Monk's Elixir (Monk's Brew) - Mikkeller ApS

BeanBone

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: A thick dark brown, very nearly black, body capped by a finger and a half of beige head that features solid retention and great lacing.

Aroma: Dark-fruity yeast and a rich caramel malt body with notes of sticky toffee pudding and burnt sugar. As it warms, a medium alcohol character begins to emerge.

Flavor: Raisiny and date-like yeast esters over a malt body featuring toffee, burnt sugar, and a couple of grainy notes. Mild, herbal hops strive to keep everything balanced. There's a little bit of mild alcohol throughout, adding some needed complexity. Dark fruit, grainy malt, and mild booze in the finish.

Mouthfeel: A somewhat creamy medium body with smooth medium carbonation and a drying finish. A few hints of warmth from the alcohol.

Drinkability: Much easier drinking than the double-digit alcohol content would suggest, this is a beer that can sneak up on you if you're not careful.

Verdict: Monk's Brew is a solid, though generally unexciting dark Belgian that would benefit greatly from more intensity. Just watch out for that well-hidden punch!

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2010 01:42:18 | More by BeanBone

fairdinkum2

Georgia

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I'm a little conflicted over this beer. Certainly one of my favorite styles and this beer pours and smells very much according to the style. Dark, chocolaty, translucent brown. Poured from a pint bottle into a tulip glass. Not much head or retention.

Nose of dried fruits, sweet bread and chocolate.

A little surprised with the taste. Expected more sweetness. Lots of coffee, some dried fruit, but not the depth I was hoping for. Also exhibited a not entirely pleasant bitter nuance at the back palate. Decent mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 02:08:21 | More by fairdinkum2

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.45/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle bought online from Beermerchants.com

Poured a deep burgundy red / brown colour with a slight haze... Creamy tan head poured quite foamy but faded very quickly to thin covering with thick edging... fair amount of carbonation bubbles... light patchy lacing...

Aroma - Dark spicy fruits (raisins, prunes, some blackcurrents), strong toasted toffee maltiness, some molasses notes, caramel, light aniseed hints, some light rum traces, vanilla, some nuttiness, peppery hops...

Taste - Sweet and spicy fruits (definite raisins and prunes, spicy apples, some figs and blackcurrents), brown sugar / toffee sweetness, milk chocolate, toasted bready maltiness, strong Belgian yeastiness, light herbal notes, nice warming alcohol, liquorice hints, spicy hops...

Feel - Quite sharp and dry then some smoothness coming through after.. Medium / full bodied... Pretty drinkable considering the strength...

Overall - An excellent beer yet again from Mikkeller... recmmended..

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2010 13:58:05 | More by mdagnew

becktone

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From notes 12-5-09

Eye: Exactly as expected; dark brown with garnet hues at the edges. Head is creamy in appearance and tan in color. Formation is nice but retention is a bit lacking, less its the glass. Sheets of lace coat the glass. I'm only left wanting for a thicker head.

Edit: Upon second pour of this beer into the Chimay goblet retention is much better, I don't think I could really ask for more from this beer in terms of appearance.

Nose: Nice dark caramel and dark malt aroma. Some dark fruit too, but quit easy going...like plums. Alcohol is noticeable, adds some sweetness. Hints at dark sugar, rumminess. Use of Belgian yeast is apparent but its hard to put a finger on any specific qualities it has besides that its belgian. No spiciness to this strain, no noticeable esters, fruitiness but thats about it. Very nice smelling, Would like it to be more potent though and a bit easier to get into.

Edit: Going back to the aroma after the first glass I'm almost getting like a milk chocolate covered dark fruit...dark cherry or raspberry...light on the chocolate though heavier on the cherry or raspberry. Nice!

Tongue: Right on for what this beer is. Some nice sweet mild colored and caramel malts at the finish, mixed with alcohol. Alcohol is evident but is a part of the style and adds to the beer, it fits. Fruitiness is underneath everything, very subtle...hints of black/sour cherries hide beneath everything creating depth. Some chocolate from darker malts is in here too. After a bit the alcohol starts to become annoying. If only it were hidden better....still nice to drink though, but.... I'm getting some slight spice from the alcohol, like a light white pepper. Balance for sweetness and underlying dark fruit comes from alcohol. Overall a very nice beer

