Black Hole - Mikkeller ApS

danieelol

Australia

3.85/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from Leura Cellars. Bought this thinking it was the Whisky version but it's actually the plain.

Pours a dark black with nice tanned head and ok lacing.

Big citric hops hit the nose first. Kind of strange. Was getting some roast, porty and coffee qualities initially but these have converted to a boozy DIPA-like smell, loads of fruit here and in particular oranges. Occasionally I will get some vanilla and roast poking through but this lemon fruitiness is very prominent. Subtle tar and faint muscatels. The fruitiness may actually be coming from the alcohol.

Taste is similar- huge amounts of fruit in this, just lots of orange and lemon. There is bitter roast dryness here moreso though, particularly on the back of the palate. Do get some creamy cake flavours coming through intermittently.

Mouthfeel is a little sweet but then has some roast bitterness to balance. Solid but not amazing thickness too.

Overall I found this beer pretty enjoyable. The fruitiness was very pleasant to experience- and it was more of the fruitiness you'd expect in a pale ale rather than the dark fruits you'd perhaps find in an Imperial Stout. Interesting and complex beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 13:10:50 | More by danieelol

Immortale25

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%

05-20-2013 00:53:31 | More by Immortale25

jkane101

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

05-19-2013 02:43:44 | More by jkane101

Labeorphile

Texas

4.51/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Maybe I got lucky here, but unlike other reviewers I got a beautiful thick, long-lasting, tan head with lacing all the way down the glass. Beer itself was deep brown with a little highlight. Perfect looking stout.

I hate coffee beers and so I was expecting an overpowering coffee smell. But in was surprised, excellent maltiness with the coffee woven in well. Even better was the hop smell coming through! Totally caught off-guard.

Flavor was great as well. Most coffee beers are too heavy on the coffee and taste terrible. This was extremely well balanced and enjoyable, along with the creamy mouth feel. The ABV is really high at 13.1% but you would never guess from the way the alcohol is hidden.

All in all a surprisingly great beer, that I recommend, even if you don't like coffee stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 02:42:38 | More by Labeorphile

carlosega

Ohio

4/5  rDev +6.4%

05-17-2013 19:34:53 | More by carlosega

BuddyE

Louisiana

4/5  rDev +6.4%

05-14-2013 14:53:41 | More by BuddyE

cantfindme

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%

05-14-2013 00:25:56 | More by cantfindme

Dannynoonan123

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +6.4%

05-13-2013 02:19:56 | More by Dannynoonan123

Kenzie

Utah

3.99/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Mikkiller refused to disappoint with this rich barrel aged beer. It lives up to it's name, especially in appearance. It is pitch black with a thick coffee-colored head. Upon drinking the beer my mouth is filled with a rich but smooth texture that gives a burst of coffee, caramel, and especially licorice. It makes even Deschute's Abyss seem light. This is just my style but more of a special occasion sipping drink to share and not something I would hog the entire bottle for myself. Of course I would purchase it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 17:40:02 | More by Kenzie

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +6.4%

05-11-2013 15:23:08 | More by mikeburd1128

caverog

California

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

05-10-2013 19:40:07 | More by caverog

IPA35

Netherlands

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Best before: 10/02/2016

I had the tequila version a while ago. Now it is time for the normal version, I shame I could not drink it before the special BA version. Drinking this unchilled. Anyway,

pours pretty a thick, not as thick as I remember, dark brown with a mocca head. When held in the light a little dark brown (coffee) is visible at the bottom.

Cascade! I smells some sort of American hop in here with a fruity, piney note.
Could also be that it's just the honey and I am dead wrong.

Behind that one picks up on the coffee and thus the roasted malts.

Overall this smells pretty confusing but good.

The taste is like I remember it to be without that unique tequila resiny fruitiness.
A very sweet beer but not as extremly cloying as the tequila version. Still I get more citrus and hoppy notes than I get roasty, coffeeish flavours. Maybe this is a pretty fresh bottle? Aging it would bring out the stout underneath more I guess and because the beer is so dark the fact that it is in a green bottle should not really matter.

Make no mistake, the bitterness on the aftertaste IS from the roasted malts.

As it sits in your mouth you can detect dark fruits and other dark-malt induced flavours. There is also a warming alcohol sensation but it is impressively well hidden for the ABV, it really is.

Still the hoppy sweetness reduces the typical stout aroma's.

The mouthfeel is nice and smooth, low carbonation (but certainly lacking carbonation as the older bottles with the cork supposedly did).

Overal a very interesting beer. A stout that is dominated by American hops. A highly drinkable beer to me. Maybe with a little age it would become toned down on the hop and that would allow the stout with its coffee and vanilla to shine through.

Recommended, even though this one is pretty damn expensive.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 20:08:35 | More by IPA35

Strix

Wisconsin

4.29/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pitch black, brown edge, very little head.

Deep rich coffee smell.

Coffee, licorice, malt, sugar, alcohol. Deep and dark.

Smooth silky mouthfeel.

Strikingly different from any coffee stout I've had. Well named, this is quite boozy and full of the darkest coffee flavor I've had in a beer. Quite interesting, complex, and unique.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 03:09:46 | More by Strix

shagens

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%

05-01-2013 22:07:29 | More by shagens

jreindl

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +6.4%

04-20-2013 13:19:18 | More by jreindl

Dave_Treat

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%

04-20-2013 02:56:41 | More by Dave_Treat

Paonz

Hawaii

3/5  rDev -20.2%

04-17-2013 05:27:03 | More by Paonz

stcules

Italy

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pitch black, almost no foam.
Smell of toasted malt, raisins, some date, a hint of vanilla, and something woody.
In the taste even cocoa and liquorice, raisins and dry figs, and alcohol.
Full and intense body, cocoa and raisins in the aftertaste, with liquorice in the finish, and again, quite boozy.
Big and important beer, strong alcohol, to sip. But, after all, balanced and pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 20:37:53 | More by stcules

AOShabaz

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +13%

04-10-2013 23:19:48 | More by AOShabaz

shehateme

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +13%

04-10-2013 23:09:54 | More by shehateme

BlackAura

Alberta (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%

04-04-2013 23:53:50 | More by BlackAura

Scooter131313

Minnesota

4.51/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I prefer dark, heavy beers; especially Imperial Stouts.
I like them cold. I prefer them in a frosted wide-mouth glass.

The Black Hole has a wonderful strong flavor, that gets better with each sip.

The high alcohol content (ABV: 13.10 %) is unmistakable.

Great dark head.

Expensive.

I purchased it in St. Paul, MN at the Ale Jail.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 03:25:49 | More by Scooter131313

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%

04-01-2013 20:17:52 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%

03-26-2013 23:10:05 | More by Gambrinus1184

Resuin

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +13%

03-26-2013 23:04:19 | More by Resuin