Deschutes Black Butte XXIV

XXIV. 24 years after Black Butte Porter’s debut, our potent, layered, imperial tribute returns. As usual, it’s a jazz riff, guided by the brewer’s muse and the lure of exotic ingredients. Artisanal dark chocolate nibs. Daglet dates. Mission figs. It may, possibly, hopefully, be the best edition yet. But, as it should be, you’ll be the judge of that.

3.9

346 reviews

Bend, United States

Community reviews

3.8 Draught at Rose and Crown in Palo Alto as part of SF Beer Week and an aged beer special. Beautiful deep brown with massive deep brown, oily head. Anise and dark fruit. Slight funk and a little medicine. Very nice after 4 years of aging.

3.7 Bomber sample- appearance is typical dark porter , small beige head. Nose- meaty figs are predominant. taste- again a meaty earthy mix of burnt sugars, dark fruits, mineral, chocolate and anise. Finish is where the barrel notes come out, with a dryer wood note to level off the weight of the dark fruits and sugars.

3.6 Pours a jet black with a thin beige head that doesn’t last long. Aroma is fig, dates, molasses and roasted malts with just a hint of char. The char is much more pronounced in the flavor. There’s also some slightly burnt chocolate with a bitter finish. Medium/full body with nice carbonation. Pretty good beer.

3.9 January 16, 2016. Bottle, shared by tkrjukoff, thanks! Black with a minimal brown head. Aroma is dark rye bread, toffee, dated, prunes, hints of vanilla. Taste is sweet malty, bready, roasted bitter. Finish is bitter roasted chocolate on top on a sweet dates, caramel and vanilla notes. Medium bodied, soft carbonation.

3.9 A: Pitch black with a fast dissapearing head. N: Coffee, apricot, Rye whisky, liqourice T: Coffee, cinnamon, plum O: Very nice balanced beer! I love it!

4.2 Bottle. Pours jet black with a great brown head. Aroma is fruity slightly sweet figs spicy astringent. Flavor is as aroma velvety plenty of fruits, kind if rye drivers, nicely bitter.

4.1 Bottle thanks to Ryan while we waited at ABC for ADWTD release: Poured a motor oil black with a creamy brown head. Aroma was coco and malts. Taste was a complex mix of dark fruit, coco, and robust malts.

4.0 Bottle - Vintage 2012 - Sweet dark sugars, dates, chocolate and a nice roasty note. Deep jet black with a nice brown head. Dark roasty chocolate, dates, dark fruit and a nice long rich finish. Very nice.

4.1 Pitch black and opaque without a trace of lighter color even when held to a light source. One finger beige head that vey slowly settles into a lasting cap/ring. Great retention, taking a while to settle and coating the glass with sheets of soapy lacing. Slightly boozy aroma with prominent bourbon barrel character integrated into the notes of the base beer. Dry, earthy oak, vanilla bean, marshmallow and spicy bourbon but the barrel and booze don’t interfere with the complex malt bill. Slightly smokey with lots of robust, roasted malt and subtle desert-like sweetness. Hints of coffee bean, oatmeal, toast and dark. chocolate followed by caramel and toffee sweetness. Also picking up some candi sugar, licorice and vinous dark fruit. Slightly viscous full body with a strong boozy bourbon barrel presence up front with spicy spirit, heat and lots of dry, earthy oak. A touch of vanilla and toasted coconut but the spicy alcohol bite and charred wood overpower a bit. Underneath, there is prominent roasted dark malt countered by subtle chocolate sweetness. Also some vinous wine and dark fruit esters along with delicate spice and licorice. Bourbon soaked oak chips with some coffee bean, charcoal, charred toast, oatmeal and bittersweet dark chocolate. Also some sweet bakers chocolate and subtle hints of fudge/chocolate cake. Vinous dark fruit notes buried in there with some date, plum, fig and raisin. Pretty complex but the bourbon and heavy roast quickly begin to dominate the palate.

4.0 Draft pour at Snallygaster shared by solidfunk, thanks! Black with tan head. Aromas of caramel, bourbon, chocolate. Similar notes in the taste. Full body with a dry finish.

4.0 From notes. On tap at Bell’s Funvitational on September 12. The pour is dark brown with hints of ruby poking through and a thin film of khaki head with no lace. The aroma is heavy on cinnamon and nutmeg with a lot of malt, good brown sugar, and a little vanilla. There is no real great barrel character, aside from a little char, which is surprising, since it spent 3 years in the barrels. The flavors are good. Chocolate, roast malt lots of oak. Good cinnamon and nutmeg. No real bourbon but a lot of charred oak and light vanilla. Mouth feel is thin but missing the carbonation. The finish is lingeringly woody and sweet.

3.9 On draft at Snallygaster 2015. Pours a clear cola with an off white head. Flavors of chocolate. Smooth roasty finish,

4.4 Sample at Funvitational. Aroma is barrel, some heat, roasted malt, nutmeg, brown sugar. Appearance is dark brown, light brown head, thick. Taste is a touch spicy, nutmeg maybe, cinnamon, barrel and roasted malt. Mouthfeel is spot on, great carbonation and decently thick. Overall, I am enjoying this.

4.1 Awesome, seems to have aged well. Pours black with good head and lacing. Bittersweet finish. Lots of roast and dark chocolate. A hint of nut. Tap

4.1 Noir intense avec une petite robe marron foncé. L’arôme intense de chocolat, mélasse, et réglisse avec un peu de dattes (mais je ne trouve pas de figue). En bouche c’est onctueux et riche avec une mélange des fruits séchées et chocolat (mais surtout du chocolat).

