Mikkeller Monks Elixir

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

On tap at In de Wildeman. Deep dark brown colour, creamy light beige head. Aroma of dried fruits, chocolate, caramel. Flavour is imo highly similar to Rochefort 8, just a bit sweeter and less dry, really nice chocolate and dried dark fruits, lots of malt flavours and yeast, nice chocolate bitterness in the finish. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel, fullbodied. I loved it.

Bottle: Poured a slightly cloudy deep brown color ale with a super huge foamy head with great retention and some very good lacing. Aroma of sweet caramelized malt with notes of light dry fruit and some fruity ester. Taste is also dominated by sweet caramelized malt with some notes of candi sugar and cookie dough. Body is quite full with great carbonation and no signs of alcohol. Well done thought it is lacking some complexity compared to some of the best from this style.

This is a wonderful looking beer with great smell, great complex taste, absolutely nothing wrong with it all around. Why do I rate it so low overall then, you might ask. Well, I happened to drink this beer one evening, followed by a Chimay Bleu. I have to say, to me they seemed to be almost exactly the same. Maybe I have a dulled sense of taste, but since that evening this beer appears in a new light to me. It is a nice and well done version of a trappist quad, but it is in no way original or distinctive. It’s a reproduction, not an interpretation of a style.

Birthday beer bottle purchased from the Davis Food Co-Op. Very fruity aroma with some candy sugars present. Bubblegum hints and some leather. This aroma is all over the place, and not overly quaffable. Moderately hazy cola color with a medium tan head and good lacing. Sweet, sweet, and sugary start before this becomes a little roasted in the middle. Some banana esters are also present with some mineral-like flavors later on. A little rasin-like to finish. Ethanol is hidden well, but this is a pretty muddled attempt that isn’t overly impressive

Bottle reads "Monks Brew." Pours a dark brown body with a light brown head and sediment. Aroma is sugar, fruit, chocolate, and some malts. The flavor is sweet, smooth, and dark fruits. The beer hides the abv. very well.

750mL "Monk’s Brew" bottle. Date on the cork: 07/04/14. Pours a super murky mahogany with lots of little dark floaties and a small tan head. A rich aroma of roasty malts, caramel, toffee, vanilla extract, oakiness, brown sugar, chocolate, plums, and hints of anise and soy sauce. Softly carbonated and medium-bodied. The flavor starts off with a great deal of sweet caramel, toffee, and roasty malts. Lots of candied sugar, plums, and oak in the middle. Some creamy chocolate and vanilla in there too. Finishes with the slightest touch of citrus. Plenty of warming alcohol underneath it all that only adds to the complexity. Alright.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with thick beige head. Aroma of plums, cinnamon. Taste of plums and rasins, caramel, vanilla and light hops in the finish. Tasty stuff.

Draught at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Dark reddish brown color. Sweet candyshop aroma with berries, dark fruits and alcohol. Sweet candy and toffee flavor with tart cherries and alcohol. Too boozy and sweet with candy character which feels somewhat artificial.