Træblod - Bourbon Barrel Aged
Mikkeller ApS

 

Review: 2342
Name: Traebold
Brewery: Mikkeller Brewing
Location: San Diego, CA
ABV: 15.4
Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Canned: 01/23/2020
Date: 22 March 2025
I am using a tulip glass and serving the beer at 50. The pour did not create any head; a light foamy bubble formed. The beer did have a lovely hiss when I pried the cap off. The beer is inky black with dark oily brown hues, charting at SRM 36, and opaque. The appearance of the beer is below average for this style, with no head formed.
Nosing the glass, I smell maple syrup, oak, whiskey, resin, treacle, molasses, dates, raisins, malty sweetness, vanilla, dark chocolate, espresso, earthy dirt, dark roasted malts, lightly toasted cereal grains, and leather. Smelling the beer again, I also detect light grassy, herbal, caramel, toffee, char, and a light tobacco note.
The beer has rich, earthy notes coupled with espresso, dark chocolate, leather, tobacco, whiskey, and maple syrup weaved throughout. Sipping the beer again, I taste dark roasted malts, light soy sauce, anise, caramel, toffee, treacle, raisins, vanilla, grassy, oak, resin, herbal, char, and a light smokiness.
The mouthfeel is chewy and thick, finishing smooth with some warming. The body is heavy and has low carbonation.
The barrel aging adds more bourbon, char, and wood characters, giving the beer depth with the coffee and maple flavors. I enjoyed the non-barrel variant over this one. This beer is too big and has too much alcohol. I appreciated what the brewers did and imbibed it for the rest of the night.

Received a bottle via a trade with former BA @BMBCLT on 4-1-23. 2022 edition with no bottle date; consumed 4-12-24.

Beer poured black with an okay tan head that dissipated quickly.

Nose is very nice, full of roasted malts, leather, bourbon, and maple.

Taste is very bold with a huge heavy roasted malt base that is integrated nicely with the subtle maple and coffee adjuncts. Barrel is huge and a tad overdone. Finishes balanced considering the maple addition.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and very smooth.

Overall this was an enjoyable sipper.

Poured stout black, darker than most but they generally look black in the glass.
The head was dark brown, surprisingly large bubbles. No lacing but a light film coating was left behind.
The aroma is still not available to me, stupid Covid.
The taste, I’m not sure if it was just exactly what I was needing at the time but this is amazing. The coffee was there and the stout was there and it was all influenced by the maple flavor. Nothing stuck out, it all came together very well.
The feel was a good viscous level, at 15% ABV this isn’t a beer one gulps.
O A, I really enjoyed this, I will definitely buy it again if I see it again.

 

 

 

Pours black with a finger and a half of dark caramel foam. Aroma is candy sugar right out front, with roasty and toasty malts sweeping in afterwards. Maple syrup tacks on some further sweetness, with faint coffee behind. Some mild char and bourbon add some bitterness and heat, respectively, but don't completely counter the initial sweetness. Flavor profile carries that maple syrup right out front, but is quickly offset by roasty and toasty malts, and hearty bourbon. Some mild and middling coffee notes in the background. Toffee and molasses swirl into the mix, upping the sweetness. Light notes of tart cherry pop onto the tongue late, and swell as the beer warms. All summed up, it leans sugary and sweet, despite some hearty stout notes underneath. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a still effervescence that drags just a little silt across the tongue. Overall, a touch sweet, despite the depth presented by the underlying stout.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 500mL bottle.

 

 

This one is 14%.
Look: very dark brown. Some ruby highlights. Messy, oily lacing.
Smell: nose is big, potent combo of maple, cocoa nibs, vanilla, bourbon, coffee.
Taste: like the nose. Big, rich stout.

 

Look - black and thick with a nice tan head and sticky lacing
Smell - maple woody slight coffee caramel and vanilla
Taste - maple caramel slightly vanilla and woody. Can't taste much coffee
Feel - medium full body with a lighter carb
Overall - tasty nice amount of maple, could use more body

Very dark appearance with slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is s very pleasant blend of coffee, maple and bourbon. Taste is a mild blend of coffee, maple and bourbon.