Feel and Drinkability: Finish is dry, leaving alcohol on the palate, leaving the palate wanting another drink to soothe it. Medium heavy on the palate, not quite as full as I expected it to be. First of all, I mean full for a belgian is different than full for a RIS, but still, I think that this one is a bit lesser than what I'd expected. Carbonation is low, which is good, adds to a fuller body. I'll definitely enjoy the rest of this beer, and I'm glad I picked this one up. Definitely worth it, however I'll prolly not visit it again anytime soon. I think there are better out there...Rochefort 10... but still a solid offering, well more than solid, great. One bottle is enough, don't think I could drink more than one 750 in a sitting, and I'm prolly not meant to, thats why its packaged this way.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2010 21:25:50 | More by becktone

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased at the BSF bar, GBBF 2009, at around 7-8 quid. Coming in a big 750ml brown bottle, corked and caged; BB 07/04/2014, served cool in Hapkin's bulb-shaped sniffer.

A: pours a slightly murky, dark brown hue with mild red hues when seen against light; the beige beer head doesn't last long, retreating fast to a thin foam on top of rather fine fizziness.
S: as estery fruity as deeply malty, the aroma gives mixed hints of sour-sweet brown prunes, overripe black plums, slightly oxidised pears, estery honey notes (this bit quite like a barley wine), brown sugar soup, sweet citrus notes slightly like tangerines; after a good swirl, the syrupy and also bitter chocolaty characters of dark malts and sugar develop along with a bit more alcoholic edge. Hops are mild overall, leaving the stage mainly for the heavy malts and fruit esters. Likeable but not complex, at times smelling slightly "flat" actually.
T: lightly effervescent swallow of honey-flavoured dates, bitter-sweet chocolates, and semi-smoked red beans of malts slowly precedes a smooth aftertaste where hops and yeastiness render a semi-clean, semi-dry finish with an additional touch of herbal bitterness. But after this, the malt aroma and sweetened boiled red beans (a by-product of estery dark ales in general) seem to make a "kick-back" deep down the palate to prolong the aftertaste even more, whilst showing very little impact of alc. overall (but of course, as it warms up a bit, the alc. is more easily felt).
M&D: the carbonation remains mild and just enough to render a fresh palate, while the alc. (10%?) really hides very well - overall an easy drinker for this beer style, I'd say. The down side really is the lack of complexity. Although the structure is well in place - leading from estery fruitiness and malts through hop undertone towards a mellow and aromatic finish - I cannot help feeling a bit dissatisfied with the lack of more "colours" on the canvas.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2010 19:37:53 | More by wl0307

jdklks

Nevada

3.43/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This one was a let down from a brewery that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The appearance is dark brown with light highlights on the edges and through the middle when backlit. The head was almost non-existent, but what did foam was a dark shade of tan (not quite getting to brown). The aroma (much like the taste unfortunately) is enormously underwhelming. Some beligian yeast (not much), some figs and perhaps apricot, a little brown sugar sweetness, and alcohol. Not all that impressed.

The flavor is not nearly as complex as I've come to expect from the style. The brown sugar that usually highlights the overall sweetness in the style (especially complimenting the dark fruits) is burnt and not all that pleasant. Belgian yeast and alcohol are about all that remain after the roasty sugars have had their way. Not complex at all. "Safe" would describe what Mikkeller has done with the style, and safe is not at all THEIR style. What happened here??? no one knows.

Mouthfeel is a little undercarbonated and, perhaps because of this, too syrupy for a quad. The drinkability is so-so. I finished the bottle, but wouldn't want any more.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2010 06:31:44 | More by jdklks

Spineypanda

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Has a dark brown color with a nice large head. Big a fluffy!
Smells of yeasts and some esters that give it an alcohol smell, but not an overwhelming one. Has a bit of the roasted malts smell and some caramel.
Tastes like it has some dark fruits to it, a bit of the caramel taste, but an overall great flavor.

I will enjoy again.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2010 23:18:37 | More by Spineypanda

jjayjaye

New York

4.2/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a translucent cola brown with less than a finger loose light tan head that fades slowly to stringy patterns of lacing. The smell is really nice but not a classic quad...more like a Belgian Strong Dark; earthy yeast strong dark fruit figs/dates, less alcohol than anticipated, sweet and malty caramel. Nicely carbonated creamy medium bodied. Full flavored, bready-cake "Fig Newton" taste lingers well beyond the swallow. An easy drinker...10% ABV is well hidden. Not scoring it to style so much as I would a BSDA.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2010 20:54:54 | More by jjayjaye

brouwer

Montana

4.28/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very nice combination of belgian style with dark ale overtones. Moderate head. Appropriate carbonation. Went well with cheesecake desert. Definite cherry flavors evident with the caramel of a dark ale. What a nice combination. SMOOTH! Definitely recommended.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2010 02:25:57 | More by brouwer

