Mikkeller Black Tie

English: It is a real "man’s beer" with lots of tar, smoke, burnt malt – aged in scotch whisky barrels. It has quite a bit of smoked and roasted malts, honey is just 3%.

3.9

327 reviews

Copenhagen, Denmark

Community reviews

4.3 Fantastic beer. Black as heck, burnt, bitter, sour, salt, ashy, brown sugar, tar and whiskey. Like a beer vegemite (what came first, chicken or the egg?). I loved it.

4.0 (Bottle) Black colour with lasting, frothy, brown head. Malty, roasted nose with honey, oak wood, sweet espresso, tar, liquorice, roasted malt and cacao. Malty, roasted taste with notes of strong sweet black coffee, liquorice, tar, burnt sugar, cacao, honey, oak wood and a finish with a generous roasty coffee bitterness. Full body with a smooth and rounded mouthfeel. A certain sweetness. Honey aromas dominate the initial nose, then tar, oak and coffee takes over in the taste. Possibly not the most balanced of beers, but quite tasty. Very nice.

2.1 50cl bottle Black with brown foam. Aroma is nice and is perfect balanced. Big body but too carbonated! Extreme taste of roasted barley, spices and burnt malts. Not so drinkable.

4.2 Old rating rerated 13.04.2014, 0,5l bottle @ home: Big brown creamy longlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet, dark malts, heather honey, leather, mild peat, oak, grass, hay, coffee, chocolate. Taste is slightly sweet and burnt, dark malts, mild peat, leather, oak, dark sugar, heather honey, hay, burnt coffee, curnt caramel, dark fruits, grass. Longlasting bitterness, slightly dry mouthfeel. Very nice.

3.7 Glad I got a hold of this one always exciting to try a retired beer you will never have again! Extremely smoked and peaty stout almost tastes like you are smoking a cigar with the beer even if you aren’t. I do like this but it is not world class to me like other Mikkeller stouts but it is very pricey like all Mikkeller beers. The smoke isn’t too much for me but I want it matched by heavy whiskey but the whiskey is lost to me.

3.8 Pours with flat tan head. Aroma of brown sugar, molasses, roasted malts, light red wine barrels? Taste is heavy peaty and sweet, with lingering cask notes. Body is rich and creamy.

4.1 Rating #999. 500ml bottle, 2009 vintage. Big black pour into a snifter. Black with a big brown head, no lacing. Smell is impressive - rum, honey, alcohol infused chocolates, dark chocolate cherries, ’After 8’ mints, paint, liquorice, figs, plums. Body is medium, slightly foamy but smooth. The taste of this beer changes over time and I’d recommend giving it 30 minutes in the air first. Chocolate, molasses, no alcohol coming through, finishes with ash, tobacco, TCP and tannins, which makes this beer a little harsh until it softens up. Very good overall.

4.4 Bottle at 14th Richmond Ratebeer Gathering on 03/19/2011 courtesy of dkachur. Dark black body with a small creamy light brown head. Sweet honey and vanilla aroma with some peat. Big scotch flavor, some roast and chocolate with faint honey. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

3.4 Bottle. Pours black with Biege to brown head. Aroma is at first sniff mostly smoky peat, but diminishing while drinking more. Loads of sweet honey and oak barrel, roasted malts, dark bread some vanilla and dark fruits. Taste is unbalanced by dry astringent sourness in the aftertaste. An Overall interesting and quite odd beer.

3.6 (bottled 2009) Black with a big brown head. Not much lacing but plenty of drapes. Honey and Madeira on the nose. Some peat when I poured but that quickly disappeard. The taste is honey sweet up front, then slightly sour and roasted and then comes the whiskey that also dominates the aftertaste together with the honey. Rich mouthfeel and surprisingly high carbonation but quite sticky. Feels like the honey has taken over, I don’t recall it being so very dominant when the beer was younger, but it’s still quite complex and every sip brings out different nuances. I think it maybe peaked a couple of years ago though, but it’s still pretty tasty.

3.9 Black, weird burnt orange head; heavy roast aroma; taste is roast malt, smoke; salty whisky is present but not overpoweringly so, perhaps the honey is sufficient to smooth things out; bitter finish; for a high abv beer this is surprisingly well balanced; would love some of this on a snowy winters night.

3.8 Bottle thanks to fata2683: Poured black with tan head. Bourbon chocolate and roasted. Taste is rich coffee bean and roasted malts, chocolate.

3.8 The pour was striking- nearly silenced the room. Black, visous, dark tan head. The aromas jump out, honey was immediate, with alcohol ... tar, smoke, apple core.. our example was old and not in the best condition. still, a wonderful drink

3.8 Pours black with no head. Aroma is vanilla, caramel, dark dried fruit, honey, bourbon. Taste is honey, bourbon, tobacco, liqourice, tar.

