Mikkeller Festival Special Edition 2009 – Stella 0

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: American Strong Ale
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Draught at Københavns Øldage 2009, Valby. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-whit ehead. Has a fruity malty spicy hoppy aroma with hints of citrus and pine needles. Sweetish malty caramel flavor with bitter hoppy pine needles hints. Has a sweetish malty caramel finish with a long hoppy bitter finish with hints of pine needles and citrus in the aftertaste.

Bottle no 1288 of 1300. Reddish amber coloured. Unclear. Dense light brown head. Aroma of herbs, fruits, sweetness, spice, citrus and light caramel. Flavour is citric and piney. Loads of spice, fruits and herbs. Liqourice and flowers notable as well. Medium to full bodied. Quite dry. Is intense citric and bitter in the end. Light sweetness as well notable. Nice. Will probably end up pretty drunk after 1,5 liter of this :-)

Draught at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Dark chestnut brown, tight laced beige head. Grainy, citric seedy aroma, leather, hint of licorice root, seedyness is up front. Flavor has same strong citric fruits, syrupy molasses, alcohol, liquorice root, nutmeg spices. Full bodied, osft strongish carbonation. Even too bold on the grapefruit seeds, very dull hop profile.

DØE Valby 09. Pours copper with a small beige head. Aroma is caramel, vineous, dried fruit and light hop. Flavour is sweet caramel, heavy hop, citrus and grapefruit, light fruit. Dry aftertaste.

Poured orange/amber with a thick white head that eventually settles. Nose bursts with robust american hops, centennial & chinook maybe - big citrus notes that one comes to expect. Palate has some caramel /toffee malt providing structure & a touch of sweetness albeit not as complex as most barley wines, with this being very much a hop story. Finishes with huge hop bitterness, but in a relatively balanced way not peppery or medicinal more citrus. I love my hop bombs & love the fact that it comes in a magnum but probably wont be having again...for obvious reasons!

Bottle at RBESG 09 Sheffield. Chestnut colour, lasting beige head. Stick your nose in a bag of Cetennials. Intense strong and slightly syrupy. God, that is just so hoppy. Pure hop sensation, not outlandish, not unbalanced. Not boozy. Joint best beer of the day.

Bottle sampled at Slowbeer tasting. Poured dark amber with a large beige head that doesn’t last too long. Aroma has notes of toffee, hazelnut, malt, a hint of chocolate and lots of floral hops. Flavour also has a load of hops in it and is fairly bitter but also has hints of toffee, sweetish malt, burnt butter and a slight hint of coffee. Medium to full body, smooth and with a lingering bitter finish, this is a very big beer yet very pleasant and easy to drink. Pity it doesn’t come in a smaller, cheaper bottle.

Tasted at LCRBM09. Big, fruity-hop aroma: tropical punch and a bit of pine (Simcoe?) in a dark, reddish-brown package... Looks like Burgundy with bubbles. Incredible nose, very hoppy, fruity, floral, with bits of greenery. Immediate sweetness rolls quickly into a strong bitterness. Tasty but challenging. Highly smellable, not highly drinkable. But then that’s not the point. A sipping beer made for sharing among friends on sunny days on the back terrace of the Kulminator.