DrumBAR Golden Sap
Mikkeller ApS

It is amber color, mostly transparent. The foam is coarse and rich, that’s a good sign because this is a vintage bottle (9 years old). It smells like white wine, malty, caramel, Octoberfest Märzen (March)/Dunkel (dark), oaky, white pepper. That’s interesting, that definitely smells like an amber lager with oaky wooden hint. The beer is fine, still quite drinkable. It’s malty, shows some toasted malts character, caramel and Sencha aromas. It’s medium to full body, and taste lightly sweet and later turns to bitter. Although the beer smells like an amber Octoberfest beer, but it doesn’t taste like that. At beginning, the caramel and toasted malts’ sweetness shows up (which won’t eat by yeast after cellar), but there’s not that much of banana bread easter profile. When I sense the Sencha aroma, that’s the point the hops kicks in, there’s still toasted malts caramelized sugar left, but the hops is green tea like, leafy and quite bitter. Not sure if that’s Saaz hop, but it’s like that character, with a short leafy, floral hops aroma followed by a long lingering bitterness. The aftertaste is leafy, green tea herbal, tobacco, oaky, barrel funk. that’s very nice for a 9 years old beer. Although it’s sweet when it flows in mouth, but the beer are pretty dry in overall, contribute by the long bitter finish. It’s actually a nice and strong lager, the malty beverage is quite close to some German Oktoberfest amber colored (strong) lager like Märzen/Dunkel, but it take a quick turn to a bitter strong ale (clearly recalls Duvel’s golden ale, and that’s why I say it might be Saaz hop), the oaky, even a bit like mushroom forager’s vibe (because this is not too mushroomy, which will be very bad for a beer). Those different characters do fit together eventually, which is a good surprise. TBH, I can’t tell what the drumBar sap’s flavor is, maybe that’s not that important, we just need the oaky and tobacco aromas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

perhaps an imperial pils isnt the best base beer for a maple syrup barrel, especially pilsener as mikkeller tends to make them, boldly hoppy. however my penchant for anything maple really made this a must buy, and while i think the bitterness of the hops distract fro rather than balance the sweet maple character, i really do like the overall beer a whole lot. its got a copper hue, paler than maple syrup itself. nice and fizzy in the glass too. the nose is only a little sweet and indeed more like the sap running from the tree than like the actual reduced syrup. the maple sugar is there though, and the pilsener malt base is plenty big to support it. the is some wood on it too, but not sweet vanilla oak, its more earthy than that, less char. wonderful maple flavors throughout, although it takes a slightly artificial character towards the finish. more of a mrs. butterworths rather than a pure vermont. the finish is not overly sweet, but it is long lasting just the same. the hops are a bit overdone for me, the bitterness carries through longer than the maple. its distracting to the whole for me, and while i usually dig the extra hops in beers like a pils, its out of place here. rumor has it that mikkeller has a black sap too, i MUST find one!!!