WesWes

New York

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a cloudy, dark brown color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a mild caramel malt scent as well as a decent amount of fruity yeast esters. It's devoid of any alcohol aroma. In fact, the entire aroma is pretty easy going for a quad; caramel/roasted malt, candy sugar, and Belgian yeast. The taste is good as well. It is a damn easy drinking 10% abv beer. It goes down the hatch smooth with some caramel malt and candy sugar flavor as well as some Belgian yeast character. The mouthfeel is fine. It's a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This has got to be one of the easiest drinking Belgians of all time. It's so damn smooth. Hooray Beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2010 01:41:39 | More by WesWes

Xul

California

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a hazy brown with a small, off-white head that's quick to recede leaving a persistent lacing that lasts for the duration of the beer.

S: Belgian sugar and yeastiness, some oakiness, and a lot of dark fruits - cherry chief among them. Strong esters.

T: Predominant dark fruits with candy sugar coming in right behind it. A bready/malty base, some light tannins come in on the backend.

M: Very smooth with damn near perfect carbonation for the style. Leaves just enough coating on the tongue to want to take another drink.

D: Goes down easy for a big beer and the ABV is well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2010 01:34:40 | More by Xul

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

"I'm like a monk with a taste for hookers."

--Moby

Caramel brown with generous highlights of crimson and orange. The golden beige colored crown was four full fingers following the pour and is persisting nicely. It looks even better as it melts and is no slouch at the laying down of lace.

The nose is darker than a Belgian amber and lighter than a Belgian dark. Since pale and pils malt don't provide a 'dark' color, aroma or flavor, those characteristics have to be coming from turbinado (cassonade) sugar and/or dark sugar syrup. The yeast is an estery beast, which is why the score is what it is.

This is very good beer that is kept from being world-class by a less than stellar mouthfeel. It tastes more like a BSDA than a quad. Then again, I never really have figured out the definite boundaries of the quadrupel style... assuming they exist. If the Belgians aren't sticklers, why should we be? Yes, I know that Mikkeller is a Danish brewery, but this ale was brewed in Belgium (at De Proef Brouwerij).

The flavor profile includes dark caramel, raisins, figs, a wee dollop of molasses, anise and clove. That's quite the feat given the ingredients list. The only explanation is that Belgian yeast is magical in the right hands. Sweet, bitter and spicy are balanced in beautiful fashion and the alcohol is buried without a trace.

With a bona fide Belgianesque mouthfeel, there's no doubt in my mind that the third and fifth scores (and the fourth, obviously) would be at least one notch higher. There simply isn't enough carbonation to keep the beer inflated and whipped creamy once it hits the tongue. Depth and complexity, as always, suffer.

Monk's Brew (U.S.)/Monk's Elixir (non-U.S.) is Mikkeller's homage to the great Trappist ales of Belgium. They deserve kudos for aiming high and for almost pulling it off. If you're a fan of this brewery and love BSDAs as much as I do, then the purchase price is well worth it. Bottom line: a few bubbles away from potential greatness.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 21:41:03 | More by BuckeyeNation

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours medium to dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma is caramel malt, candi sugar, alcohol and some dark fruit. Flavor is similar with a very sweet, dark fruit flavor. Alcohol is present. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not one of the best quadrupels I have tasted, but a pretty good beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2010 18:42:16 | More by Mora2000

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer is so dark and murky that frankly it's senseless to try and attach it a colour. If we should try perhaps very deep brown is as close as we'll come, although to the light very faint hints of cranberry can be noted. The splotch of head and yeast sediment that stands alone in the center of my glass resembles a solitary nebula in deep space.

I'm glad I've started reviewing the beer at a warmer temperature because notes of chocolate-covered raisin and port-macerated prune have only become unhitched as of recently. Granted, the aroma is not dynamic but it isn't dull either. It has dark, sticky malts and dark, sticky fruits as well as maybe a hint of sugar and spice. Very good.

The beer was supposedly inspired by the Trappist monasteries - and it tastes like it. Looking to my notes of the Rochefort 10, the Westvleteren 12 and St. Bernardus 12 I can remark similar characteristics of raisin paste, ginger glazed squash, plum pudding, sticky toffee pudding, vintage Italian reds, peanut brittle, lavender tea and the taste of whole grain bread, toasted and smeared with some sort of prune, raisin or currant jam.