3.9 22oz bottle in a tulip. Pours black with a lacy, beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, some dark fruits, light notes of vanilla and caramel, and some faint hops. Flavor the same with a nice blend of everything. Smooth texture. A pretty cool beer, way better than original Black Butte which is already good.

3.6 Waxed bottle from Ales Unlimited San Francisco, purchased August 2012, drank with my wife on the evening of our twin boys funeral, 15/06/15. Glossy and black as wax with a fat beige mousse subsiding but lacing ornately. Nose of creamy fig, burnt cinder toffee, carob and soy sauce drizzled on a battered English chip shop sausage. Silken black Belgian tar feel slick with dark sugars, dates, fruit loaf, molasses, fig and vanilla. Alcohol not discernible. Treacle condition. Liquorice afters. Very little bitterness or roast for a beefy US imperial. Not that I’m complaining. A glimpse of beauty on a sad, sad day.

3.5 Bomber shared at a tasting, 3/30/15. Clear dark red, thin fizzy tan head. Good retention. Aroma of sugared dates, cinnamon, roasted malt, chocolate. The taste is roasted malt, caramel, vanilla, dark fruits, dates. Medium bodied, low carbonation, boozy.

3.7 Pours very dark brown with a tan head. The aroma has lots of dark fruits, cream, vanilla, chocolate, soy sauce, mild oak and smooth roast. It has a full rich body with a bit of bite and mild carbonation. The flavor starts with roast, cocoa nibs, cream, dates, alcohol, molasses and some heat. The finish has heavy dates/figs, more heavily bitter roast, grapefruit zest and cacao nib intensity. Nice big porter.

4.1 Tap. Black with small head. Very rich and complex. Dark chocolate, licorice, coconut, and dark fruit. Outstanding flavors.

4.0 Draft at Logan's Alley - pours dark brown almost black , thin tan head . Aromas of dried dark fruit , cocoa and a hint of all spice . Taste brings the same , nice mild bitter finish . Very good .

4.0 Deep black, with no hint of light anywhere. An inch of sandy tan head is sticky and rocky. Tangled spatters of lace. Lots of licorice in the nose. Behind is softer, sweeter cocoa, dark chocolate, toasted oak and bourbony vanilla, caramel and coconut. Nice and sweet. Licorice and some smoke up front, savory. As soon as you swallow, sweet dates, chocolate syrup, toasted oak. A hefty burnt bitterness settles in to the sides of the tongue after each sip. Vanilla bean, dates, chocolate syrup, a splash of bourbon with accompanying heat. Much better as it warms and sweetens. Thick, velvety body. Viscous. Medium-full with mild, electric carbonation. A meal. As it warms, there are perhaps a little too much dark fruits. Almost tangy. Very good before the swallow, if that makes sense. Letting it sit in the mourh brings out the best parts: the smoke, the bourbon. Time will improve it.

4.0 22 oz. bottle via trade. Pours black with a medium sized frothy tan head. The aroma is roasted malts with dark chocolate, oak, bourbon, cocoa nibs, vanilla, figs, dates, dark fruit character and light coffee. One word to describe the flavor is BIG. This has decadent chocolate, creamy vanilla, roasted malt, mellow bourbon and oak, figs, some dark fruit, cocoa, and flashes of the 11% as it warms. For all of that, the balance is surprising. Full creamy body. Solid.

3.5 [2/27/15] Draught at Deschutes Brewery & Public House in Portland. Black with a nice tan head. Aroma is a bit spicy, with lots of dates and some chocolate. Sweet flavor with dark fruits, chocolate, and a spicy and slightly alcoholic finish. Quite full-bodied.

4.2 does being broke and dragging a beer from the cellar give rating boost? I bow to you experts, critics and such. Damn! I enjoyed this. I have another one left that I hope is as excellent. The poetic comments of others? I double down on verbiage for the win.

4.2 Bottle from trade with xscottyp, cheers buddy! Pitch black, brown head. Aroma: dried fruit, toffee, licorice. Taste: salty licorice, toffee, fruity, some kind of cookie, caramel, light spice, light roast, dried fruit, mochaccino. Full-bodied.

3.3 This was the big beer stout that I was expecting. Has a hint of autolysis, old hops, bitter. Chocolate syrup. Bitter malts in the flavor. More chocolate syrup in flavor again. Maybe I get some light spices coming out. After this one I stopped rating, they were way more similar than different.

4.2 Poured from a 6 oz bottle. Dark to the pour with a lot of beige head. Aroma of liquorice and malts. Beautifully balanced taste of liquorice, bitterness of alcohol and chocolate malts.

4.0 Poured from 1 pint 6 fl oz bottle [best after 07/23/2013]. Jet black with beige head. Wood and licorice with mild chocolate and roast malt. Medium body, a bit of alcohol.

4.5 Finally getting to this. Thought I’d do it as a vertical, but Christmas Eve is good too. Bottle, black and thick, skiff of foam, decent lacing. Aroma is raisin, molasses, roasted malt and chocolate, cherries, a bit of alcohol. I could just huff this all day. Taste is raisin and plumb, dates, molases, cherries, anise, angelica, cinnamon, coffee. Long, dry finish of citrus rind. Palate is thick, but not as syrupy as many in this class, carbonation subdued. Extraordinary!