Mikkeller 黑 / Black (Islay Edition)
Aged 4 month on Scotch Islay Barrels
3.7
151 reviews
Copenhagen, Denmark
Community reviews
Bottled. Pours pitch black with a small, lacing tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, peat and whiskey. Sweet flavor that ends up more dry with an alcohol burn. Full bodied, oily texture and soft to flat carb. A heavy and very nice impy.
37.5 cl bottle @ home. Pours black with a tiny dark tan head that leaves no lacing. Aroma and flavour are peat, smoke, whiskey, tobacco, burnt malts, liquorice, and dark chocolate - with a bitter and alcoholic finish.
Bottle. 17.5%. Best before 25.02.20. Pours black with a diminishing dark tan head. Aroma is slightly oxidized, with dark fruits and peat/smoke. Well-balanced, quite nice. Quite sweet flavour; molasses, with an alcohol burn; has a Vermouth-like feel to it. Notes of peat/smoke and dark fruits. The peat/smoke feels a bit unbalanced, but it’s still pretty good. Finish is the same, with the alcohol burn lingering, along with a tobacco-like smoked note. Smooth palate. Overall really good and generally well-balanced; the sweetness in the flavour is especially good I think. If the peat/smoke note had been more balanced, it would have scored higher. 02.02.14.
Botella de 37 cl tomada dos veces en Pacos (Oviedo) durante el invierno de 2010 y 2011 (por ese entonces a 16 euros la botella) Como seria de interesante volver a tomar esta maravilla de cerveza, hasta ahora mi favorita. Gran imperial stout en la que aparte de sus intensísimos sabores tostados y quemados aporta un final de madera empapada de whisky de Islay alucinante, que la convierte casi en un licor. Para beber tranquilamente disfrutando cada trago durante un buen rato ya que sus alucinantes 17.5 vol se dejan notar claramente, dejando un maravilloso retrogusto final amargo de lúpulo verde combinado con la madera seca y salada del whisky de Islay ((((claro mi región escocesa preferida para los whiskys))) Sin dudarlo una cerveza 10. Mi favorita
In short: Chemical solvent compound, sticky stuff and burnt cereals. A new entry in my bottom-10 beer ever. Astonishingly gross.
How: Bottle 375ml, consumed with some age of it but still approximately 7 years before expiration date.
The look: Black body topped by a tan ring of foam.
In long: Nose is disturbingly nail polish remover, nothing else, I’ve never had such an intense nail polish remover smell from a beer, really like smelling an actual little flask of nail polish remover, and I used that stuff a lot in my younger days when I was using nails hardener for acoustic guitar. One of the most repulsive smell I have ever encountered in a beer. Taste is burnt plastic, highly phenolic alcohol, rubbing alcohol sensation, cereals that are charred to the max malts developing smoky-ashy character, sticky hard-liquor, maybe some wood. I could have been more descriptive but I quickly decided to drain pour my bottle. I can’t One of the most undrinkable beer I’ve ever had the misfortune of trying. If you die and go to heaven you will find a large stack of bottles like this one and when you are bored you can just pour down a bottle and its content falls directly in the mouth of the people below in hell.
375ml bottle, pitch black color, with a ring of bubbly tan head, with a phenolic, earthy peated malt medicinal, herbal nose with some black, toasted, chocolate, roasted, peated malt, chocolatey, molasses accents, with some burnt fruitcake, black coffee, syrupy chocolate sauce, dark bitter chocolate baking bar notes in the aroma follows through on a full-bodied palate with a sweet warmth liquorish boozy, chocolate, black, toasted, caramel, roasted, peated malty, molasses, fruity character, with some earthy herbal peat moss, chocolate icecream, black coffee, brown sugar, chocolate cup filled with whisky flavours, and within a light dark bitter chocolate baking bar mouthfeel, and a cepacol mouth wash backbone, leading towards a warming, sweet liquorish whisky, peated, chocolate, roasted, black caramel, toasted maltiness, burnt dark dried fruit, molasses, chocolatey, roasty bitterness finish.
375mL bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks a lot, Dany), pours black with a small tan ring of head. Aroma brings out smoky islay barrels upfront, peat, wood and roasted malt. Flavour is very bold, with a wonderful balance between intense sweetness and the smokiness & peat from the islay. Quite sweet and moderately smoky (for islay) without being lopsided on either major flavour element. Booze is surprisingly well-worked in. Not the most complex, but certainly enjoyable. Very good.
