Tree Hugger - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

billshmeinke

California

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Pours pitch black with a finger of dark khaki/beige head. Lacing and retention are both excellent.

Smells of bakers chocolate, roasted malt, dark berry esters.

Dark bread, bakers chocolate, roast, ash, dark berries. Finishes quite smoky.

Rich, full bodied, velvety. Mouthfeel is excellent.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 00:05:35 | More by billshmeinke

Shmeal

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

02-06-2013 23:38:09 | More by Shmeal

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

01-26-2013 02:12:32 | More by yourefragile

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -1%

01-12-2013 06:16:07 | More by spycow

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle courtesy of GT2. Served in a Midnight Sun goblet. Pours near black with a good light tan head. No real lacing. Nose has a touch of spruce and pine with some chocolate and roast in the background. Flavor has some spruce and moderate roast. Bit of dark chocolate. Slightly bitter. Medium-full body. Pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 18:37:29 | More by Thorpe429

t0rin0

California

3.25/5  rDev -19.6%

10-29-2012 00:56:31 | More by t0rin0

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

4/5  rDev -1%

09-13-2012 13:50:28 | More by coreyfmcdonald

MasterSki

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Jason - thanks! Served in a 3 Floyds tasting snifter.

A - Thin tan foam settles to a thin collar, wisps, and minimal lacing. Black body with a glint of brown visible at the fringes of the glass.

S - This is definitely an export stout in the mold of something like Guinness John Martin - lots of sweet chocolate, dark fruits, and caramel, with only mild roast characteristics. The green spruce aroma is present, but is deployed with a deft and delicate touch.

T - The taste takes a bit of a left turn, with roasted malts and chocolate dominating, and an unexpected red berries and licorice flavor making an appearance. There's some definite bitter spruce flavor in the finish and the herbaceous character grows mildly fatiguing after a few ounces.

M - Medium-bodied, with smooth, lower carbonation and a bit of dry wood in the finish. Alcohol doesn't really make an appearance here.

D - A fairly enjoyable beer with well-integrated spruce flavors. Hard to consume in large volumes but pretty interesting in small servings. My appreciation for the Pop Ten (err..Nine?) series has definitely grown over time.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 02:17:08 | More by MasterSki

HopHead84

California

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

6/23/2012

Thanks for sharing. Snifter.

A: Deep brown with subtle reddish notes and a thick dark beige head.

S: A pleasant milk chocolate presence in the nose with faint spruce notes and a little plum. Molasses accompanies licorice and lightly roasted dark grains. There's a little pine in there as well.

T: Dark chocolate and raspberry seed and flesh with restrained spruce character. It took me one hearty belch to pinpoint what I'm tasting: raspberry red velvet cake. Pretty excellent. There's a low bitterness with earth and pine.

M: Full body with medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is silky and sticky.

Overall: A damn good beer and a tasteful use of spruce.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 04:11:07 | More by HopHead84

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.58/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer is black with a quarter inch of tan head. The aroma offers some light roast, hints of pine. Relatively light (at least compared to the other stouts we drank that day) with sufficient carbonation. Decent flavor - certainly drinkable and enjoyable. A tad sweet with some chocolate notes. Simple and straightforward.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 00:40:31 | More by Huhzubendah

drabmuh

Maryland

3.63/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared by someone at a recent tasting, thanks. Beer is black and thick with a thin tan head of small bubbles, some lacing, moderate carbonation, low retention.

Aroma is roasty and a little hoppy like pine or fruity.

Beer is roasty and sweet with a fruity / spruce / pine flavors, it is odd and served side by side Moscow Rye from Midnight sun this beer loses by a lot. Not a repeat for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 16:10:57 | More by drabmuh

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -13.4%

06-09-2012 23:38:48 | More by ygtbsm94

CheapBeerBuzz

California

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

05-26-2012 20:54:13 | More by CheapBeerBuzz

HuskyinPDX

Washington

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

Picked up a bottle in Anchorage. Two years old and only 4 reviews? Opened on 5.24.12.

A - Pours a very dark brown with a good sized dark tan head that slowly fades down.

S - Mostly some subtle chocolate. Not much else.

T - Chocolate up-front, then the spruce tips come out and sub in for the hops. Pine is the closest way to describe it. Almost even minty.

D - Lower carbonation with a heavy body.

O - Very different tasting, but very lively for a stout. Chocolate with a spruce kick.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 22:31:44 | More by HuskyinPDX

ccrida

Oregon

4.73/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tree Hugger is pitch black with a tan head leaving Brussels style lace, a tough lighter though but nice pattern.

Smell is dark, charred malt, deep, ashy. Nice little vicks style spruce vapors gives it that fresh, vibrant snap of being deep in a pine forest on an early damp morning inhaling a cool coastal breeze.

Taste is awesome, great synergy of the spruce tips dark chocolatey malt. Really smooth and well integrated. Killer. 2 years old, it's as fresh as the AK air.

Mouthfeel is oily, slick, medium-heavy bodied. Not nearly as big as I thought it would be for such a big beer.

Drinkability pleasantly high. Great beer. Loving this. Lots of room to run. But great now.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 05:53:19 | More by ccrida

Ryan1423

Alaska

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

02-16-2012 05:39:11 | More by Ryan1423

SanDiegoBeerLove

California

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

01-15-2012 00:55:45 | More by SanDiegoBeerLove

smerrell

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This one is smooth, with slight hints of chocolate in the finish. The spruce tips add a hop-like character, without the bitterness. The roasted qualities of the malts are in the aftertaste. it improves as it warms. The head doesn't stick around long.

Very drinkable, and the alcohol (the label says 12.6%) is barely noticeable.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 04:38:07 | More by smerrell

BigE90

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +17.6%

12-12-2011 06:29:25 | More by BigE90

buddyvelt

Michigan

4/5  rDev -1%

12-07-2011 03:23:33 | More by buddyvelt

lakersfan16

Alaska

4/5  rDev -1%

11-18-2011 23:14:50 | More by lakersfan16

dragonWhale

New York

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brilliant! As a proponent of Doug Fir tips, spruce tips, etc. in beer, I heartily approve of this message.
On tap at the Midnight Sun house, it is a deep dark brown, nearly black, with plenty of roast and spruce tips blazing through. It is definitely a bit astringent, and I can't be sure if that is from the roast or from the spruce, but nonetheless, a very tasty brew. If I were to make one, I think I'd tone down the roastiness a little bit and keep the color with some debittered. The spruce itself works really well, the beer is a bit resiny.
Spread the word along to my brew partner and he cooked up a dark doug fir saison in honor of this beer. I can't wait to try it.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2010 02:54:31 | More by dragonWhale