Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Highland Edition)

Mikkeller
Brewed at Nøgne Ø
Style: Imperial Stout
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Big thanks to yespr for this one. The bottle looks really great, the beer in the glass also. Starts malty and dry, a bit alcoholic, notes of chocolate and strong coffee. Also woody notes, but the beer stays well balanced. Prickly-strong finish with intense malty notes. Liked it more than the "Islay Edition".

It’s pitch black with a small and dark brown, creamy head. The mouthfeel is oily. The aroma has notes of roasted malt, licorice, light whisky and wood. The flavor has a light sweetness and notes of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, light whisky, vanilla and wood. It’s powerful, but also harmonic and smooth, and the finish is slightly bitter, long and it has notes of warming alcohol. Pleasant and nice.

A Mes rate. Bottle at home.
What can I say? I’ve has this beer in so many slightly different forms. All of them bloody excellent. Problem is, do I really need to sit here going, ooh chocolate, ooh roasted malt, ooh liquorice, ink, wood, ooh... ooohhh. Yup, you know the drill. It’s a Mikkeller imperial stout, so is superb by default. The short time in the barrel has done it the world of good. The whisky is surprisingly subtle but clear all the same. Just a hint of salt and seaweed and it just all works really really well. The shorter maturation period is a lesson that many other brewers should learn. Just a hint, integrated perfectly, bloody marvelous. The chocolate in the finish is far more pronounced than the regular version but strangely the time in the barrel seems to have eaten up a lot of the coffee. Not a bad thing, just different. So soooooooo good.

Tasted at the first, great, Borefts Beer Festival 2009 @ De Molen. Black colored brew. Very heavy whiskey aroma, chocolate, coffee. Flavor is peated malts, whiskey, coffee, chocolate. Bit too heavy on the whiskey tones, could be more balanced.

Bottle, bought Ølbutikken, Cph.
Pours utterly black with a little, thin film head. Aroma is lovely, chocolate, coffee, oak, whiskey, caramel, wine gums. Lowish carbonation, lovely creamy mouthfeel. Flavour is sweet, coffee abounds, lovely dark chocolate, very dry. Whiskey, dry, chocolate dryness with a bit of cocoa in the finish. Seriously lovely.

Bottled@BeerHunters, Pori. Deep ambery brown colour, not much head. Aroma is oak, some smoke and also roasted malts, liquorice and some alcohol. Flavour is quite much the same. Quite wellbalanced.

On tap at Borefts BF 09. I was just on a run of really good beers at this point. Black, lasting tan head. Bit hot, but the intense coffee comes through. I mean let me sit here for a while and enjoy. I like it a lot.

Bottled #415 (090309/090312)
Dark brown color, small steady brown head. Roasted malts, some whisky, light smoke. Cocoa, roasted malts melted with whisky flavors. Mellow, but not as interesting as Islay-version. Some similarities with Paradoxes.