Shared bottle at Cardinal.Pours pitch black , no head. Aroma of rubber glue and peated malt. Taste is heavy sweet, thick oily mouthfeel. Smooth.
Almost black in colour. Bicycle tyre glue in aroma, that mellows as it airs. Sweet and strong taste with some port. A bit woody. Wonderfully complex aftertaste.
One of my absolute favorites of all time. The aroma is absolutely magnificent and the taste as well ad the palate fully live up to this. Too bad that it is sold anymore.
Fra flaske på Cardinaltreff 2.pinsedag -13: kveldens siste, og den tredje Black på rad - for en avslutning! Sødmen er det mest fremtredende trekk, trass et kraftig torvrøykt preg. Ubalansert. Men allikevel et meget potent øl med stort særpreg. Ny flaske på Cardinaltreff aug-13: aroma minner om gummisolusjon (til lapping av sykkelslanger). Søtlig smak med stor fylde, portvinøs - enninteressant opplevelse. De 3.7 fra forrige rating gjelder forstatt.
Shared 375 ml bottle at Cardinal. Black body with a brown rim. Heavy peated malts and roasted raisins on the nose. Heavy sweet, ashy peat and roasted raisins. Full bodied and oily. Smooth with a pleasantly rich finish.
Bottle from Estate Wine, Holstebro. Black with a small brown head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt, coffee, peat and alcohol. Flavor is very sweet and rather bitter. Sweet finish with heavy alcohol. Full bodied. Boozy and too sweet, but not bad at all. 090313
A sweet and smokey flavor and oddly well rounded. Very dark brown in color with a brown creamy head.
Bottle (375ml). Pitch black colour, small beige head that vanishes almost completely. Very rich aroma of roasted malt, molasses, smoked whisky, peat, licorice, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, port wine. Full body, oily mouthfeel, flat carbonation. Very sweet, somewhat woody, taste initially, with prominent whisky notes. This is balanced by a growing, dry, vegetal bitterness with associations to raw coffee beans, that becomes a little too dominant in the finish. Extremely long bittersweet aftertaste.
Pitch black, no head to speak of. Aroma, first impression, port wine. Then comes the whiskey. The taste is sweet and smokey, like a port and whiskey boiler maker. Low carbonation, full body, sticky mouthfeel. This should be more complex but it is so completely dominated by the port and whiskey flavours that all nuances disappears. Best enjoyed in small quantities.
Bottle shared by ygtbsm94. Thanks Brad!
The beer is black with a soapy, tan head comprised of broken bubbles. The beer appears oily and viscous, leaving filmy lacing clinging to the walls of the snifter.
Scotch whiskey comes through immediately to the olfactory senses. I am a huge fan of Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin, three of the best whiskies from the Islay region of Scotland, so I am pretty excited about tasting this brew.
The flavor offers peat, smoke, wood, salt. A superb balance of flavors. While the presence of the peaty scotch is bold and aggressive, it still finds balance among the oak and roast flavors.
The beer is thick and chewy, yet smooth and silky. Strong and bold, but not hot. I just love the feel of this beer. Long lingering flavors of smoke and peat, the distinguishing characteristics of a delicious Islay scotch.
Overall, this was just fabulous. If you enjoy imperial stouts any of the whiskies mentioned above, I highly recommend trying this beer.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 06-04-2012
Bottle courtesy of Dany, shared with Matt. Pours a deep heavy black with a thin tan head. Big peat smoke and sweet chocolate and roast on the nose. Thick as syrup, clings to the glass. Sweet at first, keeps with that syrup look in the flavor, sweet and full of chocolate, roast, cocoa, Peat is huge, big and chewy, lots of smoke. Long chocolate, roast, cocoa. Super smooth and very drinkable for such a monstrous beer.
Bottle thanks to Mikkel
Head: nothing
Colour: black
Smell: sweet, boozey, caramelised malts, islay ( peat ) and candy sirup
Taste: start is boozey but not as much as expected , slight caramel and roasted malts, some candy sirup, sweet oily textured end , with islay and burned wood in the aftertaste, nice one !