4.0 500ml bottle in a snifter. Pours black with a lacy, tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, a lot of smokiness/peatiness from the Scotch barrels, some coffee and chocolate, a little honey, and light bitterness. Flavor the same with a nice blend of roasted malts and whiskey. Smooth, thicker texture. A good imperial stout, but the whiskey could be a little smoother in this beer.

4.3 Soked, coffee, malts aroma,and roasted taste with whiskey, wood, roasted malts. Burnt aftertaste. Great sweet finish.

3.3 Very strong imperial stout but really long bitter aftertaste, too much for my own tastes!

3.5 Vet i tusan vad mikkeller gjort denna gång men som vanligt är det bra. Dessa förbannade whiskyfat som annars kan förstöra den bästa av öl är här riktigt trevlig. Delar en flarra med Johan och den unge Hoffback

3.8 Black used spent motor oil pour with a thin orange/khaki head .... aroma of tobacco/tar, smoke, oak, peated malt/scotch whiskey and some light roasted malt ..... taste is oaky and a nice smokey peat malt/scotch whiskey with a light honey edge .... definitely a bitter roasted/tobacco/tar .... a bit of abv head in the finish which is dry, charred and scotchy with a lingering smoke bitter and roasted .... mouthfeel is oily, viscous and heavy .... this is a big beer

3.7 Bottle from State Line - catching up on old ratings from Oct/Nov 2012 timeframe. Thought they overdid it on the smoke, but other than that a great beer.

2.2 Very smoky. Slight aroma of honey. Honey is a far distant cousin to the smoke and barrel flavor. Some astringency, not to much barrel character. Meh

3.4 660 ml bottle at home - taken from notes. Pours deep brown to black with a nice marroon head. Notes of roasted malt, dark dark chocolate and coffee, some green notes as well. Taste is very roasted and some sweetness makes it more balanced. Nice, but I had better ISes.

3.8 Bottle bought at Systembolaget in 2010. Black with a small tan head. Roasted malt, ash, wood, whisky, some smoke and notes of honey. Long aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel on this one. Tasty. I wonder how this tasted when it was fresh from the factory?

3.5 Roligt att Mikkeller våga sig på någonting annorlunda. Svart och krämig. Dessvärre tycker jag honungen förtar smaken från lagringen på whiskeyfaten som ger en angenäm vaniljton och syrlighet i eftersmaken. Det hela bli lite väl sötsliskigt. Det blir kaka på kaka som saknar den rätta balansen.

4.1 Big bottle, rated from backlog. Aroma is winey/casky with some astringent notes. Taste with lots of smoke, malts, coffee, tar and hints of whisky. Finish is long with lingering bitterness.

4.1 [Thanks to Cunningham]. Bottled. Black colour with a dark tan head with an average duration, excelent and nice lacework. Aroma is toasty, roasty, red fruits, berries, light coffee. Flavor has notes of smoke, tobacco, ashes, dark chocolate, coffee, burnt malts, licorice and alcohol. Strong coffee in the aftertaste with notes of burnt malts, coffee and smokiness. The only one ’but’ is the alcohol aftertaste in the last final. Dense, smooth and creamy on palate.

4.2 Pours an opaque black, with glints of muddy brown. Has a few fingers of creamed coffee head, that is fairly lasting. Nose is strong of honey, with notes of molasses and roasted malt peaking through. Taste starts with toffee, and honey, before segueing into smoked malts, light, pulpy tannins, tobacco, more sweet honey, and a hint of bitter chocolate hop finish. Body is full and velvety, with a slightly medium-dry finish. Opinion: I like the complexity of this beer. The nose was a little overwhelming of honey, but the taste really took this beer in a different direction. The smokiness is complimented well with the honey’s sweetness, whereas charred malts can usually leave a beer a little too sour. While I could describe this beer as being "extreme", I could just as well say that it is well balanced.

4.1 50cl bottle. Black colour with a generous brown head. Full bodied and good carbonation. Excellent appearance. Aroma is quite strange: resembles wine, that’s surely beacuse of the cask. Taste is simply wonderful, so intense, with lots of smoke, malts, coffee and hits of whisky. There’s also a residual bitterness at the end. Crazy brew! very nice.

4.6 Bottle thanks to 5 Points in Athens. Wish they had more than one on the shelf. Gorgeous black pour with a super dark brown head. Stunning really. Huge aromas of chocolate, smoked malt, black jelly beans, small hints of vanilla and oak. Licorice crazy. Flavors were right in line. Burnt molasses, espresso, chocolate, smoked malt, more licorice, burnt dark malts and light oak and vanilla. Big viscous mouthfeel, light carbonation. When Mikkeller does something well they knock it out of the park. World class.

4.0 500. Thanks, Shawn! What an awesome treat to hold for so long. Much obliged. Pours jet black with a dense and creamy burnt tan head. Big peaty nose, Just hits you in the face with Islay barrels and campfire. Creamy thick body with subdued carb. Peat, campfire, dark chocolate, and a soft counterpoint from the honey on the mid palate. Long peaty finish. Really wonderful.