Træblod - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Mikkeller ApS

 

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with some retention and some lacing notes. Aroma of huge chocolate and fudge notes with some floral coffee notes with some vanilla and bourbon notes with light lactose notes. Taste is also a mix of huge chocolate and fudge notes with some floral coffee notes and some vanilla and bourbon with some sweet lactose notes offsetting any rough edges. Body is full with creamy texture and good carbonation and no real warming alcohol notes are perceptible. Nice coffee/bourbon stout with a nice creamy feel and perfect chocolate/fudge notes.

 

Batch 1
750ml bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- aroma is popping with bold dark chocolatey espresso and pure maple syrup, followed by enough barrel aromas to stand up to the coffee and maple; barrel juice, oak, vanilla & caramel and all to be found. Undertones of booze soaked figs and prunes, as well as black cherries, pipe tobacco, marshmallow, even a candied pecan note. The complexity increases as it warms.

T- sweet maple syrup hits immediately up front, followed by bold dark chocolate and rich earthy espresso. Mid-palate brings out rich notes of figs and prunes, as well as black cherry. Dark chocolate and caramel pop through, before giving way to the barrel that gives oaky bourbon and vanilla bean. Lingers of maple, dark chocolate and bourbon

M- medium-heavy body with moderate carbonation leads to a creamy mouthfeel that continues into a silky, warming finish

O- outstanding aromas and complex flavors, the maple, coffee, chocolate and barrel notes are bold and aggressive, yet well balanced

 

 

Drank from a 1 pt 0.9 fl oz (500 ml) bottle purchased at Fenway Beer Shop, Boston, MA
2021 vintage
Served in a tulip

Slightly murky, dark brown/black appearance. The viscous, oily looking body was topped by a frothy, finger-tall, mocha colored crown that fell to a thick, clingy, resilient collar. Streaky, spotty lacing tricked along the glass after each of the first few sips.

The aroma was subtle initially but really came forth as the beer warmed. Coffee and maple notes were detectable. Some roasted malt character as well. Hint of semisweet chocolate. Both the coffee and the maple intensified with time. Touch of bourbon too. Later, the maple and the overall sweetness became even more pronounced. On the second pour, fragrant vanilla and bourbon notes were apparent.

Unlike the nose, the flavor profile was excessively roasty and harsh. The beer started out malty and robust up front. Roasted malts dominated, but the roast level seemed to be kept in check initially. Some coffee was noticeable too. Coffee grounds came to mind. Hint of sweetness in the center. As the beer moved along the palate, the roast and bitterness really intensified. The beer became rather acrid and harsh on the back end and the finish. Hint of bourbon-barrel. Boozy notes and some woody tannins were also noticeable. A dry, acrid, roasty bitterness lingering long after the swallow. Toward the drink’s end, the roast and booze mellowed slightly and sweet maple notes appeared.

Nice smooth, creamy, fluffy mouthfeel. Medium-full bodied for the style. Oily and slick on the palate. The contained a finer bubbled, somewhat average effervescence that worked nicely for the style.

Træblod - Bourbon Barrel-Aged had a terrific aroma and a solid mouthfeel, but the flavor profile was far too acrid and bitter for my liking. Be sure to let this gradually warm up to near room temp, as it becomes significantly more palatable with time.

 

 

500 mL bottle. Black. No head. Smells of strong maple, bourbon, oak, and dark chocolate. Tastes quite sweet. Maple. Bourbon and oak. Bitter chocolate. Quite boozy. Lingering alcohol. Low carbonation. Sweet without being heavy. Slow to drink, regardless. Tasty, but just too big and sweet to be really good.

A - Pours pitch black with a thin tan head. Light soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is big bourbon and black coffee.

T - The taste is big black coffee, maple, vanilla, roasted malts and a big bourbon finish.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Syrupy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - A really solid BBA bourbon stout. Big bourbon throughout. Really nice sipper.

