Beer - #613 - Carlsberg - Elephant

Carlsberg Elephant, a blast from the past, blasting the music, and blasting the numbers, and blast the party.

En god gammaldags elefant. 

A 500ml can of a beer of 7.2% ABV, making this 216 calories a serve, and this would be 2.84 standard drink units in the can.

Brewed by Carlsberg Brewery in the style that is  Imperial Pils/Strong Pale Lager and they do that in Copenhagen, Denmark

Carlsberg Elephant Beer is an amber-coloured beer with big intensity in its aroma, and with a distinct maltyness.

[caption id="attachment_11239" align="alignleft" width="300"] Frowning Man with the Frowning Elephant[/caption]

There is notes of honey in the aroma.

The palate of Carlsberg Elephant shows a good balance between a good body from the alcohol, and a discrete sweetness which is tamed by the sophisticated bitterness of the aftertaste.

So what could possibly go wrong with that ?

Familiar hoppy lager sour aroma. Pour is rather dull with a minimal head despite my best efforts, orange golden colour, somewhat expected.

Has that hoppy harshness and is fairly sweet to drink.

Alarmingly easy to drink truth be told, and I've had far far worse malt and grain heavy lagers that are a bit of a train crash, I really think I could willingly have a few of these and not be worried about being shunned by the beer snobs.

Could do with dialling up the hop harness a bit to make it more of an experience, and how they hide the alcohol is clever and devious, I think that possibly after the 3rd one you might not care so much.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 of its things from the thing. I liked it, I'm not embarrassed to say that, it was quaffable and I managed to drink it double quick time. For the price sometimes you have to go a bit bulk over substance, with this though you get a bit of substance.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? I am, it's alarmingly good and mellow not harsh or cloying and difficult.
Would I have another? I really would and if I see them I'd buy some more.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I would because it isn't a hard drinking beer, and would slip down easy and make the conversation all that much more interesting

Music for this, Paul Weller,  Started out with the band The Jam, Now a solo career, a new album Saturns Pattern, this is the track of that name. OF course you can listen here on the Spotify or wherever takes your fancy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px-JKHK3FCk

I have to say that I wasn't enamoured of the Paul Weller effort, it's all a bit vanilla and safe, nothing lyrically or musically that would make you go again, which is a shame because you sit here remembering 'the Jam' and their songs like you do the 'Elephant Beer' and frankly the Elephant beer wins the as I like it and remember it round.

Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils

Most commonly found in Poland, but also in other European countries as well, especially the East. These are essentially stronger versions of pilsners, though the increased malt and alcohol will noticeably reduce the hop accent. Because these are usually all-malt, and comfortably hopped, they are easily distinguishable from malt liquors. Without the malt character of bocks, these are worthy of a style all their own. In the US, a similar idea has been derived and is usually called Imperial Pilsner.

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• Paul Weller Feared He Was Drinking Himself To Death

Beer - #xxx - Mikkeller - Nelson Sauvignon

Undoubtedly the most expensive beer I've brought.

the man says It’s hard to name a favourite among your children. But if I have to choose one it has to be Nelson Sauvignon. It’s a light Belgian ale brewed with brettanomyces and enzymes for the driest possible beer. We used Nelson Sauvin hops, which have grape characteristics and it is aged on white wine barrels. This is done to imitate Champagne – and I actually think we succeeded.
… But my favorites much depend on the mood. Maybe I prefer wine?

Champagne sized 750 ml bottle of beer, 9%ABV, so 270 calories a serve size, and this would be

Of course by Mikkeller this one brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in the style most likely to be Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut, or at a pinch  Belgian Strong Ale and they're in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nelson Sauvignon is a New Year beer it is fermented with ale yeast, brettanomyces and enzymes. Then it has been aged three months in Austrian white wine casks. Very dry, very vinous and very delicious.

Brygget af basismalt og under mæskníngen og gæringen tilsat enzymer for at opnå en så høj forgærbarhed som overhovedet muligt. Til både bitter-, smags- og aromahumle er brugt den New Zealandske humlesort ‘Nelson Sauvin’ som er opkaldt efter sine druekarakterer, der bringer minder til den New Zealandske hvidvinsdrue Sauvignon Blanc. Af gær er benyttet både champagnegær og brettanomyces og pga. enzymerne er øllen gæret meget langt ned og dermed er slutresultatet en meget tør øl. Efter endt gæring har øllen ligget 5 måneder på hvidvinsfade fra Østrigske Weingut Kollwentz og opnået yderligere karakter

Brewed of base malt and during mashing and fermentation enzymes added to achieve a high fermentability as possible. For both bitterness , flavor and aroma hops are used the New Zealand hop variety ' Nelson Sauvin ' named after its grape characters that recalls to the New Zealand white wine grape Sauvignon Blanc. By yeast is used both champagnegær and brettanomyces and due . Enzymes , the beer is fermented very far down and thus the end result is a very dry beer . After fermentation the beer has been five months in white wine casks from Austrian Weingut Kollwentz and achieved additional character.

