Hoppy Lovin' Christmas - Red Wine Barrel Aged
Mikkeller ApS

 

Amber color with beige head. Aroma is heavy on the wine barrel with a nice perfume. Taste has also wine notes but also a bit of ginger and hops, all these flavors coming in waves. Aftertaste is quite bitter with the wine notes still lingering. Really well done, tasty beer with complex flavors.

 

 

 

i liked this one better than the sauternes edition, i think the pine needles come out more, and that the beer has enough malt sweetness at its base that it really doesnt need the added sugar of a dessert wine. this one i think is next level, with the red wine tannins giving it a little bite, and the fruit that comes from it adding a very holiday element to this beer beyond just its stained pink color. the head on this thing is legendary, tall and lasting and lacy as it drinks. the nose is a little sharp from the wine, i am amazed how much barrel i get on this. its also got a cool interplay between pine needles and fresh ginger, which is what i loved about the base beer. the hops in this seem more tame than either of the other versions, not quite out of the picture, but they really stay back and let the pine take over most of those duties. yeast is mildly belgian too, which gives even more fruitiness to the mix. its remarkably dry on the whole, and kept dangerously drinkable by highly excited carbonation, which i love in the style. its a nice contrast to the big heavy christmas beers, this really fills a necessary void for me in the beer world. the red wine takes the base beer to a wonderful new place. it would be cool to line these all up side by side and drink through them!