Shimmering oily black pour with a tiny brown ring. I actually found the non-ba version to be more chewy and robust in the feel, here the warm barrel character and viscous stickiness takes over, though smooth. Smell starts sweet: vanilla, maple, bourbon, oak, and chocolate, dumped into coffee and molasses, wonderful. Taste adds earth, leather, caramel, roasted nuts, and smoke in artisanal ways. A waltz of falvors, pulls sweet but balances with robust bitterness, starts to brighten before plunging into the dark depth of the heavy flavors. Slightly better than the non-ba, but the drinking experiences of each are disparate enough that you don't feel the need to compare

L: Black as pitch, darker than I noted in the original. A thin and short-lived caramel cream head ends as a ring and a thin spiral. No lace.

S: Whew. Quite boozy for its time bottle aging, but it is over 15 percent. The bourbon has a semi-acrid bite that is backed up by the sweet maple and roasted malts.

T: First taste reminds me of an amped up Founders CBS. The coffee however is barely hanging in there and the bourbon is out of balance with the rest of the brew. Additional aging I fear would leave behind the remaining subtlety of this stout. A little tobacco on the aftertaste was not off putting for me.

F: Not overly thin or syrupy, but not as coating a mouthfeel as I’ve found elsewhere.

O: I loved the original, but put this one slightly behind it in terms of balance. Perhaps a toned down version or selecting a different barrel would go a long way. I want my BA breakfast stout to have teeth in the coffee, not the bourbon. Still putting the overall higher than the taste for an in between bump in score.

 

 

 

 

after being positively floored by the original, which i had last year in a can, i was over the moon to try this, and was thankful my buddy was willing to share. this seems like the kind of thing you wouldnt want to pop on a hot summer afternoon with a long night ahead of you, but as soon as we did, i realized there really is no wrong time to drink this beer, its so good, and as a lover of all things maple syrup, this immediately ranks among my favorite beers to use it. its huge and viscous from the bottle, frothy mocha headed and dense in the glass, not quite black but the deepest of dark chocolate browns, slightly intimidating. the aroma travels for miles it seems, i can smell this even pretty far away from my glass, and when i get right in there, its maple on maple, sweet dark amber goodness in its purest form, right there with dark chocolate, brown sugar, old oak, and sweet vanilla from the bourbon, some bitter roasted and perhaps even lightly smoked elements from the coffee are also present, but its maple that runs this show. the flavor is equally maple forward, but its not just a bottle of syrup, i find myself again impressed by the base beer, with layers of cocoa and earthy grains, campfire, and faint honey sweetness. the coffee is fresh even though the bottle has a little time on it now, a rich espresso crema sort of complexion to it, amazing with all the bourbon that comes out more and more as it warms. the oak is mellowing and the booziness is not an impediment for me. the huge body and intense residual sugar do slow it down a bit, but this was still a hard glass of beer to set down. the bourbon is a really nice touch, totally unneeded of course, as this was epic without it, but it really sends this to the next level. overall a world class beer, among the best of the dark mikkeller stuff i have ever known, and a beer i wont soon forget. the balance of flavors and smoothness and maple are all just unrivaled. yum!

750 ml bottle into snifter, 2019 vintage. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, maple/chocolate syrup, dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, vanilla, brownie batter, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms, Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malts, coffee, maple syrup, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, maple/chocolate syrup, dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, vanilla, brownie batter, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, roast, char bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, maple/chocolate syrup, dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, vanilla, brownie batter, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, coconut, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, oak char, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Insane complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malts, coffee, maple syrup, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a fantastic roast/hop bitter/sweet, and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 11.5%, with zero lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an insane flavored barrel aged imperial stout! All around amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malts, coffee, maple syrup, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; amazingly soft/silky feel for the ABV. Perfectly balanced between super rich malts, maple syrup, fruity/nutty coffee, and bourbon barrel presence/integration; mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly amazing offering, and world class style example. Definitely a lot thicker, richer, smoother, complex, and silky than the base beer! Not overwhelming on any aspect. Well worth the high price.