Santa's Little Helper 2006
Mikkeller ApS

 

 

750 ml bottle purchased from Cooke's Market in El Segundo for about fourteen dollars, 2006 vintage, split with a friend tonight, poured into my Duvel tulip glass

A-Very dark brown with some orange highlights, 3/4 inch foamy brown head that stuck around for close to five minutes, good retention, also lacing at the beginning

S-Brown sugar, chocolate, figs, dates, raisins, prunes, dark cherries, sweet malt, Belgian yeast, tons of dark fruit, various spices, and caramel

T-Started off with a bit of a strong ale feel, then got sweeter in the middle, finish was a little boozy with tons of different dark fruits, got more chocolatey as time went on, mostly milky and sweet, also some caramel later on, yeast really stood out as far as being candy-like goes, not much of a hop presence if any, towards the end I got a lot of prunes and dates, with a sweet warming aftertaste, all over the place but still good

M-Sweet and crisp mouthfeel, just the right level of carbonation to prevent it from being too syrupy like other quadrupels, thin to medium body

D-Probably could not have finished this bottle on my own, very filling, high in alcohol, my bottle said it was eleven percent, alcohol was not hidden very well either

Did not expect this one to be so dark and heavy, another unique and enjoyable beer from Mikkeller, a nice treat even though I am not sure it was worth the high price tag, probably would not drink again for that reason alone, worth trying though

Pours a dark ruby brown in color. Very nice head with plenty of nice lacing.
Both the nose and taste is slight belgain candy sugar, some chocolate, spruce and some clove. Creamy on the mouthfeel. Mikkeller has a nice palate on all their beers I've had.

a friend brought this over for a session and both he and the wife could not get though it! pours with little head a very dark brown, very little light gets through. I detect a toffee smell with no hops aroma at all and a hint of berries. unlike my compatriots for the evening i found this to be a good beer. it has a very complex flavor profile: sweet and burbon like in the front with a mellow middle that was malty, finishing with a big hit of raspberry flavor, a little sweetness and hint of roasted barley. this is a thick beer that sits in the mouth nicely.

overall i really liked this beer. the raspberry finish was a little unexpected, but not overpowering or too sweet. i would get his again if i could find it, but it would be cellared for a couple years to see what would happen.

Thanks Vintage for this one along with the Black Hole and To: From:! Nice Score...

A--Attractive beer. Deep mahogany with tons of head and retention.

S--Spicy, with fruits like fig and raisins. Smells like a quad

T--I really enjoyed this flavor. Spices, raisins, smoked aftertaste, plums?

M--silky smooth, has some real substance.

D--This is a really tasty beer. Unfortunately, due to the high asking price (as usual with Mikeller) you might have to mortgage the house to try it. Oh well, worth a try anyway if you can find it.

Looks like a cross between a stout and a wine . Very little ead for a Belgian style. No lacing and no visible bubbles. No light penetrates this unique color with merlot highlights. The aroma is a very fruity aroma. Prunes, plums, black cherries, and pommegranate. The taste is a great fruity malt palate. Lots of dark fruits. A very well defined dark cherry, pruney, with hints of dark chcolate. Very nice. Very juicey feel to this brew. Lingers for about two minutes after each sip before fading int nothingness. Great sipping, nightcap beer.

Thanks to axilla for sharing this...
Appears a dark black with a raisin toned edges with a small dark tan head that slowly fades into a mild cap. Tiger striped lacing is left all over the glass.
Smell is of graham crackers, molasses, anise, lemongrass, black plum, and black cherries.
Taste is of the aromas with some raisin bread, cocoa, and raisins pulling through.
Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied, sticky, syrupy, and a bit sugary with some hops smacking the palate in the swallow.

Appearance: Pours a black body with a full, though short-lived tan head.

Smell: Peppery and spicy from the onset with the scent of a cabernet and dark malts. All in all, the nose hides the myriad of flavors that await you.

Taste: It's time to ride the Mikkeller conveyor belt of flavor and pass by tastes of white pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and sweet toasted candi sugar. A wave of robust red wine courses through the flavor and carries with it a touch of tartness. Hint of burnt chestnuts. Fruity finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Moderate carbonation. Warming alcohol presence.

Drinkability: A very delightful Christmastime beer that drinks rather easily despite the 11% ABV.

Poured from a bomber into Delirium glasses for me and my better half. She liked it for the alcohol and sweetness, I explored the nuances with an appreciative eye towards complexity and balance. Based on appearances (dark color with very dark tan foam), I'd have expected this to be a stout. But it turned out to be more Belgian, like a dubbel or quad, kind of in the same vein as Pannepot. The flavor was sweet more than anything else, it brought to mind sweet dark fruits like cherries or plums. The mouthfeel was just a tad thinner than you'd expect but still very nice. I recommend this only to try once, as for the price ($12.99) you might as well get ST Bernardus ABT 12 or any number of other kick-ass Belgian quad/strong dark ales.

This beer was a bit of a letdown for me. It looks great in the glass; jet black body with a nice mocha colored head. The aroma has a bunch of yeasty esters as well as some chocolate and spiciness. The flavor is much the same, minus the banana from the yeast. It has a decent sweet caramel flavor with a good roastiness also, but the spice aspect just isn't doing it for me. Decent beer all around, but not my style.

bottle corked, and caged.

