Mikkeller & To Øl - Walk On Water

Picture from brewdrinkrun.com

Mikkeller and To Øl present to you - their effort to make the lightest beer in the world. What is the lightest beer in the world???

What we mean, is that Walk On Water is the beer with the lowest density. It simply weighs the least. Brewers and beer geeks alike tend to describe beer by its density (or gravity). The specific density of a liquid is determined by its amount of dissolved matter. Normally proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and ashes are the four factors governing the density of a liquid. But for a beer it is more appropriate to describe its density by two factors; carbohydrates(sugar) and alcohol. Alcohol is much lighter than water, while carbohydrates (or sugars) in solution will raise the density of water. When we brewed this beer the challenge was to ferment as much of the sugars from the malts as possible, without leaving any residual sugars. This is fairly easy for low ABV beer types, but is much more challenging for a 14% ABV beer - you could say the higher alcohol percentage the lighter, but then again high alcohol would lead to high amount of rest sugar and therefore the beer would be heavier. After working on the breakdown of residual sweetness (Dexedrine etc.) and optimistic our fermentation, we ended up with this beast of a boozy beer! 14% alcohol and no residual sugar making it a 100% attenuation fermented beer makes this the driest and lightest beer in the world. 

Had this at the Iron Abbey on draft!

The ABV is 14.0 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - American Strong Ale
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - Draft

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a clear orange color with a small white head that vanishes. Good lacing.
Aroma -  Boozy, dark fruits, i.e., figs and dates.
Taste -  All lot like a "Dogfish Head - Olde School", strong and boozy, sweet, dark fruits and a bit of spice.
Mouth Feel - Low carbonation and full body. Smooth but with a definite alcohol burn throughout.
Drinkable - An awesome brew fer sure!  The ah-ha moment came from the first sip, this is a "DFH Olde School Barleywine".  You cannot mistake the high alcohol and fig taste.  I shall seek out a bottle of this fine beverage and age it for a year or two.  Mikkeller is one of those breweries that just gets it right.  Everything I have sampled from these guys has not disappointed.  Do yourself a favor and find a bottle.  A note on the ratings below, not sure why the Beer Advocate and Ratebeer numbers are so low.  I guess some people just don't know a good beer when they have one, ha!

This beer pairs well with cheese and desserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A
BeerAdvocate Rating = 80
Ratebeer Rating = 77

Mikkeller - Santa's Little Helper (2010)

Santa's Little Helper is Mikkellers Christmas beer.  Each year Santa's Little Helper returns, but although Christmas is tradition and repetitions, then Santa's Little Helper is not the same for two consecutive years. Mikkel believes that you can always optimize a recipe, and it is exactly what he was doing with this Belgian-inspired beers. Since 2006 the recipe for Santa's Little Helper has been adjusted and improved. In this 2010 version is nothing short of sublime.

Santa’s Little Helper is a dark, strong Belgian ale, lightly spiced with sweet orange peel, coriander seeds, cinnamon and cocoa. Enjoy now or keep it in the cellar for many years to come.

Ingredients : Water, malt (pale, special-B and chocolate), flaked wheat, dark candy syrup, dark cassonade, hops (northern brewer, hallertauer, styrian goldings and simcoe), spices (bitter and sweet orange peels and nutmeg) and yeast.

Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in Lochristi, Belgium.

The ABV is 10.9 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - Belgium Strong Dark Ale
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a dark brown color with a tan head which hung around for half an hour. Great lacing.
Aroma -  Lots of spices, malts, sweet, dark fruits and hint of chocolate.
Taste -  Chocolate, malts, some bitter spices and just a touch of nutmeg, some dark fruits.
Mouth Feel - Medium carbonation, full body. Creamy.
Drinkable - A very good Belgium Xmas brew, like a spiced Belgium Doubel. I have never had a fresh bottle so can not compare with the two years of aging.  Though it taste very good for a two year old brew and the carbonation is perfect.

