Midnight Sun 2008 Planet Beers: Venus

Formerly brewed at Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Serve in Trappist glass

Thanks to beerlando. Pours dark brown. Strong bourbon and vanilla flavor. Flavor changes, with more raisins and dark fruits and less boozy than i would have thought. Great beer.

This from a trade a while back. Nose is alcoholic and boozy, wine with heavy vanilla and near-Bourbon oak. Malty, dark malts, light earth and herbal licorice/star anise. Dark burgundy/mahogany pours lets some light through, rich light brown head laces in the extreme. Taste is massively alcoholic, just rocket fuel at first. Woody with vegetal matter, deep caramel and dark soil in the muddled malt. Light brown sugar. Full, smooth body. Low bitterness. Surprisingly, alcohol is worked in really well for this abv. Dark and luscious, a very, very slow sipper, just super heavy.

22oz bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis. Poured a dark and deep brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of woodiness, dark fruits, licorice, and a little earthy. Tastes of dark fruits, caramel, candi sugar, vinous, and woody. Alcohol content hidden for over 14%.

650 ml bottle
Thanks to Eric for sharing this to wrap up a fantastic tasting. This was the capstone on a night of great beers. Age might have dulled it around the edges but this Venus still shines brightly. If there are any more bottles of this in the wild I hope I get the chance to try one in the future. This beer deserves a revisit.

Aroma / Appearance - The thin tan head bobbed like wave caps above a brownish black body. Lighter than a stout but about the same color as a top notch Belgian release it filled the glass with authority. Chocolate nibs, yeast, and sweetness are the main aspects. The aging in Cabernet is evident with some reflection but not over the top (as if it could be).

Flavor / Palate - Chocolate creme filling sticks to every corner of a greedy mouth. Rich in flavors this has a nice depth that has dulled a bit with time. Raisins, Cabernet, and sugary characteristics highlight the transition to a warm finish. Heavy enough to compete with the parade of imperial stouts opened over the course of the night this Quad does most everything right. I would love to give it another try in the future.

Pours a deep brown with tons of amber notes and larger bubbly/foamy off white head. Aroma of dark fruits, oaky, caramel, licorice, anice and floral notes. Flavor of caramel, toffee, dark fruits, dark candi sugar, some Belgian yeast character, red wine and oak. ABV well hiddne for 14+%, even the sweetness is controlled.

Shared bottle with JMerritt on 2-13-10. Pours a slightly viscous brown with a dense, small bubbly head that fades down to a presence along the edge of the glass. Aroma has a strong anise note early followed by a brown malt note, light oak, molasses and Cabernet presence. Flavor has a very early Cabernet Savignon note, mild raisins and molasses flavors follow with brown sugar, anise and lots of chocolate at the end. Body was pretty dense and oily with strong, fine carbonation and lots of alcohol presence at the very end. Overall this brew has a lot of strong, rich flavors working pretty well together. The alcohol is very noticeable but it works because of the rich flavors present. Very interesting brew.

Bottle from MaltOMeal
Pours a murky tea brown with an aroma of earthy vegetable. Flavor is earthy vegetable dirt. Average mouthfeel. Too earthy.

2008 Bottle - Thanks JohnGalt!...Pours opaque brown with a large tan head...aroma is full of brown sugar, vanilla oak, plum, and yet I still would have never guessed it to be a quad...flavour is similar, burnt sugar bitterness, molassas and plum skin, plenty of cocoa...I didn’t get anything from the barrels besides a bit of vanilla, and there was definitley some heat, but still less than I expected there to be...glad I got to try this!!