The mouthfeel has the sweetness of caramel-coated nuts, the booze-accented complexities of an Hors d'age Armagnac and the spiciness of a time-honoured Belgian yeast. The afterthought gives mention to dried and preserved fruits (prune, apple) as well as spices (vanilla, cocoa) and nuts (almond, hazelnut, Brazil nut).

If this thing were talking religion it could probably get me to convert. Still, I'm not sure I'm ready to consider Monk's Elixir as good as all the authentic monks' brews but I'll grant it that it's a hell of a forgery! If it were cheaper (which it's definitely not!) it would certainly make a worthy substitute to those Belgian greats. And apparently you don't have to be Belgian to brew a quality Quad; the Danish must be a pious group of beer-drinkers!

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2009 23:10:17 | More by biegaman

ThatWineGuy

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a 2009 very fresh edition, BB is 10/12/14. One to two finger tan head reduced to a circle of fluffy stuff in centre glass with lots of exposed dark brown liquid staring out at me. Lace is spotty and there is a ring that remains. On the surface, there appears to be no active carbonation but a bright light reveals several active strands of tiny bubbles from the bottom of my Chimay goblet feeding outward and into that ring.

The nose is of figs, dates and raisins but is not overly pronounced, also a rum or brandy fruit cake odour. There is a slightly sour dark fruit taste with a pomegranite sweetness competing to tickle the tastebuds. With air, some banana and clove notes, hints of coffee, and a long finish that has a bit of alcohol heat. The mouthfeel is rewarding, rich and smooth with good body. This beer demands to be sipped and savoured, it has some depth and complexity to it and might be better savoured with some ageing although can be enjoyed now as well.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2009 22:59:25 | More by ThatWineGuy

roblowther

Texas

3.05/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Haven't had a Danish quad, let's see what the Danes got! Very dark, almost black in color with a very light tan head that forms a dense, creamy layer and laces nicely. Interesting, looks more like a Belgian Strong Dark. Intense chocolate aroma, with plums and cherries. Dry taste throughout, pleasantly malty with a bread-dominant flavor and a nice chalky finish. Not complex at all, sort of a one-note orchestra, but they hit the note. Mouthfeel is a little sticky and a little flat. Drinkability is decent, but the strong roasted aftertaste limits it for me. An interesting derivation of the style, but very simple and a little dry. Its an interesting brew but definitely not a standard for a Quad.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2009 03:17:06 | More by roblowther

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From a brown 750 ml caged and corked bottle.

Loose spongy light beige head with great retention. Intense lacing. Body is a deep dark oaky brown, nearly opaque.

Dry icing sugar and dark dry fruit on the nose, low lying toasted notes, plum.

Flavour gets more complex, smooth chewy dark malt, toasted, bready and molasses sweet. Spicy dark dried fruit in the middle, plum and red grape notes too. Dry toasty, wafery dark chocolate finish, sticky dunkel-like aftertaste with spicy alcohol warmth.

Smooth nearly full-bodied mouthfeel, low carbonation, a bit sticky on the finish but still creamier and smooth than anything else.

From my experience so far Mikkeller seems to be a bit hit and miss--at least regarding my own palate--but I give them/him credit for pushing the limits and experimenting. This time around was pretty close to a philospher's stone, great quad or dark ale or whatever they're trying to pass this off as, excellent dark Belgian ale that's worth going back to. Check this one out for sure and stock up on it.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2009 07:52:05 | More by IronDjinn

MrHungryMonkey

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nose is slightly sour and vinegary, softly malty and chocolaty, with some alcohol. Smells a little creamy. Smells pretty good.

Pours clear very dark brown with very mild head. Looks pretty good.

Flavor follows nose with a good bit of sweetness. Soft notes of vinegar and sourness. Soft spicy/peppery flavor. Soft malt - dark but not highly roasted - caramel and toast, chocolate and coffee. Medium-thin body with next to no carbonation. Tastes pretty good. Feels pretty good. Pretty good drinkability.

