Metal Henry
Mikkeller ApS

 

330ml bottle - had to get out the fucking microscope to find this one's name on the label, quelle surprise.

This beer pours a clear, very dark orange-brick brown colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and sort of creamy tan head, which leaves some decent dissolving iceberg lace around the glass as it slowly but evenly subsides.

It smells of roasted caramel malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, subtle earthy coffee, a bit of musty yeastiness, ethereal Scandahoovian licorice, and some plain leafy, herbal, and grassy green hoppiness. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, some free-range ashiness, Euro chocolate, a muddled dark orchard fruitiness, black licorice candies, and more bitter leafy, weedy, and herbal hops.

The carbonation is actually quite light on its De Proef-mandated, frothy feet, the body a decent medium weight, and more or less smooth, just a touch of wet ash getting metaphorically stuck in my teeth. It finishes off-dry, but trending toward the latter, as the roasted and bitter hoppy characters assume the reins.

Overall, this is a genial enough version of the style, all roast and hop and bewildered fruitiness - that's the power of the Schwarz! Anyways, one of the better offerings that I've had of late from this meathead gypsy brewer, in that I can put it into a neat little box - but that's not what Mikey likes, eh?

Especially I would like to highlight, is the bitter taste, with a long aftertaste that persists even for a while after a sip, very much foam color, smell especially can not allocate!!!