Mikkeller George! Barrel Aged (Cognac Edition)

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

Serve in Snifter

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On tap at Northdown. Moderate charred character underneath some dark chocolate and roast. Mild heat and barrel.

Bottle from Davis Beer Shoppe. Pours dark brown with a thin light brown head and a chocolate aroma. There is a burnt chocolate flavor with a salute to the bourbon barrel. Very intense and tasty.

25 cL bottle poured into my CCB snifter. (Is this B2? Or a Shelton import label? Whatever, just as good as remembered.) Thickest pour imaginable. To quote Mr. Marty McFly, "This is *heavy*, Doc…" … Has that slow-rising head thing, love that shit. Looks like the beer equivalent of a cigar? Smell = 100% cacao, cognac, earth, smoke, a walk-in humidor. Taste follows exquisitely. FEEL IS SO FUCKING NUTS, *fluffy* and *thick*. I can’t stress it enough. Hard to believe this beverage contains any H₂O at all. It’s profoundly expensive, but easily worth it IMO. (Ultimately I still prefer Bourbonfadlagret, tho…)

The beer is extremely dark and looks thick. A brown film clings to the walls of the glass where the beer has touched. There’s pretty much no head. What bubbles I can kick up with some swirling are dark brown. The aroma has a whole bunch of fudgy dark chocolate, firm roast and an oaky vinous flavor from the barrel-aging. Lots of sweet caramel maltiness beneath all of that. Some vanilla and sweet fruitiness. Well-integrated and a good level of barrel intensity. Relatively mild booze for the abv. The taste is sweet and rich. Lots of stout and barrel flavor. Quite a bit of caramel and milk chocolate upfront. Then, it gets more dark chocolate and roast. The barrel is big in the finish. Big cognac barrel in the finish. Feel is thick with some booze burn. Very good stout, but it doesn’t justify the high price tag. Still, I’m not really complaining all that much, and it handily beats many very hyped imperial stouts.

Bottled from Systembolaget Pitch black with a very small beige/orange head. Sweet and oily nose with cognac and oak. Very thick and oily palate. Loads of burnt flavours; dark coffee and chocolate, tar, licorice and sweet,dried fruits. Not much of the cognac in the flavour.

25 cl bottle.
Vertical with calvados edition
Pours pitch black color with a small beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, licorice, some wooden notes, cognac and sweetish caramel. Flavor of dark ripe fruits, roasted malts, licorice, mild acidic green apples and wood. A bit more harsh palate compared to calvados, a bit more complex thought.
4316

25 cl bottle @ lusikka
Vertical with Calvados
Sweet and quite heavy aroma with licorice, woody notes, cocoa and some smooth cognac. Flavour is sweet with slightly stinging cognac, some slightly salty licorice, herbal notes, alcohol and some rubbery notes. Alcohol comes though and stings, but then again it disturbs just a little. A slow sipper.

250 ml bottle.
Pours a black colour with a beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, mudcake, grass and caramel. Flavour of roasted malts, salty licorice, wood, cognac, mudcake, grassy bitterness, bread and some complex fruitiness. Full bodied, oily mouthfeel and a roasty, wood, alcohol finish. I’m not a big fan of cognac but the cognac here wasn’t too overwhelming. Great stuff.

250ml bottle from Systembolaget

Vertical with Calvados Edition - Pours pitch black with a brown head. Nice aroma of roasted malts, wood, oak, licorice, hints of sweet cognac. Taste is strong, roasty, wooden and oaky with notes of licorice, cognac and molasses. FInish is sweetish, roasty and smooth with licorice, wood, oak, cognac, vanilla and molasses. Quite tasty and well balanced imperial stout with cognac. Not quite as good as the Calvados Edition, though.

8.5 oz bottle to snifter (shared with jmborggren). Looks good; motor oil black with thin mocha lacing. Smells good too; sweet, malty, and chocolatey with some roast and a notable cognac presence. Tastes like it smells with a good mouthfeel. Good beer, but not worth almost $2/oz retail.