Mikkeller 黑牛 Black Buffalo

Editor’s note: 19.3% is the correct ABV.

Mikkeller Black barrel aged on Buffalo Trace barrels.

3.9

178 reviews

Copenhagen, Denmark

Community reviews

3.8 Bottle shared on the 42nd floor. 2012 vintage, 19.3%. Black, big foamy brown head. Aroma is chocolate, alcohol, vanilla, molasses. Body is medium, smooth, soft carbonation. Taste is bitter up front, heavily roasted dark malts, dark chocolate, dense vanilla cake, ash and booze. Huge beer. Definitely some booze showing up but quite drinkable for a 19%er. Nice.

3.7 8th October 2015 42nd Floor Tasting. Thanks to Dan for this beast. Opaque black - brown beer, good pale tan head. Palate is airy, semi dry and has decent fine carbonation. All these Black’s have bitter dry dark malts, but here it is not quite as prevalent with some dark chocolate providing relief. Bourbon soaked dark fruits. Spicy licorice. Dry bitter and spicy finish. One of the better ones in this long running series.

3.7 3 oz bottle pour at ChurchKey shared by solidfunk, thanks Josh! Black with light tan head. Aromas of chocolate, roast, whiskey. Tastes of whiskey, chocolate, coffee, roast, booze. Medium body with a dry and warm finish.

3.6 A bit of an unruly mess but improves a bit after a few sips. Pours black with mocha head. Whiskey and roast with a bomb of booze. Quite the bitter finish. Thick and syrupy consistency. 2012 bottle pour from Churchkey.

3.7 Bottle at the sky high Canary wharf tasting. Thanks to Daniel for this one. Black and caramel brown coloured pour with a halo of dark tan head. Aroma is big salty liquorice, oyster, solvent, toffee, salty roast. Flavour is composed of big SALTY bitter roast, black, charred wood, boozy, alcohol, solvent. Big toffee, and Salted caramel. Palate is medium full sticky, bitter dark roast, moderate carbonation. A very challenging beer. Better than most Mikkeller Black beers.

3.5 Bottle thanks to Dirty Danny. Consumed at the 42nd floor tasting. It pours opaque black with a small, but sturdy tan head. The nose is very rich, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, nougat, fruit cake, rocky road and dark chocolate bounty. The taste is rich, slick, bitter, toasty, big alcohol boost, charred wood, ashy, burnt tires, so very chewy and cocoa with a warming, chewy finish. Full body and moderate carbonation. I enjoy parts of this, but it is too full-on for me to love it.

4.3 37.5cl bottle at the 42nd level tasting, London. It pours a black color with medium beige head. Aroma is big bold boozy sweet notes of dark chocolate, bourbon, caramel. Taste is sweet and lightly funky wit notes of red wine, dark chocolate, esters, toffee. Full bodied with good carbonation. Overall, great.

3.9 Bottle split at the 42nd floor Tasting, thanks to Daniel, 08/10/15. Pitch black with a decent tan covering. Nose is big malt dollops, rich roast, spice, dark chocolate, bitter dark fruit shreds, umami, tar, booze fumes. Taste comprises bourbon, spice, big barrel effect, dark toffee fudge, rich malt, chocolate. Full bodied, oily complexion, herbal trace and warming alcohol in the close. Solid impy, best from this series for me, boozey beast but not too hot.

3.1 Bottles shared in London, 42nd floor tasting - ’thanks’ to Daniel! Pours oily black-brown with a creamy tan head. Massive aroma, lots of burnt brown sugar, roast, dark fruits. Medium sweet flavor, loads of torched wood, baking cocoa,dried fruits, raisins. Full bodied, chewy, with fine carbonation. Hot finish, some burn works its way into the nostrils, iodine, drying ashy wood, earth. So so. A bit too hot and bitter, but there are some interesting elements.

