porter. Enjoyed it, ended up with a top 5 score of 4,2.
3.3 Bottle. Dark body, small beige head. Aroma has cocoa powder and some licorice. Maybe a bit of chocolate cake. Taste has faint smoked prunes and more cocoa. Quite watery mouthfeel for the style. And too low ABV - proper Baltic Porters have at least 6,5% ABV, preferably up to 9%. This one is alright, but it doesn’t give you that chewy warming kick I expect to receive when drinking a Baltic Porter.
3.4 33cl bottle. Pitch black pour with small, light brow head. Little to no lacing. Aromas of burned rye bread, coffee and raisins. Taste is sweet, malty, dark coffee. Little to no carbonation and surprisingly fresh palate. Aftertaste is short, sweetish, and balanced. Decent porter.
3.1 Black beer, medium to small head. Nose is roasty, some chocolate and ashy notes. Flavor is roasty, coffee, chocolate. Finish has a nice and hoppy overtone to it, some roast, coffee and chocolate. Lingering hops and roast. All the flavors are there, but it lacks something, maybe it would be better a bit sweeter.
3.5 330ml bottle. Very dark brown color. Huge size, brownish beige head, stays.Sweet, malty, touch of minerals, roast, very faint cocoa in aroma. Sweetish, stale coffee, roasted malts, smooth chocolate in taste. Mild hops mixed with roasted malts in aftertaste. Soft carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel. Nice one.
3.0 0,33L bottle (from Drink Shop). Pours dark brown-black with light brown head. The head stays for some time. Aroma is malts, sweetness, breadiness. Flavor is sweet, malt, some smoke, chocolate, roast, breadiness. Feels somewhat dead. Overall: ok, but a little bit too bland.
3.4 Beige head, black body, tiny dots down the glassware. Mild scents of dark fruits, dark malts, cocoa, almond, cappucino. Tastes dark caramel, malts, cocoa, creamy coffee, dark chocolate with dusty prunes. Good body, semidry, and a juicy tale. Good. [33cl btl 5.8%abv B@Vinmonopolet]
3.0 0.33 flaske fra polet. Svart med off white skum som forsvant fort. Aroma brent malt litt sjokolade. Smak av malt. Flat og lite spennende.
3.0 Bottle at VBC. Black with a red hue. Roasty aroma with notes of especially coffee and chocolate. Sweet and a bit boring. With a Bit higher alcohol percent and more bitterness it could be fine.
2.8 Almost black of color with a small beige head. An aroma of cold coffee, dark chocolate, wet dog and weak sweets. A flavor of dark chocolate, weak sweets, coffee and no smoke.
3.0 Bottle share at VBC. Dark brown with a nice off white head. Sweet aroma, not much coffee and chocolate as the desc. claims. Medium body, not much bitterness. Slight coffee and chocolate taste.
3.6 330mL bottle, pours a deep dark brown / near-black with a small tan head. Nose brings out cocoa, a little vanilla and a touch of roast. Flavour is quite full-bodied, with a good balance of cocoa, vanilla and roast. Finishes on notes of cocoa and vanilla. Surprisingly complex and full. Very good stuff.
3.5 @ Havregatan 150402. Bottle (330 ml) from Skjold Burne, Helsingör. Roasted malty with notes of chocolate, sweet, medium body with an oily texture. The finish is dry and roasted.
2.8 Bottle. 5.8%. No ’best before’ date. Pours almost pitch black, with a tan head. Aroma is smoked, a bit watery, with a hint of cooked vegetables. Flavour is sweet and smoked, a bit watery. Dry, roasted finish, a bit smoked, with a lingering grassy note. Overall okay, but the watery and smoked notes clash; lacks body. 28.02.15.
3.1 330ml bottle in Iceland. Aroma is malty, light coffee. Appearance is dark black with a light brown-ish head. Taste is sweet and light bitter. A bit dry with a soft carbonation. Good.