Tastes young, especially with the level of raw-tasting sweetness it has.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2009 02:52:10 | More by MrHungryMonkey

peabody

Kentucky

3.4/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours out like a good quad with 1/2 finger of off-white suds. Not a lot of lacing but very nice legs. A root beer color but much more cloudy.
Smell is caramel and fig with a very malty and sugary aroma.
Taste is very odd here. Kind of a bitterness like an IPA and not much maltysugars like are in the smell. You really can't taste the alcohol but you can feel it. Like a bourbon/scotch flavor added in there to booze it up.
Mouthfeel is fairly clean and only the last bit, after the alcohol has left,there is a slight stickyness. NOt a sweet stickyness,
Drinkability would be OK if it tasted more like a good quad.
Not really that good.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2009 01:59:56 | More by peabody

stumac

Texas

4.38/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

this divine brew pours up a solid brown color with a thin off white head. very nice retentive lacing. in thine nose, i detect aromas of dark fruits, pears, red grapes, caramel malts, a nice quad aroma. the taste is rich malt, cocoa powder, dark fruits again, plums, dark grapes. no alcohol detected at all, masks it quite well....indubitably. very smooth, medium bodied, low carbo. a very tasty brew. eating a steak whilst enjoying this brew, really makes this beer taste like a cognac.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2009 05:28:52 | More by stumac

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thrill to see a bottle of this one in my fridge. Wrapped and caged I brought this one over for dinner last night. Served chilled and poured into a snifter.



Big dark brown pour here, nearly totally opaque with not much other then some light notes of reddish tint shining through on the sides and the bottom. Lots of light tan color foam on top reaches a height of around three inches then settles down nicely coating the inside of the glass. Rich notes of caramel, dark fruit, prunes, grapes, apples and a nice little bit of spice all playing off one an another quite well. Warming brings out even more sweetness and really gives it quite a bit of depth. Smooth with very subtle flavor here. Surprised there is not more of a boozy kick to be honest, but very well done here. Rich again with great fruit notes, and earthy spice like flavor and a touch of wood. Light finish, dry with a good bit of dark fruit sitting on the tongue long after the last sip.



Overall very solid, a nicely done version of the style for sure. I would have no issue at all with trying this one again, in fact I would very much like to seek it out. Nicely done as always from an always solid brewer.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 00:54:54 | More by mikesgroove

scottoale

California

4.33/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml. brown champagne style bottle with a caged synthetic cork covered with textured silver foil. It pours a dark and murky brown with a sufficiant off-white head that leaves some lace that slips back down into the drink. Looks like a typical Belgian Quad.

The nose is spicy sweet of fig, plum, candi sugar and yeast...not a whole lot going on but it def has the smell of a quad...very Monk-y like.

The taste does not disappoint...very authentic for this style and that's not hard to wonder why. Sweet and spicy dark fruits with fig standing out and a big spicy, yeasty, candi sugar syrupy flavor taking hold of your tastebuds. The natural carbonation keeps the sweetness in check as the finish winds down on the tongue. The 10% ABV is really well hidden in the nose and the taste. It does turn up in the effect however, in a very pleasant manner.

Fairly full and quite smooth in the mouth, with a plus in drinkability, especially given the style and the higher octane content. This brew is a pleasure to consume with a price that's not atrocious, especially for an import. Give it a try if you can find it.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2009 07:07:11 | More by scottoale

bort11

Missouri

3.33/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750 ml bottle poured into a Boulevard Smokestack chalice. No real head, that's a little disappointing. There is a ton of sediment, which I like, but I think it's the sediment that is creating the color density. Otherwise the color is a thin chestnut brown.

Smell has a mild spicy yeast that intensifies as the sediment merges. There is some sweetness from the candied sugar. A little caramel malt. Overall, kind of weak in the smell department. The yeast adds more spice in the taste.

Mouthfeel is thin. The last half of the bottle is much better than the first half. I really don't see this as a Quad. It's more of a Dubbel or a Belgian Dark Ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2009 14:49:08 | More by bort11

champ103

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a cloudy dark brown color. A large beige head rises to over two fingers. The head has very good retention. Light lace is left behind.
S: This has a great spicy aroma up front. Some Belgian yeast as well. Sweet malts, bread/biscuit, and dark fruits come out as this warms up.
T: Spicy flavors with some yeast and sweet malt. Alcohol lingers around as well.
M/D: A medium body but a little over carbonated for me. The alcohol shows, but I am enjoying sipping on this.

I split this with a friend. Thats the way to go with this. A little to strong for me to sip it by myself, but it is very enjoyable. One of the better Mikkeller beers I have had. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2009 00:47:27 | More by champ103

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a slightly cloudy deep brown color ale with a super huge foamy head with great retention and some very good lacing. Aroma of sweet caramelized malt with notes of light dry fruit and some fruity ester. Taste is also dominated by sweet caramelized malt with some notes of candi sugar and cookie dough. Body is quite full with great carbonation and no signs of alcohol. Well done thought it is lacking some complexity compared to some of the best from this style.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2009 02:50:00 | More by Phyl21ca