BELGIAN STRONG ALE

Belgian Strong Ales can vary from pale to dark brown in color, darker ales may be colored with dark candy sugar. Hop flavor can range from low to high, while hop aroma is low. The beers are medium to full-bodied and have a high alcoholic character. Types of beers included here include tripels, dubbels and ultra-strong abbey ales.

Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut

Bière de Champagne (or Bière Brut) is a hybrid beer style, generally made in Belgium and France. The "brewing" process for this style can more resemble the process used in sparkling wine (AKA Champagne). In general, these beers are lighter in body, higher in alcohol and quite carbonated. Color can range from almost clear to medium/dark gold. ABV can range from 9% to 14% or more.

Or...

A rare specialty beer style with few examples available worldwide, Bière de Champagne embodies the fruity, estery, spicy phenolic character of many Belgian Ales, with the body and fine bubbly texture and mouth-feel of Champagnes and other sparkling wines. With the time and care involved in its production, it gives the term “specialty beer” new meaning. DEUS Brut des Flandres, for example, goes through a months-long process of three separate fermentations, including a bottle fermentation (bottle conditioning), after which the bottles travel from Belgium to France where they go through the remuage process (collecting the yeast in the bottle necks by inverting the bottles) and riddling them (slightly turning the bottles over a period of weeks). The yeast is then removed from the bottles by dégorgement, where the yeast is frozen in the bottle neck and the frozen bung of yeast is driven out by pressure. Refreshing, yet subtle and refined, these are ideal as an aperitif and for celebrations.

Beer - #518 - Mikkeller - Mielcke & Hurtigkarl - a redux

The unpronounceable beer Mikkeller Mielcke & Hurtigkarl -  A Mikkeller beer.

Back to the future beer, back to an old standard, standard numbers and a standard to meet at a party.

... something something something Château d’Yquem

This is a single bottle of a 375ml, 8.7% ABV beer, which is 2.6 standard drinks in NZ. It is 261 calories a serve size, and this is 2.61 standard drink units in the bottle.

For Mikkeller this is brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in the style of a Belgian Strong Ale  and that all happens in that place from Copenhagen, Denmark

Brewed with water, malt, sugar, hops and yeast.

[caption id="attachment_10128" align="alignright" width="300"] Bwahahah, earphones in, cheezy smile, might be New Year Eve.[/caption]

Stored for 6 months Aged in Chateau D'Yquem barrels

This beer was brewed especially for a Mikkeller and Three Floyds dinner at a restaurant named Mielcke & Hurtigkarl (try and pronounce it, I dare you!) in Copenhagen.

It was aged in Château d’Yquem barrels,  Château d’Yquem being the world’s most famous (and probably the most expensive, too) dessert wine.

Stored for a long time in my fridge, its time has come again. I remember being a bit doe eyed about this last time I drank, I'm hoping that either I was right or the money made me all gooey. This wasn't a cheap beer to buy. But it's not an investment, and probably not a beer to cellar, I'm so not an expert in this.

Unusual green glass bottle, and a simple cap, it's not fancy. Seriously you'd never know.

This is intensely bready yeasty on opening, and then candy cane.

Pours like angels tears, or dark chestnut, and is a lot darker than the bottle gives away, and gives to a lovely firm but smallish head too.

A real melange of sweet aroma, candy sugar, coconut? as well.

The bitterness catches you, but that sweetness and sugars are really big. Quite dry on the finish too.

I'm holding back on the gushing enthusiasm this time, clearly.

It is then, for me, now, a very understated but sweet beer. Does my heart soar every sup? Not quite. It's a little shy on fullness.

This got warmer as I sang and danced my way around the table, and it's gets a much more sugary middle, like you think that'd be a good thing.

This really is 'sipping beer' the dead opposite of "Session beer" and it really does get better and more intense the longer it is in the glass. Stopping the bus though, this isn't the end of beers, not the last beer, the last page of the interwebs, it's just a really nice complex, soft, enjoyable, sweet, sour, entertaining beer of some merits. Those kids and the Chateau must know a thing or two with the sugary grapes.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 a of its things from the thing. It really is a thing to enjoy and savour, there is nothing to suggest a fall-over 8.7% ABV in this, and if you had the coins you'd buy another, perhaps. 

