From Mikkellers Dusty Cellars

We asked the skilled Mikkeller tasting panel to go down in the dusty cellars and try some of our old treasures to see if they are still beautiful.
The conclusion is - they are.
Here are the notes on six beautiful beers worth trying.

Cigar City - Maduro Brown Ale
A little flat when poured - but leaves anyhow a fine cappuccino colored head. Cloudy Coca-cola colored body. The aroma bares traces of wet soil and walnuts - this is authum blasting through the aroma. A mild hoppyness stands clear in the background along with some licorice root.
The mouth feel is mild and almost watery with caramel notes and a mild acidity as you find in fine mild coffees. Even though it has a rather thin appearance you still find the same kind of fatness in the background as in almost all Cigar City beers - there must be something in the water in Tampa.
It grows and opens up slowly in the glass for the better, so give it a little time. Serving temperature should therefore not be too low. Drink it not too cold (10*) The complexity of this beer will then be way more interesting. This beer works excellent with a handful of almonds.

Ale Smith - Decandence 2009
The Pour is dark and clear mahogany brown with a tanned head that tends to fade rather quickly
Aroma: Dark Rye bread stands out clearly topped with some sweet banana and caramel. It’s pretty perfumed and has a potent American attitude. The aroma is powerful, and some will might find it a bit too much
The taste: Its sweet sweet sweet with the impression of toffee and nuts. At the same time it has a very strong touch of alcohol that tends to balance the sweetness. You get a sense of Christmas as you find in traditional “Pain d`épices or ginger bread. The mouth feel is creamy and smooth with a somehow dry finish that tends to add some bitterness to the sweet picture
If short of a dessert - or if you just want something interesting to make your vanilla ice cream float - this is your beer. This is truly a decadent beer, that is good to share and if you are in to Weizen beers and prefer them strong, you will love this one.

Jolly Pumpkin - Weizen Bam
It pours a fine clear golden pour with a tiny white head.
The aroma is rather perfumic and as in most weizen beers, you will find a little twist of banana. Besides that you will find spicy brettanomyces, white pepper and fresh sour peaches with finally a mild twist of honey.
The taste is very fresh with multiple impressions of citric fruits. It can be compared with fine farm ciders from France and northern Spain that appears with impressions of brettanomyces and very acidic. The wooden notes from the barrels adds perfectly to a complex picture where also a horsy attitude and unmalted wheat is present. The mouth feell is both lively with a medium high carbonation level, but at the same time with a dry twist. It fades out rather quickly in the mouth with a mild spicy and fat attitude.
This beer would be an excellent starter or just used as an aperitif. This beer is very drinkable and you can’t tell that it is a little old (If it is old). You will find way more interesting stuff going on in this one compared to your normal hefe weizen beers. So delicious

Cigar City - Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale
Pours a deep brown with an impressive thick light brown head that stays there
The first thing that hits you in the aroma is a citric feeling. It is with dried figs, and like a longly cooked apple compote with brown sugar and some lemon peel added. Fermented fruits and hint of licorice and yeasts tops the picture with a malty sweetness.
Also in the taste you will find impression of fermented fruits and we think of date syrup and cacao beans. We kind of miss the nutty flavors and it is not that harmonious anymore. You can tell that this s not that fresh anymore. It’s a high carbonated beer with a creamy and fat attitude. The high carbonation level freshens up the beer so the sweet flavors come in gear and appears in a tempting and balanced way.

Jolly Pumpkin - Bam Noire
It appears almost redish with some sediment in the bottom of the glass. Comes with a tanned thick head
The aroma is dominated of a calm and pleasant feeling of brettanomyces followed by red berries like elder berries and rosehips. The taste is blooming with roses and hibiscus. There is a calm presents of roasty malt sweetness and caramel. A fine and not aggressive bitterness like in grape seeds finish it off. Lovely dry attitude with some stuff picking at your tounge due to an aggressive carbonation - you get almost the same feeling as when drinking champagne.
No signs what so ever that this should be old or on its way to undrinkable - its fresh, clean and oh so enjoyable. Would work well with dry and salty cheeses but not with strong and dominating sausages .

Mikkeller/Stillwater/Fanø - Gipsy tears ba in redwine
All black beer with a massive thick brown head.
Burned malts and brett leaves a very dry aromatic impression. The wine reveals itself clearly in the nose along with the wooden notes from the barrels. Hints of strong salty Scandinavian licorice stands out.
The taste is massive and again the wine and the barrels enter the stage in first line. The burned malts adds to a picture of sourness. The body is not as thick as expected an appears rather light witch clashes a bit with the heavy notes of salt and sourness that you find in the taste.
Very roasted and very effected of the wine barrels . This is both interesting but maybe also a bit off - the stout kind of disappear and it has a bit too much acid to call it “balanced”.