Mikkeller Fra Til (From To)

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Copenhagen V, Denmark

28-NOV-2009, bottle @home. Brown almost black, brown head. Creamy, port-like, liquorice. Wonderfull beer, no X-mas, but loads of porter. Very creamy, big, big porter. My rating #300 here...

Very dark brown with a smallish, firm, tanned and lacy head. Very licoricey and gingerbread-spicy, pleasant nose with citrusy-aromatic hops, and a touch of alcohol. Flavor is burned-color-malty and sourish, with caramely sweetness combined with dry ashiness. The aftertaste is like in Nokian Panimo’s now extinct overburned dark Xmas lagers. Medium body, but burnedness makes it feel thinner. Lowish carbonation. Aroma and looks were promising, but unfortunately this falls into the category of failed color malt use. As it’s already over a year old, it hardly gets much better with ageing.

Black as night; medium cheesy tan head. Heavily spiced aroma and flavor. Some stouty roast bitterness in the finish. Big, flavorful, Belgian.

My Bottom Line:
This Spiced Imperial Porter’s seamless complexity impresses with its blackberry jam, licorice leanings, roasted angles and dark chocolate sustenance, all thriving in a healthily nourishing body enlightened by coniferous hops, dessert spiciness and light tartness. Wow.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sturdy tower of foam garnishes the blackness.
-The flavor profile is perfectly coherent and cohesive.
-The subtle citrusy tartness cuts some of the dextrins, increasing drinkability.
-The nose portends more sweetness than the flavor profile actually delivers.
-Carbonation is just frothy enough to make the body feel fluffy despite its wealth.
-The spices are superbly subtle, beautifully integrated to the malts’ and yeast’s apport. Cloves and star anise peer through, but you really have to pay attention.

Bottle.

Big brown ridiculously creamy head, and lacing! Colour is pitch black. Aroma is surprisingly mild, but it is roasted enough to make me excited. spices, burnt coffee, brown sugar and dark chocolate is also in the nose. Flavour is rich and with a big bite, spices and a heavily roasted note of coffe and chocolate finishing with a very appealing bitterness at the end. Mouthfeel is smooth as silk. Mikkeller is quickly becoming my favourite brewery!

750ml, Bottled 2008, with thanks to wavers1 for another great bonus! Pours dark brown with a moderate creamy tan head and nice lacing. Aroma is roasty malts, cinnamon, spice, caramel, and some ripe dark fruits. Flavor is more roast malts, caramel, dark fruits and hints of cinnamon and spice throughout. Nice stuff and quite easy drinking, thanks again Baker!

750mL bottle. Poured deep brown with a lovely cap of medium tan head.. medium-viscosity. The aroma had a surprising (and somewhat intriguing) sour and spicy character that made more sense when I read the description.. greener coffee, star anise, and cocoa opened, with coriander and herbal hops not far behind.. well-balanced, warm, and inviting. The flavor was centered around tasty coffee beans and charred dark chocolate.. anise and licorice eminated outward.. coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, and a touch of mint joined floral bitterness and faint smoke on the bright edges.. warm and spicy through the finish over blended chocolates and coffee. Medium-plus bodied and well-balanced on the palate.. the sourness and spices played well with the malt blend.. long, memorable finish. Excellent all-around, and I’d gladly drink more

Aroma: very nice. Roasted, fresh cinnamon, cloves, aniseed, citrus & noble hops. Dark chocolate malt. Smoked.
Flavour: interesting. ’Greybearded’. Roasted, slightly smoky, coffee-sourish bitterness, caramel. Almost liquorice-like. Coffeebean-organic... Really fantastic. Long flavour! Great balance.
Palate: fluffy, fizzy, big. Really wonderful. Carbonation is perfect. Many small bubbles making the beer strangely refreshing.
Appearance: reddish brown black body. Very, very dark. Beige toward brown thick, beautiful lacing & foam.