Viking Shake
Mikkeller ApS

Copenhagen 14/4 2022. 47,3 cl can from Menuy, Borups Allé, Frb. F. Metal can with a red label. The name and Mikkeller San Diego's label and the information that it is a Barrel Boozer.

Pours opaque, dark brown with a small tight, beige head. A bit bubbly. Settles as thin, flimsy patch of foam unable of covering much of anything. No lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a sweet rich and earthy odor mingling with alcohol. Brown sugar and vanilla. Humid soil. Black coffee. Sweet dark alcohol.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, oily, soft, smooth, creamy and lightly tingling texture, A little bit sticky.

Flavor is intense with a strong sweetness followed by a medium strong bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet with a boozy, searing streak. Lingering. Finish is sticky and smoldering.

Potent and sweet (but not too sweet) with a healthy dose of alcohol.

 

Pours a thick but not quite oily black with short lived reddish tinged brown head.
Nose hits with the bourbon, vanilla, caramel and molasses - but especially bourbon - there is some roasted coffee with hints of chocolate
Sweet rich caramel and vanilla on the palate; again bourbon upfront, with a burnt coffee and dark chocolate bitterness fighting through a boozy undertone.
Full and smooth mouthfeel with moderate carbonation and a bit of that boozy heat, finishing with lingering bittersweetness.

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a medium, creamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, a distinct coffee aroma and lighter chocolate and vanilla, with just a hint of licorice as well. Taste is a great balance of roasted, caramel malt, with strong coffee notes, some dark and bitter chocolate, lighter vanilla, as well as hints of licorice and oak. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some coffee, chocolate and hints of vanilla lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.

I think this makes for a really nice coffee stout, with the coffee really coming through quite distinctly, although the bourbon barrel-aging is a lot less evident here, with very little barrel presence coming through, except for light hints of vanilla and oak, with the vanilla being an additive here anyway. It's still quite nicely balanced though, being quite roasty, with a light bitterness, which balances out the caramel, vanilla sweetness rather well. Overall, while I would have wished for a more distinct barrel presence here, this still makes for a rather well-balanced coffee stout with a distinct roasted coffee presence and good body and mouthfeel.