4.8 Ez egy csodálatos főzet. A hordós érlelés sajátságos karaktert kölcsönöz, ami jól megkülönböztethetővé teszi a "sima" Black főzettől. Ebben az italban a pirított árpa nagyon szép hangulatot ad, kiérződik a csokoládés harmónia és a kávés ízvilág. Ehhez enyhe füstösség is párosul még és egy erőteljes whisky-s aroma, határozott alkoholossággal. Édeskés, lassan kortyolós, igazi ínyencség. NYAMI!!!

3.3 Bouteille 37.5cl, BB 16/02/2022. Brune foncée, col épais crémeux moka, doré au verre. Arôme au bouquet profond de malté, note barrique, le tout est surfait au niveau alcool qui est bcp trop présent, pointe de vanille avec un rétro boisé et grains Au palais, le tout est incroyablement fort en alcool. Les 19% dénaturent complètement la bière, apportant un profil bcp trop réchauffant et par moment rappelant un coté épicé qui en fait ne l’est pas. Retrouve une certaine douceur vanillée et un boisé caractéristique du Makers mais dont toute l’appréciation est gâchée par ce niveau alcoolisé. Au final, bcp trop de booze, et cela tue l’intérêt de cette bière. Pour le prix, franchement déçu.

4.3 Botella de 37.5 cl de zombier en llamas en el momento el 13-09-2014 Fecha de consumo pref para antes de 16-02-2022. color negro intenso con espuma bastante oscura que desaparece hasta quedar solamente fina capa. Aromas intensos de bourbon con maltas tostadas y vainillas junto con maderas empapadas de licor. Cuerpo intenso bastante ligero y licoroso gracias a sus 19.3 vol que dan gran sensación alcohólica. Sabores intensos de maderas empapadas en bourbon con toques de maltas tostadas, algo de cacao u especias, vainillas, y maderas licorosas. Muy buena con una tremenda sensación de licor gracias a su dosis alcohólica y su paso ligero por boca.

3.3 Huge thanks to yespr for that one. Bottle looks really good. Beer in the glass deep black, small brownish head. Heavy-malty and alcoholic aroma. Starts very, very intense malty, notes of strong coffee, some bitter cacao chocolate, woody-scratchy notes. Hints of liquorice. Finish still intense malty, alcoholic, goes down burning. Too much for me!

4.0 Bottle at home. Light vanilla and toffee, huge dry bitterness, alcohol burn, really bitter.

4.1 Looks. Black, viscous, small long lasting stick tan head. Smells. Heavy malt roast, bourbon char, liquorice, vanilla & boozy. Tastes. Burnt malts, sugars & rich choc sweetness, bourbon barrel char, vanilla, loads of alcohol warmth on the end. Very big!

4.0 Bottle. Pours a dark, dark brown. Aroma is lovely - sweet with lots of dark fruit figgy rumminess and meaty soy sauce. Stunned I can’t detect booze in the aroma. Full body, medium carbonation. A boozy delight. There’s some heat from the booze, but this is lovely - dark choc, bitter coffee, burnt treacle, rum, sticky dark fruit, ash, smoke, wood... The booze is so well integrated, it doesn’t jar at all. Tasty.

3.5 Bottle. Black with a medium sized slowly diminishing light brown ok lacing head. Heavy bourbon notes of coconut, vanilla and licorice all sorts. Cocoa, chocolate, light grain, burnt malt, hefty alcohol warmth, white sugar. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Medium sweet, light bitterness. Tickling alcohol on the gums and a burn on the tongue. Ok, but too rough. Light dry and astringent finish.

4.2 On bottle from Vinmonopolet Vika. Black color, good foam. Aromas of Whisky , malt licorice, dried fruits; high intensity. Full body & high complexity . Some sweetness, ok balance . Very enjoyable

3.7 Bottle @ Maxi. Pours pitch black with a small light brown head, leaving some lacings. Aroma of roasted / burned malts, cofffe, tar, dark chocolate, oak, bourbon, alcohol. Flavor is hard roasted and bitter malts, coffee, tar, licorice, oak, bourbon, strong booze. Medium body, flat carbonation, strong boozy finish. 110414

4.1 Bottle @ Maxi. Pitch black, small tan head, great lacing and coating. Aroma, roasted malts, chocolate, bourbon, oak, alcohol, molasses. Taste, roasted malts, bourbon, alcohol, chocolate. Kind of well balanced. Dry mouth feel. Roasted malts, bourbon, chocolate, oak aftertaste.

