Mikkeller Monks Elixir

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Dark brown, light tan creamy head. Dried dark fruit aromas ride soft hints of toasted brown sugar and bread. Caramel coated raisin and toasted sugar plum flavors round to lightly bitter finish. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. Decent, but not a favorite from these guys…

Ruddy brown color with a thin sparse light tan head. Mild spicy grains, light Belgian yeast, candi sugar, very rich aroma. Smooth velvety mouthfeel. Rich taste, spicy malts combine nicely with sweet dark fruit tastes, nice clean finish. A nice quality quad.

Pours deep brown into a trappist glass. Off-white head with medium retention recedes to hug rim. Pit fruit aromas. Upfront prune and raisin turning to a lasting licorice finish.

Very interesting. Strong toffee aroma. When I taste, I’m expecting lots of caramel, but instead I get fruit...maybe raspberry...mixed in with a nice Quad malt taste.. Then I get plumb. A very different take on the Quad. Not as heavy as I would want it, but very nice. For me, it’s like thinking about Grant Achatz or Thomas Keller. Mikkeller has done something different and interesting with the style, enough to make you stop and wonder what it is you are experiencing. Rather than encountering a carbon copy style, I enjoy these surprising encounters.

First of all, Monk’s Elixer is more of a tribute to Belgian brew rather than a carbon copy of it; once you understand that, then this may seem a bit more easy to understand. Appearance is fairly nice, deep dark body but a rather small head that (when compared to real Abt/Quadrupel beers) doesn’t really act as a lively element to the proceedings. In other words, it was a bit weak. Upon my first sip, the first thought was "Is this really a 10 percenter?" Holy hell, where did all that alcohol go? Kind of a shame because with this style of beer, one thing I look forward to is a little bit of that rub; that burn. Second thought was "wow, this is way more roasted than I was expecting." Which I like, but I was expecting something a bit more sweet and tart and rummy. Overall, this is not a bad beer, but not one of my favorite Mikkeller selections.

Pours from 750 ml bottle a very dark and hazy brown, nearly blackish. Formed nice size light brownish foamy head. Aroma of cherries, grapes, malts, and sweet sugar candy. Flavour of dark and bitter chocolate, dark and slightly burnt plum and fig fruits, with a tinge of malted hop character. Overall good beer, would love to try on tap and/or cask.

Bottle courtesy of BMan1113VR via his gf. Pours a murky brown color with a thick off white colored head. Body has odd orange hues when the light hits it. Nose is artiifical grapes, sweat, and flowers (maybe violets). Taste is like watery grape koolaide that packs a punch up front and has nothing on the midpalate or finish. Very odd beer and nothing like a quad. I don’t really know what to say.

Bottle thanks my girlfriend. "Monks Brew". A little disappointed. Pours with a large, thick, off-white head with a hazy , deep brown body, with good lacing and retention. Aroma is alcoholic and meaty with a spicy, note, dark fruits, flowery, and a bit of litter box. Taste is watery for the style, alcohol, with a fruityness, alcohol is forward. Very thin bodied with light carbonation. Not a great quad.