Deschutes Black Butte XXI

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Pours a warm, deep sable with a light tan head. Rich aroma has notes of caramel, malt, coffee and toffee. Bold flavor echoes the coffee and toffee of the aroma and adds an undertone of hot peppers, as well as a hint of chocolate. Smooth, firm, fairly tingly texture rounds out a worthy brew. Glad I was able to snag a snort of this at the Holy Mother of Gatherings in Decatur, GA!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

My highest rated beer of the year! So good that I had to try it 3 times in a week before I made this review. This was on draft at the Green Dragon in Portland after Deschutes was there for a meet the brewer event. It's been aging over a year, and it looks like I'm the first reviewer to try it after the brewer's suggested aging period, so that helps. I tried the XXII and this one is much better. Also drank it side by side the first time with 2010 Jubel, 2010 Abyss, 2009 Abyss, and Mirror Mirror. This one blew those away. Very black with good, thick lacing. Licorice, chocolate, coffee, plum... super complex - holy crap! Very smooth and full bodied without any alcohol burn. The first time I tried it was a 4oz taster glass, but next time I had to get a full glass. Nice drying in the finish that turns to dark fruit, making it very palatable. My favorite Deschutes beer. Too bad I couldn't get a growler of it!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Got this bottle courtesy of a trade. Worthy of its name, it pours a pure black with a smallish mocha head which settled to a coating. Similar colored lacing is thin and soapy looking. Nose is coffee, chocolate, licorice and some whisky, maybe bourbon. Taste is roasted coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, some oak and bourbon. Very nice balance in this. Mouthfeel is creamy and medium, fairly healthy carbonation and a very pleasant dry, warm finish. This is a wonderful porter and not much like many others. Absolutely worth your attention if you can still find it.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Thanks to slowrunner77 for this opportunity to be among the fortunate to have had the experience of such a fine beer. Pours deep, dark, pitch black with a deeply tanned, slightly thin head. The aroma and flavor no less are of an intense and very pleasing chocolate above all else. I think there's more chocolate in a glass of BB XXI than in the entire Ghirardelli factory in San Francisco. Rich and creamy on the pallete - paired well with... the second glass from the 22oz bottle. Loved the black waxed bottle as well.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

XXI bottle - black wax

Appearance - Dark brown/black body, root beer brown edges with a 1-2" grayish-tan head, large sized bubbles, frothy & creamy.

Aroma - light veggies, coffee, roasted malts, with a bit of burned marshmallows

Flavor - very light, ashy flavor, roasted malts, powdered chocolate

Overall - not bad, but nothing that really floored me. Easy to drink, but I suppose I was looking for something else a little more intense for an anniversary beer. Thankfully I got it at a fairly decent price.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

"a little harsh (maybe hops, maybe from the cocoa nibs?)...i'd prefer it be barrel aged/blended at 50% or more instead of 33%, but that is nit-picking. This is an imperial porter squared. great big chewy flavors, nose, and complexity throughout. Don't know if it's worth the price more than a couple times, but i'm glad i tried it. 8/09-i tried to get them to seperate BBXXI and XX as they are two different recipes, but oh well...the XXI, although it states on the bottle best after 10/2010, it is smoother than the XX was last year. most of the rough edges are gone (although it's only 20% aged in barrels instead of 33) and the coffee is amped up. the aroma is that of a young beer, but the feel and flavor are near a 10/10, and if this gets any better, it may rival Abyss as Deschutes best! The scores above are an average of the two releases...4.4 for XX, 4.6 for XXI"

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

On tap at O’brien’s. Pours with a dark brown to black body topped by a thin head with little lacing. It’s bitter with roasted coffee notes, bitter sweet chocolate notes, a lihgt ash note, and a touch of sweet maltiness as well as a late arriving hoppiness. Full bodied and highly carbonated.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Black Butte XXI: Another great beer from the West courtesy of my buddy Brando: Pours a beautiful dark black colour. Clean pour, not lots of carbonation. Medium brown head. Aroma is suprisingly peppery! Like Bell pepper, dirt and earth on the nose. Taste is smooth, suprisingly delicate and chocolatey. Yet slightly smokey and bourbon-esque. A real treat. Thanks pal!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

different to the XX, why is it separate on RB, weirdos.. Pours out a dark black, medium head .. . coffee aroma, fuck ya!! smooth, espresso and cooking chocolate.. amazing stuff! .. . Eh, it's part of my public service for my "Glug, glug, vroom, vroom, thump thump."

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Nice bottle. Pours a deep obsidian/brown. Head is dense and tan. Lacing delicately and dissapates over a few moments. Aroma is burnt chocolate - but in a good way. Tobbaco and vanilla sneak out along with the aroma of fresh concrete. Earthy and clean on the nose. Taste is of Hersheys Chocolate, flavor and texture. Rich and very full bodied. (Ragnarok pauses to take another sip) licorice, vanilla, with the earthy hints of smooth tobbaco. Roasted, smoky malt and a hit of alcohol (11% ABV) come toward the end. Caramel and molasse come in nicely on the finish. There is an almost childhood reflection when tasting this brew for the first time. Finish, well, lets say that it is a sad thing that there is only 22 oz in the bottle - but that is where the irony sets in as more than 22 oz would be too much. Restraint, folks. You note the rich chocolate, licorice, vanilla - with texture. This brew brings it in spades. If you enjoyed Rasputin XXII, this will be right up your alley. We had a Cobe beef steak with browned butter sauted mushrooms for dinner and I have accompanied the brew with fresh baked brownies and Tiramisu for dessert. Deschutes nailed it on this one. Excellent example of an Imp Stout. Slainte!!!