Mikkeller Funky (e)★ (Sauternes Edition)

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Copenhagen, Denmark

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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375mL bottle, pours a hazy deep dark orange amber with a medium off-white / beige head. Aroma brings out the sweet wine notes upfront, along with wild yeast, and some orange-like fruity notes buried further back. Flavour is quite vinous, wild and funky, with fairly dry vinous notes upfront, followed by the wild yeast and a considerable funky quality. No acidity, but lots of wild and funky character to blend in with the moderate vinous character. This is definitely superior to the base beer in every way, with an amped up complexity and perfect incorporation of the wine. Excellent stuff.

Draft @ Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen. Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty woody spicy aroma with hints of caramel. Fruity malty spicy yeasty woody slightly tart flavor. Has a fruity malty spicy woody finish.

Sauternes Bottle marked with 8071210 on the cap. Pours with a similar murky deep golden orange to almost bronze hue as the Chard version. Medium sized just off white head fades but leaves good lace. Aromas are of rich and deep funk, medium spice (think Anthropolgie stores around Christmas shopping times...late november...overspiced candle type thing). Calvados, apple, deep earthy and woody notes. There are some sweeter and slightly brighter notes associated with the grape, lightly sweet, medium zesty, low tropical fruit and light tannin. Floral and perfume like. Flavors are light cotton candy, white wine, strong vanillin and lactone, tropical fruit and damp leaves. Easier to drink than the chard version. I am not sure why, but the tannin seems slightly less oppressive. Medium malt, lightly phenolic spice, some funk. Still a bit big. Very lively carbonation, medium bodied. Tannic, waxy, vinous. Good, overall, preferred and to my tastes, a bit more drinkable and enjoyable than the chardonnay version.

Bottle 375ml @ Geokkjer
Pours clear orange with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, tart, sweet fruits, citrus and alcohol. Taste is medium sweet and light sour with a fruity and light sour finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft,

Bottle, 375ml. An unclear, amber colored beer topped by a small, dense off-white head leaving some lacings. Lightly vinous aroma with some caramel hints. Dark berry hints, lemon peel notes, spiced hints and some peppery scents too. Medium dry, pleasant carbonation and with a touch of alcohol warmth. Feels less alcoholic than the Chardonnay edition. Lots of flavor, caramel, citrus peel, resin notes, dark berries and some funk. Lasting finish. Feels less dry and complex than the Chardonnay edition, but it’s certainly a fine one. 130420

Bottle. Pours deep amber with a dense off-white head. Aroma of vanilla, malt, grapes and some funky notes. Flavor is sweet vanilla with some warming alcohol, malt, sourness, some herbal notes and malt. Medium body, average carbonation.

Tap @ Mikkeller, Viktoriagade. Clear dark amber with small off-white head. Aroma is malt, little barnyard, brett and wine. Flavour is malt, caramel, fruit, little barnyard, little wine, brett, hop, medium dry and a little bitter.

Tap @ Mikkeller, Viktoriagade. Hazy orange with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel, dark fruit and wood. Flavor is quite sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish. 160313

A steady pour into my New Belgium globe glass produces a one-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a bright, dark amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, almost orange tinged, dark copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells tart, funky, and vinous; specific notes of green grapes, musty medicinal notes, touches of urea, a bit of plastic, some flinty wine notes, and a musky, animalistic funkiness are all quite noticeable. A deeper inspection yields lots of wine barrel influence; an almost green grassy / herbal white wine note, spicy oak aromatics, a supporting woody note that almost has a toasted nutty note to it, as well as a soft, somewhat subtle, rounded, yet strangely concentrated and bright fruit note that reminds me of something like raisins, with a touch of melons, pomegranates, perhaps some floral hibiscus like notes, . The oak also contributes a spicy, almost green pepper note here, as well as a wild herb like note. The nose is really quite complex and enjoyable, I could smell this for a long time and forget to take my first sip.

The lure of the flavor experience pulls me in though. Clean, tart and fruity up front, the beer quickly gets funky, earthy, and phenolic towards the middle and this lingers into the long finish. Medicinal notes, a touch of plastic, and something like an artificial menthol note linger with musty, musky, and butyric flavors. The oak contributes a firmness and bit to the flavor with its spice, woodiness, and rounded toasted character. The tartness melds well with the fruit notes here, both of which contribute notes of floral, flinty white wine, concentrated white raisin notes, touches of green fruit, perhaps a hint of honey-dew melon, as well as a berry like note, and a rounded flower nectar like flavor. The body is fairly light (considering the strength), it does have a certain heft and viscousnous to it that seems accentuated by a soft lactic slickness and some tannic oak texture; this beer is a sipping brew more due to its complexity rather than its heft though, this does manage a light, effervescence (the last from a prickly carbonation).

Quite an enjoyable brew, one I was somewhat looking forward too, but this is even better than I had hoped for. Quite complex, it can be a touch funky from the Brett influence, but if you are into that sort of thing, which I am, then this might just be a beer for you to try.

Bottle at James’ place. Pours orange amber with an off white head. Lightly tart, some grapey-fruity notes, low sweetness, and a relatively dry finish. Quite good and very drinkable.