Hill Farmstead/Mikkeller Daybreak

Brewed by Hill Farmstead Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Greensboro, Vermont USA

Serve in Snifter

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24th February 2012
Bottle shared with the Kernel crew. Dark brown beer, opaque. Little tan head. Light soft dry palate. Creamy dark malt, a little roast. Well integrated dark marmalade and citrus. Mild lacto. Really well joined up. Wasn’t sure that this would work but the dark malt and marmaladey citrus are good bedfellowes. Very tasty.

Bottle 500ml. @ [ Fastelavn Smagning - Carnival Tasting - Ulfborg ].

[ Courtesy of yespr ]. Clear dark brown colour with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, light brown head. Aroma is light heavy malty, roasted, dark chocolate, strong coffee, dark dried fruit, alcohol. Flavour is light heavy sweet and bitter with a long long duration, chocolate, dark dark malts. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20120218]

500mL bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks Dany!), pours jet black with a medium tan head. Aroma of intense dark roasted malt above anything, with espresso, and dark chocolate, and slight hints of the citrus - but the intense roast dominates the nose. Flavour of intense roast, more roast and even more roast - some burnt espresso beans, maybe some chocolate cake, and some subtle citrus hints on the finish along with more roast (this sort of reminds me of G.D. Yeti). This is pretty much everything I love in an impy stout. Extremely full-bodied, rich and even harsh (in a good way). Absolutely beautiful concoction.

In short: A superbly drinkable, rich, chocolaty and citrusy big black beer.
How: Super-fresh tap at the brewery + bottle age 2 months
The look: Black body topped by a small tan head
In long: Nose is very citrusy over a slice of chocolaty cake. MMmmmm… Taste has a sumptuous chocolaty malt backbone that is somewhere between nougat and chocolate cake, a good amount of citrus fruits, some wooden resinous hops. The citrus fruits are amazingly well integrated in the beer, almost taste like if the beer was dry-hopped with a whole lot of not-so-bitter citrusy hops. All that makes the beer surprisingly refreshing with a low sweetness sensation. Alcohol is very well hidden. This is one dangerously drinkable 10% beer. I’m usually not a fan of gimmicky beers with adjuncts, but this is something else, I really loved that beer, I even preferred it over the more hyped Birth Of Tragegy released on the same day. This beer is the only Daybreak I’ve seen in the past 25 years, and if god had meant for me to see more daybreaks he would have made sun rise at a more reasonable hour.

UPDATED: MAY 17, 2012 Bottle. Mild vinous aroma, hint of marmalade. Black colour. Dark brown colour. The flavour has a good hoppiness, nicely hoppy, slightly burning. Some marmalade. Good sweet flavour balanced by a sharp and burning hoppiness. 8 4 8 3 18

Draught at CBC12. Black colour. Small dark brown head. The flavour is roasted with a distinct coffee note. Mild sweetness to balance the alcohol. Alcohol and hop burn in the finish. 7 3 7 3 17

Bottle 50 cl. Courtesy of yespr. Pours an opaque black with a brownish head. Heavy dark roast aroma combined with dark dried fruits. Solid body, again heavy dark roast, bitter chocolate and licorice. A touch of vanilla. Malt bitter finish combined with alcohol. Honestly just a heavy Imperial Stout - no more complex or sophisticated than so many others. 180212

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a thin dark brown head. The aroma has notes of chocolate, malt, alcohol, and alcohol. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, alcohol, chocolate, and over ripe fruits, leading to a dry alcoholic finish.

Bottle. A small, dense, tan head sits on top of a black body. The aroma is on the roasted kind, with lots of chocolate, coffee and also some citrusy hoppyness. A touch of licorice blends in. The flavor is in the same league and going down the same road, although a bit more heavy on the licorice. Very smooth on the palate, full-bodied and lighlty warming. Lasting finish with a nice bitterness. A wonderful imperial stout. 120218

Bottle. very dark brown with small brown head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, little citrus and coffee. Flavour is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, liquorice, thick, little sweet and bitter.

Bottle @ Fastelavnssmagning 2012, Ulfborg. Pours black with a small creamy bubbly beige head. Lots of roast, soy, fruit, liquorice and ashes. Sticky and oily. Full bodied. A lovely sipper!