This beer pairs well with cheese, smoked or grilled meats, BBQ or Chinese cuisine.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A-.
BeerAdvocate Rating =90
Ratebeer Rating =98

Mikkeller - Beer Geek Breakfast (2011)

The big breakthrough in the international beer world arose with the clean and simple idea of adding french press coffee to an oatmeal stout. The result ‘Beer Geek Breakfast’ was voted number one stout on the international beer forum Ratebeer.com and kick-started Mikkeller’s international success. At the Danish Beer Festival 2006 Mikkel and Keller had their first official stand with eight different beers to offer. That same year two American distributers travelled all the way to Denmark to court the small brewery, which resulted in Mikkeller signing a distribution deal with the American beer distributor, Shelton Brothers. To cope with the demand, the two brewers started brewing Beer Geek Breakfast at the Danish microbrewery Gourmet Bryggeriet. In the beginning of 2007 Keller left Mikkeller to pursue a career as an editor of the Danish music magazine Soundvenue, and Mikkel continued on his own with the ambition of taking Mikkeller to another level.

Recent batch of this has been brewed by Mikkeller at Nøgne Ø. Has also been brewed at Gourmetbryggeriet, Denmark.

English: An oatmeal stout with 25.0% oat-based ingredients and a nice touch of gourmet coffee. A beer that goes extremely well with breakfast.
Ingredients : Water, malt (pils, oat, smoked, caramunich, brown, pale chocolate and chocolate), roasted barley, flaked oats, hops (centennial and cascade), ale yeast and gourmet coffee.

The ABV is 7.5 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - Oatmeal Stout
Glass to use- Pint Glass, Snifter, Tumbler or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a very dark brown or black ink color with a big thick dark tan head that resembles a Guinness head. Great lacing.
Aroma - Chocolate, malts, oats, sweet and hints of coffee.
Taste -  Malty, chocolate, sweet, slight bitterness from the coffee. However as it warms up the coffee taste comes through more clear.
Mouth Feel - Medium carbonation, full body.  Creamy and smooth.
Drinkable - I've been anticipating the flavor for a while.  I purchased this bottle over a year ago and decided tonight was the night to pop it opening. It was on a very cold and snowy night in Philly. I was not disappointed, very well balanced and just a damn good tasting brew!

This beer pairs well with cheese, chocolate and smoked or grilled meats.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A.
BeerAdvocate Rating =93
Ratebeer Rating =100

Mikkeller - Big Worst (2011)

Big Worst is the strongest beer of Denmark with it's 17.6 % ABV. Second place on that list you find Mikkeller's Black. But as Mikkel Borg Bjergsø explained with his usual modesty: "My shoulders are wide enough for both gold, silver and bronze medals - this category included". Big Worst is a barley wine and it's sparse carbonation and vast amounts of hops keeps the sugar in check and makes Big Worst surprisingly easy to drink. Dangerously easy even








First it was Big Bad Barley Wine
Second it was Big Worse Barley Wine (see my review click here)
Next was Big Worst Barley Wine -- 17.6% ABV
Now a new Big Worst Barley Wine -- a whopping 18.5% ABV

I am told this is called the "Experimental Version". Cannot find much on it. It is a slightly different bottle and the beer looks to be lighter in color than the 17.6% version?

First Batch: 17.6% ABV January 2010 Second Batch: 18.5% ABV March 2011

The ABV is 18.5 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - English Barleywine
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet, Chalice or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - 375ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a tangerine color with a very small white head that disappeared quickly. Clear coat lacing that sticks to the glass.
Aroma - Dark fruit like cherries, figs and plums.
Taste -  Tart and tangy, sweet, strong fig notes.
Mouth Feel - Low/no carbonation, full body and sticky.  Finishes with a nice slow alcohol burn.
Drinkable - Wow, I found this bottle last year and decided it was time to give it a go.  Pretty sweet but not over the top.  You can definitely taste the alcohol. Just got better as it warmed up to room temperature.  This brew is similar to Dogfish Head's Old School Barleywine. 

