Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 2008

tupalev’s 750ml bottle opened late at the first KW group tasting. perfect dark brown almost black pour with an everlasting beige head. aromas are very spice driven with dark belgian malt providing structure. the flavour is also quite spicey. i personally would like to see the spice elements toned down to let the other flavours shine. id love to try a bottle with a couple years of cellaring on it. thanks for the share jeff.

Name: Santa’s Little Helper
Date: November 30, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: black, fine tan head, streaky lace
Aroma: dry dark chocolate aroma, light spices, dark roast, touch of sweet fruity esters
Flavor: sweet rich dark chocolate flavor, lots of caramel sweetness along with sweet fruity esters, plenty of balancing spices, light bitterness, dominant bitter dark chocolate
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Flaske: Sort øl med et flot skum, der ikke er brunt, hvilket gør at det ikke mislæses som en stout. Sød og med en god del lakrids i både smag og duft. Kraftig noter der balancere alkoholen fint. I det hele taget en rigtig lækker øl, men ikke så god som sidste års.

Bottle shared at Tupalev’s, thanks Jeff. Pours a colour about 10 times darker than I was expecting, almost black with a small beige head. Aroma is a medley of spices and whatnot but nothing too decernable. Flavour makes up for that, some butterscotch which is nice, candy cane, hops, cinnamon, dryness on top of some fruity esters and caramel. Very interesting but I have it written down that I felt it wasn’t complex enough, too simple. I’m also not buying the claim of 11%. Nevertheless it is quite a tasty beer. I’m pretty glad I didn’t have to pay $15 just for one bottle though, it’s not really worth quite that much IMHO.

Pitch black pour with a nice sized brown head with nice lacing. Can smell orange, cocoa powder, ans spice in the nose. Tastes of chocolate malt, a touch of hops, sticky molasses and a spice almost like cumin. Heavy alcohol presence, like drinking a cognac. Sticky mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Worth a try, interesting beer, a lot of different flavor profiles that seem to segregate themselves from each other

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a medium light brown head. Rich aroma and taste of yeast, chocolate and spice with a nice roasted finish.

Pours very dark brown with a good sized rocky tan head. The aroma has a nice blend between Belgian malt and cocoa ~ somewhat sweet and quite creamy. Medium body with semi-soft carbonation. The flavor starts with earthy yeast and very dark malt without seeming roasted and an odd spiciness with a mild hint of cocoa. The finish has phenolic spice and earthy Belgian yeast and malt. This is decent, but not up to what I expected.

Pours an opaque dark brown with an everlasting creamy head. The aroma is cocoa and nuts (somewhere between hazelnuts and pecans). There is a faint bit of brown sugar and dark fruit as well. This isn’t mind blowing, but it’s pretty darn tasty.