Bottle. Oil black with think brown ring head. Nose/taste of charred black malt, ash, fire pit, vanilla, sweet cocoa, peat and alcohol. Medium body. Finishes char and fire pit with alcohol.
On draft at the bishops arms in Copenhagen. Pitch black pour with a thin black head. Boozt raisin aroma. Smoked wood evident in taste. Also raisins and molasses. Strong alcohol. Bitter finish.
Pours black with minimal tan head. Overload of peat, burnt plastic, tire fire, super smokey, and a fair amount of wood. There's a weird meatiness to the aroma, too. A little bit of chocolate, some roasted malt. The beer tastes like sugar and a fire. Burnt wood, peat, smoke, chlorine, and pain are also present. This is really horrible, horrible stuff. Undrinkable.
Small brown head. Opaque black body. Roasty smoky alcohol aroma
with toffee, vanilla, and chocolate notes. Sweet-dryish roasty
smoky chocolate taste with alcohol and brown sugar notes.
Full-bodied. Sharpish, hot mouthfeel. Dryish, astringent, brown
sugar and chocolate aftertaste with smoky alcohol notes.
Lingering sugary burnt notes. Excellent! A magnificent beer.
(0.375l bottle, Fish & Beer, Copenhagen. One year old.)
Bottle at home. Has a black colour with a small light brown head. A real whisky touch on the aroma with barbecue and smoke. A bit sweet flavours of roast, earth, oak, smoke, black currants, port and coffee mocca. Rich and sticky mouthfeel, and a light bitterness. A really nice and joyful beer.
Bottle courtesy of ygtbsm94. Served in a sampler glass. Pours near black with a thin mocha head. The nose carries some roast and chocolate along with a good amount of peat. By good, I mean pretty strong, not joyful. Flavor is similar. A bit of booze. Can’t really get into this one.
Bottled 375ml (Beer Hunters, vintage 2010, BB 25/02/20)
Pitch black, small brown head. Black malt, rubber, dark bread, not much smoke in the nose. Full-bodied. Very, very sweet. One of the sweetiest beers I’ve had. Black coffee, vanilla, bourbon and dark sugar. Warming alcohol, some Islay smoke. This is so sweet ...
from Erzbierschof - black beer with a modest foam left; typical Islay smokeyness with roasted chocolatey notes; tar and licorice; pretty woody; hugely sweet, thick and full-bodied; fairly bitter with notes of nougat and coa in the finish with more smokey woody tones, licorice and a burning alcohol presence
Bottle, 04/11/2012. Pours appropriately black, weak head quickly gone. Aroma is licorice, sweet dark chocolate, massively smoked peat, definite boozy kick along with some strange rubber character, its true. Flavor is better, sweet cocoa with cream, dark fruits and smokey whiskey, bitter roast and alcohol finish. Full body, avoids being too thick for its sweetness. Certainly a very strong and intense beer, but perhaps not something I’d go searching out again.
Crazy stuff, acquired in trade. A complex mix of sweetish IS, that is cocoa, chocolate malt, brown sugar, cane sugar, with in-your-eyes Smokey peat. This bottle aged for a couple of years, the smoke rejuvenates in the second half of the bottle. Big boozy stuff, you get that mostly in the initial aroma. Black with reddish highlights, a little lace. Above average smooth mouthfeel. This would be amazing closer to the 2020 expiry. I needed help finishing this and my 23-year old, home from higher education, was up to the task.
375ml bottle. Pours an opaque and intense black, with a moderate tan head, which lasts well and leaves quite good lace. Smoky Islay scotch is noticeable in the aroma, which also has bitter dark chocolate and some faint wood and coffee notes. Very mild citrus and herbal hops up front are briefly joined by thick, smooth drinking chocolate, before being swamped by dark, luscious imperial stout flavours. The peaty, smoky flavour of Islay whisky is present, along with Turkish and espresso coffee and very bitter, high-cocoa dark chocolate, which, along with the Islay whisky, lingers to create a bitter, slightly peaty and woody finish, complemented by the warmth of 16.5% ABV. This is one of the most serious imperial stouts I have tried. Its highly bitter dark chocolate flavour is a perfect match for Islay whisky, creating a potent, warming and delightful beer. A shining example of the craft of brewing.