Mr. Brown (2019)
To Øl

Copenhagen 10/9 2019. 33 cl bottle from Mikkeller Web-shop. To Øl's usual Reservoir Dogs design with the CMYK code for Brown. Very clinical.

Pours opaque dark brown with a big frothy off-white head. Settles as 1 cm thick layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Crawling up the sides of the glass. Heavy lacing.

Aroma is intense, very sweet and dessert-like with an abundance of nuts. Brown sugar, vanilla, sweet cake, more sugar and very strong odor of Hazel nuts. Quite overwhelming.

Light carbonation. Thick, viscous, soft, greasy, fat, lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is heavy sweet followed by a more moderate, salty bitterness. Aftertaste is very sweet with a nutty touch. Lingering for quite a while.

This is a beer for people who likes to drink their dessert. And from that perspective it is perfect. But you have to enjoy a heavy sweet cake to truly appreciate this brew.

50 ml can.
Pours brown but near black with a decent beige head.
Rich, enticing aroma with notes of chocolate and fresh baked dark bread.
Sweet, but appropriate for the flavor profile which includes lots of chocolate and faint coffee.
Full, smooth body with light carbonation.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear very dark cola brown (approaching black) in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and faint to moderate dark chestnut brown + mahogany colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense sudsy foamy tan head that slowly reduces to a medium to large sized half finger thick cap in the center of the glass surrounded by a large patch of thin film covering approximately 85% of the remainder of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Just shy of strong aromas of sweet chocolatey hazelnuts with moderate to strong aromas of vanilla over the top of moderate aromas of toasted + bready + dark + caramel malts with a moderate to heavy amount of caramel + lactose sweetness. Light to moderate aromas of freshly brewed coffee.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of very lightly roasted + toasted + bready + dark + caramel malts with a moderate to heavy amount of caramel + lactose sweetness. That is followed by light flavors of freshly brewed coffee. Finally there are just shy of strong flavors of sweet chocolatey hazelnuts with moderate to strong flavors of vanilla. Quite sweet with a lingering chocolatey hazelnut flavor well past the finish.

M: Just shy of full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and slightly creamy with a hint of dryness in the finish.

O: Definitely a strong/higher ABV beer with quite a lot of sweetness making this one much more of a slow sipper than easy drinker. Enjoyable with a nice combination of different dessert flavors and aromas but not a beer that I would desire to have again. Alcohol is fairly well hidden.

 

500 ml can into tulip glass, best before 2/13/2020. Pours nearly opaque dark brown color with a 2 finger fairly dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, hazelnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, sea salt, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, hazelnuts, salted caramel, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, hazelnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, sea salt, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, peppery hops; and roast, charred, coffee bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, hazelnuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, sea salt, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, hazelnuts, salted caramel, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a fantastic roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 9%. Overall this is an amazing flavored imperial English brown ale! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, hazelnuts, salted caramel, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/charred/drying finish. Amazingly soft feel, and not overly bitter/charred. Perfectly balanced between rich malts, vanilla, chocolate, hazelnuts, fruity/nutty coffee, and salted caramel flavors; with balancing earthy hops, and light fruity yeast notes. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and top tier imperial style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.