Melchior Mackmyra Barrel Oak Aged
Picobrouwerij Alvinne

 

I first had this beer at the 2010 Essen Kerstbierfestival. I liked this so much, I brought three 375 ml bottles home.

They have been stored in my cellar a year, and now I am cracking one open.

The bottle opened with a pop, resulting in a slight gusher that I mostly contained in a Burgundy wine glass.

The body is a translucent amber gold with a luscious head that has good retention and leaves lots of lacing.

The nose is really interesting, with caramel malt, mustard, coriander, candied fruit, wet horse blanket, musty wood, and boozy alcohol.

This really tastes spectacular. Light mustard notes, tropical fruit (pineapple and apple banana), coriander, all combine with a strong backbone of lightly roasted malt, and yeast funk along with boozy Mackmyra whiskey notes to make a very unique barrel aged belgian strong pale ale.

The body is medium and the carbonation is sufficient to give this a creamy mouthfeel. There is a bit of whiskey burn in the finish. However, since the base beer is the same percentage of alcohol, at 11% ABV, this sensation may be coming from the taste of the wood barrels.

This is a really good belgian strong pale ale. The swedish whiskey and wood notes improves the base beer and its components, while the fruit from the belgian yeast carries throughout. Although it tastes a bit boozy, it makes a nice rich and fruity holiday ale. But this could be a good nightcapper anytime of the year.

Tasted this on the 16th christmas beerfestival 2010 essen belgium

Clear medium amber orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting - diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, overripped fruity, vanilla, moderate alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light to moderate acidic with a average to long duration, fruity, overripped fruit. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic.