Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 2007

Mikkeller
Formerly brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Copenhagen V, Denmark

750mL bottle. Poured a highly-viscous, murky deep brown with very little carbonation evident. The aroma picked up a base of molasses, dark chocolate, and black patent maltage surrounded by spicy, fruity, Belgian-inspired yeast and darker spices.. a bit of soy impression on the back.. a touch brash at first, but it came together when given a chance to breathe. The flavor found soy and licorice at the core with dried cocoa and sticky black patent sweetness around.. warm spices and tart fruity character around.. a touch of oxidation hit on the back. Medium-plus bodied with very low carbonation.. tart and spicy notes accented decently, but it wasn’t all that enjoyable.

Bottle from the Beer Stein in Eugene. This aged brew poured an oily pitch black with limited carbonation and head. The nose was filled with sweet chocolate and cherry notes, while the flavor was defintely dark fruit and chocolate candy. This was a sweet one for sure, but I had much of the bottle with chocolate torte which paired perfectly. Outstanding beer!

750ml bottle. Pours a deep brown color with a quickly disappearing tan head. Boozy aroma, full of citrusy fruits and sweet chocolate, with a roasted nuttiness. Silky smooth body reveals a very sweet, malty beer. Hints of chocolate and coffee with a hint of sourness in the sticky sweet finish. Good, but not outstanding.

750 ml. Opaque, dark chocolate with a small disc of lasting bubbles. Nose is cherry, prune, chocolate, light coffee. Front taste is tart raspberry, merlot and chocolate. Dark fruit, brown sugar and hints of orange follow. Long finish of toasted oak, char, black pepper, cinnamon, and cafe mocha dries things up nicely. Heavy body is smoothly carbonated, has a nice acidic tingle, and is amazingly well-balanced between sweet and dry. Well-hidden 11% abv.

In short: A spicy thick molassy beer. Good nourishing sipper.
How: Bottle 750ml. Consumed when almost 2 year of age. Tasting session with Montreal crew.
The look: Very dark brown body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Nose indicates a spicy rich beer that translates in the taste. A lot of molasses, black liquorice, medium spiciness (peppery, more…). Alcohol well hidden. Despite being on the heavy side of things the beer didn’t feel cloying or too heavy. I believe I could drink a full bottle without complaining. Huge improvement over the 2006 version. Good Christmas beer. They say Santa comes once a year, bullshit, someone who visits so many bedrooms certainly comes more than once a year.

75cl bottle, celebrating the recent dollar weakness. bbf 25-9-2011, brewed 6yrs before. Almost pitch black, but i think actually very very dark brown. smooth small head with some lacings. looks very much like a stout ;-). Aroma is a little bit swet fruity, banana, pear, roasted notes. orange, very mild aroma for a 11% beer, but quite complex. lots going on. flavor is sweet fruity, dry, sort of stingy flavor at first. when warmed up, roasted grains also blends in. boozy, sort of like a port barrelled someting. flavor resembles perhaps dessert wine or portwine. an infected imp could taste somewhat along these lines, but i won’t accuse this one for being infected, its just... strange. some orange in the flavor too. alc is fantastically well hidden.complex beer.

An interesting beer, sweet and chocolatey. I think a little less sweet would be more to my taste, but it’s definitely a good holiday beer.

750, corked and baled and foiled. Direct from the lovely folk at John’s Market. We really gotta get distros in this state keeping up with posting stuff like this. Not that I mind driving to PDX for beer, but I can’t do it every time they get something good that we don’t. Pours nearly opaque black, looks like an impy. Big, thick, creamy, surging dark tan head. Quite the perfumey, boozy nose. Maple syrup, molasses, little hints of bourbon and oak. Creamy medium body, not showing a heck of a lot of carb. Maple, bourbon, oak, vanilla, molasses, dark brown sugar on the mid-palate. Some pie spice showing. Nice effort.