December 9th – A Word On Beers X-mas Calendar

December 9th and this is what was in my two X-mas calendars:

🎄The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar🎄

Beer Geek Breakfast (2019) by Mikkeller – This is a Mikkeller classic! Aroma is loads of coffee, some caramelized sugar and a bit of soya sauce. On the palate, it’s full-blown coffee that’s nicely balanced with a fair amount bitterness, some sweetness and a bit of licorice. All of this is backed up by a very well-executed imperial stout. No surprise this is a Mikkeller classic!

🎄My wife’s homemade X-mas calendar🎄

Carolyn (Vintage 2017) by Penyllan – Aroma is wine, Brettanomyces, some fruity citrus, a bit of bread and something like wet iron…? Taste is in-your-face acidity followed by a nice wine-like flavor with apricots, orange blossom honey and something like orange pith. Mouthfeel is light and crisp with a lot of bubbles. This is yet another very tasty beer from Jessica (brewer and master blender at Penyllan) and the island of Bornholm.

Once again the beers from Penyllan amazes me with their complexity and very harmonic flavors from the barrel aging and being blended to something just short of perfection. Jessica sure knows what she is doing and boy am I happy that I have been able to taste that many of the tasty beers from her hands. The Beer Geek Breakfast by Mikkeller is so much a defining beer for that brewery. It’s one of the beers that made them what they are today. The barrel-aged versions and the one with Vietnamese coffee are extremely tasty beers, but this one is also a very nice one. Coffee and stout in an almost holy union. If I’m forced to choose between the two beers Carolyn is the winner. It’s a fantastic blend of golden ale and red wine flavors – the 18 months in the red wine barrels has done magic to this beer. 

All through December, I’m opening my two X-mas beer calendars. The two calendars are The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar and my wife’s homemade X-mas calendar.

See you tomorrow!