3.3 Bottle at K Bar. Clear brown color. Aroma of chocolate. Taste is soft brownies.
2.9 Bottle at K-Bar. Pours dark brown with a medium, frothy beige head, medium retention with light lacing. Aroma is roast malt, bready notes, dates and figs with light earthy hops. Flavor is sweet dark malt and fruits with light earthy hops, medium bitterness, and a dry finish. Full body and medium carbonation.
3.3 Bottle. Pours dark brown with a lasting and lacing beige medium head. Aroma is smoky, meat, licorice, dark bread, roasted malt. Taste is light+ sweet and bitter. Body is light+, texture is creamy, carbonation is soft+. Finishes light sweet and roasted malty with smoke.
3.1 Poured a nearly opaque brown black colour with a one-finger tan foamy head that diminished quickly and produced virtually no lacing. Carbonation low. Aroma subtly of dark chocolate and coffee with some sweetness. Taste initially of roasted coffee then sweet chicory with no real bitterness. Light body, a bit thin. Dry with a nice sweetness and a mild coffee bitterness on the finish. Quite nice to sip. Unusually thin for a porter, more like a schwarzbier.
3.3 Bottle thanks to pentaz. Black with a medium sized diminishing light brown head. Mild smoke and ash in the nose. Spegepølse, light ash, dry flowers, wood, light caramel. Medium body, soft carbonation, filling mouthfeel. Mild sweet with a bitter finish that has some lingering smoke. Pretty solid beer for the price, I guess.
3.1 From 330 ml bottle. Pours a dark brown/black with some reddish highlights and a thin but lasting tan head. Aromas are quite light but there’s some roast and dark fruit come through. Taste is more robust with some chocolate and fruit at the front before a nice roasted coffee note emerges along with a bit of liquorice. Slips away a little at the end with some minerality as well. Not bad but could use a little more body.
3.9 Bottle. Pours a dark beer with a nice, firm beige head on top. Aroma is soft, licorice, slight coffee and roasted notes. Flavor is moderately sweet, some coffee and chocolate notes are present. Nice, subtle bitter aftertaste alongside the coffee, that shines trough in the finish perfectly. Nice balance, soft mouthfeel, decent experience.
3.5 How: Bottle Apperance: Black, medium sized tan head Aroma: Chocolate, coffee, liquorice. Palate: medium to full bodied, smooth texture, smoky aftertaste.
3.3 Ordinary Porter. Chocolate flavor, combined with good desserts. Nice beer but not special.
3.0 Bottle, 10C. Dark brown with a small beige head. Aroma of mocha, dark sugars, prunes, licorice. Medium bodied. Sweet with lots of licorice, modest roasted flavours, balancing bitterness. Gets a bit sickly as it warms, but OK.
3.6 Bottle. Pours a pitch black beer with a nice, firm beige head on top. Aroma is rather soft, licorice, slight coffee and roasted notes. Flavor is moderately sweet, some coffee and chocolate notes are present. Nice, subtle bitter aftertaste alongside the coffee, that shines trough in the finish perfectly. Flavor makes up for the lack in aroma and the body is very full despite the low abv. I was expecting a much higher abv, around 8%. Nice balance, soft mouthfeel, decent experience.
3.5 From a 330ml bottle on 2/12/2014. Pours a very dark brown with a small head. Has a mild malty aroma with some roasty and coffee notes. The flavour is relatively subtle yet satisfying, with milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, roasted malt, a hint of smoke and some moderate hops in the mix. The palate is slightly creamy and the carbonation average. Not sure if this is a baltic porter, but it’s a solid dark ale none the less.
3.3 For this 50th Baltic Porter that I rate (not bad for a Southerner, eh?), I was hoping to have a more memorable one. Part of the excitement of having an Icelandic Baltic Porter kind of evaporated with the aroma and the taste. In spite of the apalling presentation, this porter looks nice and shiny black, with a rather bubbly bownish head. Roasted malts on the aroma, with chocolates, smoke and a touch of plums. Liquorice (and not a very nice one) and more roasted malts on the flavour, with a vinous boozy vein, a good amount of coffee, peat, and a strong presence of that sweet malt, almost Malzbier-like, which only disappears with the roasted bitterness that dominate the finish. Medium to thin bodied, this porter did not thrill me as I was hoping for...