This beer pairs well with cheese and desserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A.
BeerAdvocate Rating =83
Ratebeer Rating =96

Struise Mikkeller Elliot Brew

Behold the second of RateBeer.com’s Worldwide Masters Series! This request edition ale is the crafted alchemy of a party of some of Europe’s finest brewers, Mikkel Bjergsø and Kristian Keller of Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Urbain Coutteau, Carlo Grootaert, Phil Driessens, and Peter Braem of De Struise Brouwers (Woesten-Vleteren, Belgium).



Struise-Mikkeller is "Best of two worlds". They delivered an IPA with 130 IBU (Batch I), 150 IBU (Batch II), 163 IBU (Batch III), but a bitterness hidden the Struise way, counter balanced by maltyness, alcohol and rest sugars. 

Had this at Monk's.

The ABV is 9.0 and the IBU rating is 150
Style - Imperial IPA
Glass to use- Pint Glass, Tumbler or Snifter
Delivery 350ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a amber color with a big white head. Great lacing.
Aroma - A strong raw hop aroma like just picked from the vine.  
Taste -  Hoppy and complex, a lot going on here, spices. 
Mouth Feel - Medium carbonation and body, fuzzy with a tangy metallic after taste.
Drinkable - Very good brew, a bit different. Give it a go...

This beer may pair well with cheese and grilled meats.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A-
BeerAdvocate Rating =B+
Ratebeer Rating =99

Mikkeller - Big Worse (2009)

Big Worse is the long awaited big brother of the small test brew Big Bad Barley Wine. The idea behind Big Worse is still to make a simple yet heavy barley wine - just like it’s smaller brother. But this time both the alcohol and bitterness has been pumped up! Big Worse is both thick and sweet and is the perfect beer for desserts. Enjoy it now or keep it for many years. Best stored dark and at cellar temperature.

First it was Big Bad Barley Wine
Second it was Big Worse Barley Wine 
Next was Big Worst Barley Wine -- 17.6% ABV
Now a new Big Worst Barley Wine -- a whopping 18.5% ABV







I had this at Monk's. We could not figure out the vintage, though the label had some age to it, thinking its a 2008 bottle. 

The ABV is 12.0 and the IBU rating is ??

Style - English Barleywine

Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet, Chalice or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - 375ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a dark brown color with no head. Little lacing that sticks to the glass.
Aroma - Some dark fruits, malty, caramel and some toffee.
Taste -  Malty, sweet, some cotton candy and dark fruits. A bit hoppy.
Mouth Feel - Low carbonation, full body and sticky.  A dry after taste. 
Drinkable - A three year old barleywine, nice!  I think it was a 2009 bottle according to the bartender.  I like this a lot. 

This beer pairs well with cheese and desserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A+.
BeerAdvocate Rating =B+
Ratebeer Rating =98

BrewDog - Mikkeller - Divine Rebel

The word on the street is that on the 23rd November 2008 Mikkel (www.mikkeller.dk) arrived at BrewDog Brewery on a cold, snowy Sunday morning.  According to the legend 2 of Europe's most experimental, boundry pushing brewers combined forces to produce a rebellious beer that combined their respective talents and brewing skills.  The 12.5% Barley Wine fermented well, the champagne yeast drew it ever closer to 12.5%. The beer was brewed with a single hop variety and was going to be partially aged in oak casks.

Brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller from Denmark. Malt Beverage, 1/4 of which has been aged in mortiach whiskey casks for a year.

I had been searching for this for a few years then found it at the Iron Abbey on draft.   

The ABV is 12.5 and the IBU rating is ??

Style - English Barleywine

Glass to use- Pint Glass, Snifter, Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - Draft

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a dark amber color with a tan head. Little lacing.
Aroma - Sweet like candy, malty, oaky and hints of vanilla.
Taste -  Same as the noise plus, very sweet,oak tannins.
Mouth Feel - Medium carbonation.  Medium to full body.  Harsh hoppy finish.
Drinkable - After I let it warm up a bit, more complex characteristic show up.Like a hint of whiskey that comes through in a good way.  This is a sipper, and you should let it warm up like any other barleywine. 

This beer may pair well with cheese and deserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A+.
BeerAdvocate Rating =B+
Ratebeer Rating = 97