Popped this one open on Christmas day. Pours a dark brown color with a rich, tan 2" tall head with plenty of bubbles and a light fluffy look to it. After it dies down it leaves a rich, thick bubbly lace around the side clinging to the side of the snifter. Smell is doughy, with light cacao notes, slight raisin, figs, and spices. Taste is sweet with a candied sugar middle and a rich and sweet finish with plenty of spices and a lingering yeasty flavor. Mouth feeling is creamy and rich with plenty of warming alcohol presence.

750ml bottle, $13.99 at Brawleys...It's a Belgian Christmas afterall

appearance: corked and caged behind a red foil covering and a festive red/green label...pours into an oversized chalice and is a lot darker than i had envisioned by the description and the classification as "quadrupel". very dark mahogany (bordering on black) body with a big chocolate head and pretty sweet lacing

smell: beautiful holiday aromas, extremely well spiced, cola, tart cherry, loads of sugary berries, strong belgian yeast strands. awesome

taste: i acknowledge this is probably not intended to be a quad so i will review it as an independent style. The flavour profile is highlighted by a delightful chocolate malt structure that isnt overpowering, cola, belgian cherry, yeasty. This is an awesome awesome beer

mouthfeel: medium-light, well spiced, alcohol completely buried

drinkability: exceptional

A 750ml bottle poured into a goblet. Very striking appearance. Rich red/brown color with an orange/tan head. The aroma was a little quiet, some fruit and spice. The taste was much better. Dark fruit that seemed to be mostly raisin, subtle spiciness. The alcohol was well-hidden. Quite enjoyable, would look for this again.

A: Rich opaque amber edges with a solid black center. creamy tan head leaving solid ring with some lacing

S: fruits and nuts, maybe banana and some clove. a little cocoa.

T: smooth fruit, chocolate and spices. complex and suttle

M: bubbles coat as the liquid goes down, almost tingles. full coverage of gums, tongue and teeth. clove aftertaste lingers nicely.

D: very nice christmas offering. could wash down the best of hams.

Poured from a 750ml bottle into two St. Bernardus goblets. Thanks to HeatherAnn for the assist!

A: Pours a sinister looking black with a creamy, dark tan head that leaves some spotty lace.

S: Big aromas of cola nut, cherry, chocolate, spices, toasted malt, sweet over-ripe dark fruit, and coconut.

T: See above with more cola, spicy & ripe dark fruit, and chocolate covered cherries.

M: Wonderfully slick and creamy. Where is the alcohol? Very thick, sweet and full.

S: So good considering the high abv. Awesome!

I have a hard time articulating the flavor of this beer, but I'll tell you that I think it excellent. There's a lot of different notes in its taste, but no one is really all that salient. A complicated beer that whose complexity will cause me to revisit it.

Appearance is an opaque black with a pretty sturdy tan head. Aroma is creamy and roasty, with more hoppiness than I would've suspected. There is also a spirit-like aroma...faint but cognac-like. Flavor is a bit medicine-y and metallic, but balanced by roastiness and liquorice and more bitterness than I would've thought. There is more complexity in the flavor than I would've expected, and this beer's flavor is rather difficult to describe. Still, it is good. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.

I'd highly recommend this.

I have tried their Beer Geek Breakfast and love it so I thought I would try another one.

H mm, A quadruple didn't recognize the style at first but yes it's similar.

It has that raisin and date flavor.

Very dark and thick.
I like it when your pouring and at the end of the pour the dark beer contrasts with the lighter head. That thickness.

As I pour this beer, aromas of caramelized bananas waft to my nose. The beer pours with an almost three-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head that sits atop a burnt amber colored brew that shows a slightly hazy, deep, ruby-red color when held up next to the light. Yep banana is definitely noticeable here; warming alcohol notes and the banana make me think of some sort of banana liquor, though not nearly as concentrated as that would be. Spicy clove notes sort of mix in with the banana aromas. It is surprising how dominant the banana is, I am having a hard time smelling anything else. Perhaps a touch of tart plum, some hints of cherry cough-syrup and some definite raisins aromatics help to round things out a little bit.

Soft, creamy, full feeling, yet with a slight prickle of carbonation, this beer is very smooth up front. Towards the end some sharper notes that seem derived from hot higher alcohols kick in. This definitely has some estery banana flavors to it as well. It reminds me somehow of a banana syrup, or perhaps it is more like a raisin syrup coating a banana. The finish, in addition to a touch of hot alcohols, has quite a phenolic spiciness to it in the form of a substantial clove flavor. The beer is definitely sweet & malty; the malt lends a raisin flavor as well as a touch of prune.

Definitely a bit rough still, this should still improve quite a bit for quite some time & maybe even get quite a bit better; if I had another bottle I probably wouldn't think about it for at least another two years. In the end I really do wish I had held on to this a bit longer, it is just not a big enough beer (I am mostly referring to residual malt character here, as the alcohol is certainly high enough) to stand up to the higher alcohols and phenolic spiciness.

Bottle courtesy of thewolf: Poured a medium brown color ale with a small foamy head with average retention and lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with some subtle notes of cookie dough. Taste of light cookie dough and brown sugar was also noticeable but a bit shy for the style. Brown sugar could also be detected as well as some dry plums and figs. I was expecting a bit more complexity and was slightly disappointed. The body was about average and no alcohol was discernable. Interesting take on the style but still not close to the top beers of this style.