Beer Geek Peanut Butter Shake
Mikkeller ApS

I've had a few Beer Geek beers in my time, including the diabetes-inducing Vanilla Shake varietal and most of the Breakfasts + Brunches, so I figured why not grab a can of this one? Maybe because it's 9 goddamn dollars for a 16 ounce can... but I did it anyway. I mean, it's 11.8% ABV, so it's not exactly like I'm getting ripped off, right? Unless it sucks. But, Mikkeller wouldn't release a crappy riff on a newly-burgeoning style, now, would they? I mean, I'd like to think they wouldn't. Let's see what's going on here.

The pour is an austere and inky-black motor oil of an ale, but it really doesn't look as scary as some other bigger stouts. The head doesn't really build up too much, seeming to prefer to stay at about a half-finger even at its highest point, though the foam it does create leaves behind some nice cobweb-like lacing patterns. As you might imagine from the lack of suds, the legs aren't really anything special, and there's but on small island of bubbles in the center of my glass. This isn't the best looking stout pour ever, I'll just say that.

The nose is nice and decadent with a big, bold, dessert-like stature that brings out the additions of coffee and cocoa with great aplomb. Some slight roasty peanut notes, too, but they're not really the focus. They're also not unapparent, either, though, so the success of this beer seems like it might be at least slightly-dependent on how much you were expecting that aspect to come to fruition. I'm enjoying the base stout here... roasty with undertones of dark fruit wafting upwards as it warms up a bit. The peanut comes out slightly more in the scent as it gets to room temperature, but it's still not a very powerful aspect or component of the aroma.

Flavor profile is roasty, chocolate-y goodness upfront with a thick coating of charred and coffee-laden graininess. A slight sweetness picks up in the mid-palate, almost reminding me of something like Mast Landing's Imperial Gunner's Daughter in how it marries the peanut flavor with a milky-smoothness (without lactose, somehow!), though said nuttiness is kind of drowned out by the base and other adjuncts. Strong showing of the ABV that makes my eyes cross with how much it demands to be sipped and not gulped. Smooth and generously-heavy palate that feels super-filling and richly-thick with dense malt goodness. Truly an imperial peanut butter chocolate coffee stout, but perhaps a bit less flavorful on most accounts than I'd prefer. It might be trying to keep its feet firmly planted in a more "old-school" flavored stout tradition where things didn't get so, well, intense. The can amusingly states that coffee, cocoa, and peanut butter each account for 0.1% (?) of the whole (?). That seems like a weird flex and I don't get what it means. The adjuncts are 0.3% total of the entire beer? That seems low, but I'm not a mathematician. Anyway, solid stuff and I'm glad to drink it but never going to be a repeat buy.

 

Super bitter on the palate, as expected for the Beer Geek series. Peanut butter is very much an accent on the back third, which is quite nice, as it can definitely dominate when used without care. Very roasty with lots of coffee. Notes of cream and chocolate round out the profile.

 

Look: very dark, nearly opaque brown. Fat mocha head on the pour, that mostly subsides. Some oily, messy lacing.
Smell: peanut butter and coffee, hint of cocoa.
Taste: much like the nose, but much sweeter.

 

 

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: Double Milk / Sweet Stout
Glass: Revision 12-oz. tulip
Price: $9.99
From: Bine & Vine Bottle Shop in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Nov. 2, 2020
Consumed: Dec. 22, 2020
Misc.: Canned on Oct. 13, 2020

Pre-ordered this from Bine & Vine along with a few other things. Was looking forward to it because imperial stout and peanut butter. Also coffee and cocoa nibs. Was labeled online as “Imperial Stout Brewed w/ Coffee, Cocoa Nibs & Peanut Butter. Notes of Fudge and Peanut Butter Aromas. With full body and silky malt finish. Coffee and peanut butter toast? Yes please!”

Poured a pitch black color with 1-to-2 fingers of frothy tan head. Rather calm setting underneath the head. Decent watery lacing. Decent retention. (Sight - 3.25)

Smelled roasted coffee, dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, hints of roasty peanut butter, roasted malts, some char wood and hints of black licorice. Smelled a little better out of the can. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted just as good as the nose. In order got char wood, burnt marshmallow, roasted coffee, bitter dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, molasses, hints of black licorice, roasty malts, some peanut butter and toasted barley. (Taste - 4.25)

Full body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Just an excellent stout, but not much peanut butter at all. (Overall - 4.25)

4.19 | 93 | A-

 

16 oz. can. Black body. Smells of coffee, chocolate, and lots of black malt. Hints of peanut butter around the edges. Tastes of coffee, sweet chocolate, heavy roasted malt, dark breads, and peanuts. Aggressive roasted malt bitterness. Heavy, but not too sweet, at least. Slow to drink, but very tasty.

 

 

Extremely dark. More or less black with just the tiniest of redish hue as I was pouring it. Finger of mocha colored head that hung around for a minute or two before being reduced to a thin ring around the edges of the glass. Aroma is very sweet with some coffee & chocolate notes. Taste is very heavy on the roast, then beyond that is a mix of flavors that I can't describe well, but that aren't really working for me. The best way I can describe it is "artificial". Dry and mostly bitter. I'll continue to sip this for a while, but this is not a beer I'll be itching to revisit.

 

 

 

It was basically a stout with a little peanut butter flavor. So if you like stouts, this is really good... just that Peanut Butter Shake makes it sound sweeter or richer... it was delicious but don’t expect anyone expecting a sweet peanut butter beer to like this. It’s just a great beer ok? Get off my case.

 

Can from halftime
Inky black in color with a thin tan head that almost didn't form. Chocolate roast and pb on the nose. Licorice and roast with hints of burnt grains and lots of chocolate but not much pb flavor. Silky mouth sweet full body.