4.4 This starts of strong but settles a bit as it warms and your palate acclimates. Strong bourbon and roasted malt aroma. Great black color with substantial dark brown head for a beer with this ABV. Smooth and silky palate with decent carbonation. Bourbon hits up front at the first sips but if you’re patient the complexity of this comes through. Deep roasted and charred wood flavors with some coffee and vanilla, which is finished with a nice hops bitter dryness. Magnificent.

3.9 37.5 cl bottle @ home. Pours black with a dark tan head that leaves quite a bit of lacing. Aroma and flavour are bourbon, vanilla, liquorice, burnt malt, and chocolate - with a bitter and boozy finish.

4.0 Sehr dunkelbraunes Bier mit geringer beigen Schaumkrone. Geruch intensiv röstmalzig, schokoladig, Toffee, Kaffee, alkoholisch. Geschmack sehr röstmalzig süß, schokoladig, Kaffee, schwer alkoholischer Abgang.

4.0 Bottle (375ml). Very dark brown/black colour. Half-inch dark beige head that settles as a thick bubbly layer and small dots of lacing. Aroma is warm and intensely sweet with roasted malt, coffee, milk chocolate, licorice, wood, lactose, bourbon. The alcohol gives a prickly sensation in the nose. Full body (naturally), soft carbonation, oily mouthfeel. The taste has a marvelous balance between high lactic sweetness and solid dryness/bitterness (wood/licorice). The bourbon element is not very prominent (a good thing in my opinion), but subtly provides extra depth. Long aftertaste of bitter-sweet malt and raw licorice with a chili-like alcohol burn.

4.0 Aroma of booze, vanilla, some roastiness. Black with practically non-existent brownish head. Taste is heavy alcohol, like burning level. More vanilla and bourbon. Really bitter finish. This is a fun thing to try. A little to strong for me, but still fantastic.

3.8 Darkest of dark black pours. Insane thick lacing on the glass. This tastes like a rich stout with straight bourbon poured in. Crazy strong. Definitely a sipper.

3.9 Bottle from someone who caused just the tiniest bit of stress on the last night I hope I ever see them. Poured a syrupy pitch black body with a rather small faomy beige head. Aroma of heat, lots of alochol, burnt toast, charcoal, burnt dark fruits and dark cherries. Flavor of vanilla extract, burnt toast, caramel, molassess, alcohol, burnt wood. Good stuff here.

4.0 375ml bottle shared at dmac's dog fart infested basement filled with cougars and chaos! Pours a pitch black color with a small foamy mocha colored head. Big bourbon aroma, with notes of wood, caramel, and roasted malts. Taste of rich roasted coffee, burnt toast, bourbon, oak, leather, and a rich toffee and vanilla aftertaste. Solid stuff!

3.8 375 bottle split between 10 folks and we didn’t even finish it on the first round. Someone did take the remainder straight the dome as the night worn on. Thick black pour with a actual head. Nose is lots of thick molasses, char, booze, soy sauce, bourbon. Flavor actually comes off a bit less hrash than I expected. I am glad we shared with so many folks as I think this is a beer not to be enjoyed in large quatities. However, I really did like my sampling. Taste shows more thick molasses, leather, soy sauce, big bourbon, a bit of char, sticky.

3.4 Bottle @ Armin’s apartment, courtesy of the ole rotbox. Pours a deep black appearance with a thin, light brown head. Really rich, spicy whiskey, fairly boozy, somewhat herbal smoky, very roasty aroma. Very very rich, goopy dark chocolate, toffee, boozy whiskey flavor with some dark fruity notes and a pretty boozy finish. Fucken thick and hot. Kind of enjoyable flavor but boy, this motherfucker is high boost.