Mikkeller Monks Elixir

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

Murky brown pour with a thin offwhite head. Aroma of nuts, malt and chocolate. Interesting flavor of nuts, malt and chocolate. The body is medium with a liquorous texture and gentle carbonation. Interesting, but doesn’t rival the great Belgian examples of this style.

Very dark brown. Thin head maintained by the etch in the Chimay glass. Aroma of nuts, dark molasses and dark malt. Rich thick body. Dark sugar and dark brown ale. Like a double imperial brown ale. Light yeast qualities. Don’t notice the alcohol at all! Amazing the difference between the two halves of the bottle. Second half is thinner with bigger alcohol and Belgian presence. A yummy evening of beer in a bottle.

75cl, alias Monk’s Brew, Danish brewery, from Slijterij van Bergen Eindhoven, complex brew, balanced, cloudy, small head, good brew

750mL bottle from a group order. Pours a hazy, super dark ruby with a large beige head that dissipates. The aroms is strongly of candy syrup, okay malts, cherry, berry, yeast. Decent smelling. The flavour is quite sweet, syrup and malts hit upfront with some esters following. Dryness rounds out the finish, like a non-sour puckering kind of dryness. Some bad ’bean sprout’/’pen ink’ simple sugar flavour comes through eventually (think anything Dogfish Head) which threatens to ruin the whole thing, though it doesn’t as it’s mild. Seems under-attenuated which is quite a shame as this could have been a great beer, but slips to the level of ’drinkable and just okay’. Mouth-feel is slightly chewy, and not as boozy as it could be which I guess is a plus. Lacks depth and complexity. Simply getting the ABV to 10% does not in itself make this a true Abt/Quad. Cut back on the sugar adjuncts, get some more earthy/herbal hop character going and you’d have a much better beer. For how much I paid I can’t help but be a little disappointed. I really can’t stand under-attenuation.

Didn’t pick this from my notes for any particular reason. BUT. While reading, note the sound of bells and whistles, take a look at the night sky for the fireworks display, and cover your noniks, trappists, and snifters as the confetti and streamers are falling. ITS MY #100th POSTED RATING, BEYOTCH!!! Disappointing benchmark though, as I am actually about 2 years and 600+ deep today. Not like the 10,000 samples, and 30 word reviews some of the highest raters probably have. All 12 ounces or more, counted, on paper. Couple of notebooks need going through, and catching up to be done, though I’m sure I never will. Screw the perceived experience, or prestige. I KNOW MY BREW and WHAT I LIKE. And have had some greats, many of the top 100. Thankful for what’s available here. On to the rating: 750mL cork & cage. Dated 7/04/14 on 9/2/09. A - Nose is pretty pleasant. Sweet Hawaiian roll, booze, brown sugar, yeasty dough, oaky tannins, dark fruit, chocolate, fig, booze, caramel, and roast malt. A - Almost disgusted me to see this in a glass on the end of the pour. Murky, ruby amber with HUNDREDS of LARGE chunks of orange brown sediment. Not a fan. Almost made me dump it. BE SURE to leave the bottom out. DECANT! This had a nice tall, pillowy tan head. F - Upfront caramel, dark fruit, toffee, with chocolate undertone. Hops not a prominent note. P - Soft mouth. Mild, smooth-drinking body. 10% not dominant. Peppery dry spice linger. Maybe some ginger or nutmeg. O - This was not worth the price IMHO. This is probably my least favorite Mikkeller. Daresay worst I’ve had. Really wish I could have raped the score for #100, but it wasn’t THAT simple and terrible. Was sitting on the shelf @ the store for maybe a couple months if the date is any indicator. Not understanding the high score, but then again, some belgian styles don’t come off terribly complex and flavorful to me.

Pours dark brown with rusty red highlights and a bubbly head that fades to a lasting thin layer of foam. Aroma is quite interesting with brown sugar, leaves, toffee, raisin, and yeasty spice (all of which I could expect) as well some peppers, bay leaves, pears and other nearly vegetal spice characteristics (which I don’t expect). Tastes initially of spice, raisins, grape juice, brown sugar, and yeast, but the spicy quality is too much. It’s like too much Cajun seasoning (minus the heat) and unripened, bitter cucumbers. Finish dries out the sweet qualities effectively and I can taste the yeast’s pleasant authenticity (funky fruit and spice mixing with brown sugar, vinous notes, and damp earth). Leaves a lasting dry bitter sensation on the throat. High carbonation, med-heavy body, and noticeable heat, ever so slightly oily mouthfeel. There’s decent stuff going on here, but what’s with the weirdness? Something strange happened, and it may not be the brewer’s fault. Perhaps this is what happens when Mikkeller comes to Texas!

750 ml bottle - clear, yellow brown on the pour that settles into a deep, dark brown in the glass; foamy cream colored head fades quickly leaving behind some lacing; a beauty for sure; figs, candy malt, yeasty spice and musky aromas; drinks quite sweet with flavors of dates, figs and cherry; super sweet on the nose with a soft, smooth, almost syrupy texture; dry finish with the sweetness almost reaching overpowering levels; flavor is just about there, but the texture really lacking when compared to the top dogs

On tap at Lord Nelson. Poured a dark brown with a light brown head. Aroma had notes of sweet malts and yeast. Flavor was sweet from both candied sugar and malts with a bit of an underlying alcohol bite. Nice and thick on the tongue.