I had a real treat up for week 23 straight from a friend’s cellar: Deschutes Black Butte XXI. Released in June of 2009 for the 21st Anniversary of Deschutes Brewery, it pays homage to their Black Butte Porter that has been a staple of the brewery since 1988 (the year I was born!) The brewery itself is located in Bend, Oregon and is named for the river it overlooks (Deschutes River). This is a porter on steroids. Coined an Imperial Porter it boasts 11% ABV and was bolstered by a number of brewing techniques. The evil geniuses of Deschutes added Theo’s Chocolate cocoa nibs from Seattle, dry-hopped it with 100 pounds of Bellatazza’s locally roasted coffee, and then aged roughly 20% of it in Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey barrels. After almost exactly 2 years in the bottle, I would expect the beer to have mellowed a bit, the flavors becoming more blended. I’m sure the beer was phenomenal fresh, but I didn’t have that luxury!

Now for the review. The bottle states that the beer is only best after 10/17/10, seeing that it is 2011, I think I’m safe! It starts off with a dark pour and a light brown head. The dark brown head I’m accustomed to seeing with big dark Bourbon/Chocolate/Coffee beers is not present and is missed and the retention and lacing are lacking a little. This I assume is one of the lone side effects to aging this beer, I’ve seen pictures of it poured fresh and the head is deep, dark, and full. Moving to the smell, we certainly do not have a Bourbon bomb here. With that said, the smell isn’t very impressive. Faint chocolate and Bourbon mostly, but sort of musty almost. It does, however, improve as it warms. The Bourbon and chocolate really come out a lot more and bring out that strong aroma I was hoping for. The taste is where the beer shines. Wow, just wow. Extremely complex and well balanced. Lots of flavors going on, but they have mellowed a bit. The taste starts with chocolate, very light to begin with. The Bourbon comes up next, not dominating, just popping up to say hello. At this point the beer is sweet, but not quite Dark Lord sweet (thank God). Roasted malts and a slight booziness (and I mean slight, it’s only slightly noticeable) end the beer. Far after the beer has been consumed, the coffee and roastiness come back in a big way. It could not be any more on the backend, but is welcomed immensely. As was noted by my drinking partner, the complexity evolves and strengthens as the beer warms. It seems to coat the tongue in a way that negates the booziness that was previously noted. Medium bodied, not thick or creamy. What I keep reminding myself is that it’s a porter not an imperial stout. The carbonation might be a tad low, but it certainly isn’t off-putting. Overall it was really a wonderful treat. This beer is aging very well. I wish I could have had it fresh to compare, but I can’t imagine it being any better.