Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Barley Wine
Copenhagen V, Denmark

37,5 cl bottle. Reddish dark amber colour with a little head. Sweet aroma of malt, candy and hints of yeast. Sweet flavour of sugar, malt and some hoppieness, ends up very alcoholic. So I will put some in my cellar.

This barley wine pours a medium orange gold color from a 22oz corked bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity, caramel and sweet. A medium bodied barley wine. The malts are fruity and sweet, lots of caramel and toffee. Hints of orange. The hops are piney and earthy. Nice balance. It is still a bit alcohol hot. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Bottle (375ml - green, corked & caged). Looks like a really nice IPA/DIPA - hazy copper, average fizzy-creamy off-white head. Also smells like an excellent west coast DIPA - alcohol, roast malt with leafy lactic overtones, and fresh resin/pine/citrus acidic hops overall. The taste - very nice, very alcohol-forward, but the hops seem muted by the alcohol, and there’s a huge tart fruit malt presence that ... I like it, but the acidity make this seem almost sour, I can see "pinecones and soap". Reasonably thick body, not much carbonation, but alcohol and acidity for days, really strong and warming. I’m putting a few of these away, it should be fun to revisit in a year or two.

Super hoppy mess inside this one. There is way more than enough sweetness to balance it out. This is a true three course meal in this beer. First it is hoppy, wonderfully tastes like pinecones and soap, and then malts barge in and fill up the body to a decadent fullness, followed by syrupy molasses and rich rich brown sugary suck candies. An excellent barley wine.

12.7 oz bottle from South Bay Drugs. Viewed as a deep mahogany color with almost no formation of head created during the pour left me puzzled as to why? The nose is a roasted and sweet blend of malts with the slightest notes of coffee bean as well as black licorice. The flavor came off way more subtle than I would of expected but there are strong hints of dark roast malt yet balanced perfectly to not be to sweet or overbearing. There is also a note of black licorice again and a minor background of tobacco.

The aroma was strong dark fruit presence of raisins coupled to caramel. The malty character was trounced by the strong citrusy, resinous, piney and grassy hop characteristics. Some alcohol was notable in the nose, but it was restrained. The aroma was also every so slightly herbal. The beer poured into the sniffer crystal clear amber with a low small bubbled white head which was fleeting but traced a bit on the glass. The flavor was malty and strong with caramel, bready and biscuity, with a strong nature of toast and nuts. The bittering was substantial to the point of being aggressive. The hop flavor was piney and grassy and had a bit of a citrusy grapefruit characteristic. Alcohol flavor was moderate, but still not overdone. The finish was dry with lasting resinous hop flavor and bittering into the aftertaste. The body was full, but not quite chewy. The carbonation level was moderate, but on the low side. The warming which occurred post consumption was substantial and bordering on hot. A good job hiding the alcohol in the aroma and flavor, but the wolf was out of the sheep’s clothing post consumption. A nice barleywine, it could probably stand a bit of aging. 12.7 ounce corked and caged bottle. Made by DeProef.

Bottle purchased at South Bay Drugs. Nice flavors of sweet malts and caramel. Some hops too.

Nice and rich chesnut coloured beer with great looking yellowish head. Aroma is a la mikkeller, exiting and interesting complex. It has hints of fresh birchwood, forest soil, bee wax, caramelized cerials, Grand Marnier, Hors d’age Calvados de chez Roger Groult, nice refreshing hops, honey and old furniture. Taste is delightfull, strong and slight sweet malty. It also has a woody and earthy caracter with na boozy finish. In the finale there are nuts, dried leafs, carameized malts, some stonefruit pits and crispy green hops and herbs. Alcohol is presents but well integrated in this very complex calvados like barley wine.