I can imagine this at the end of a dinner, just chubbed up with good foods, great musics on in the background, and sitting there smiling like a smiling thing. It really is a good reminiscing beer.

I don't think it's a beer you could start an evening with, for me a 'dessert beer' then, if such a thing exists, this might qualify.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I love this beer, it's like a 4 song beer.


2. Would I have another?  Sadly I'm not made of gold and I might have done my dash, sponsor me though and I would so go again. In the right place and at the right time. 


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, you can't go past a beer that makes to stop and ponder the universe. 

Musically I'm listening to Squeeze, a band I have far to much attachment to, This is "Tempted". I've seen them live, I've seen the stage play, I know most of the words, I should indeed get a life. I quite like "Goodbye Girl" too, #JustSaying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmlCJFaUnKI

BELGIAN STRONG ALE

Belgian Strong Ales can vary from pale to dark brown in color, darker ales may be colored with dark candy sugar. Hop flavor can range from low to high, while hop aroma is low. The beers are medium to full-bodied and have a high alcoholic character. Types of beers included here include tripels, dubbels and ultra-strong abbey ales.

Beer - #405 - Mikkeller - Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Another beer with a long torturous name Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel.

So this is a Mikkeller beer, brewed at Lervig Aktiebryggeri as an Imperial Stout and they are in Copenhagen, Denmark, even if the bottle says it's brewed and bottled in Norway, confused much?

10.9% ABV this one!,  327 calories, and only a 335 ml bottle (11.2 fl oz), making it 2.84 standard drink units in this.

Imperial oatmeal stout brewed with coffee. Ingredients: Water, malts, hops, yeast and Vietnamese ca phe chon coffee

Brewed by Mikkeller at Nøgne Ø, Norway. 

This imperial Oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civetcats. The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries.Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean. Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee. The exceedingly rare Civet Coffee has a strong taste and an even stronger aroma.
Ingredients : Water, malts, hops, yeast and Vietnamese ca phe chon coffee

After a Sunday that whizzed by, and having had a 5km run that according to the app earned me 468 calories  I'm looking forward to this, and also it's been in the fridge a while and needed to see the daylight. 

Beer - #355 - Mikkeller - Mielcke & Hurtigkarl

The unpronounceable beer Mikkeller Mielcke & Hurtigkarl -  A Mikkeller beer

Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in the style of a Belgian Strong Ale  from Copenhagen, Denmark

Brewed with water, malt, sugar, hops and yeast.

Stored for 6 months Aged in Chateau D'Yquem barrels

This beer was brewed especially for a Mikkeller and Three Floyds dinner at a restaurant named Mielcke & Hurtigkarl (try and pronounce it, I dare you!) in Copenhagen. It was aged in Château d’Yquem barrels,  Château d’Yquem being the world’s most famous (and probably the most expensive, too) dessert wine.

Single bottle of a 375ml, 8.7% ABV beer, which is 2.6 standard drinks in NZ.

[caption id="attachment_7900" align="alignright" width="112"] Château d’Yquem.[/caption]

This is possibly the most expensive beer I’ve drunk, and I know there are more expensive to acquire beers out there, but this sets a new personal benchmark. In NZ$ this was $30, for 375ml. This is about 261 calories.

This isn't universally liked though. I'm about to find out.

Green glass bottle, healthy pop on opening, sour sweet aroma.

Dark copper pour, with a lively and persistent head, the sour aroma leaves quickly, although not completely.

And Gosh!, that's interesting. A lot of sweetness, you might expect that, and intense depth, with a tip of tongue bitterness.

I'm not saying this because I'm compelled by cost to do so, but this is pretty nice drinking. Plus it's also a style that I like anyway.

Lovely honey notes, and a reasonably long finish.

The bitterness is spot on, for me, and the whole thing is well balances and sits well in the glass and in the mouth, I'm getting a little poetic.

As it warms the aroma gathers some fruits and other sweets around it.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 a of its things from the thing. It lacks a depth of caramel in the palate that would make this a spectacular beer. In and of itself it is really good and I've found that I drank it too quickly.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Oath yes


2. Would I have another? yes, I do have another in the fridge for a later date


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, without a doubt, a small glass each not a bottle each, I'm not Bill Gates rich.

Musically I'm listening to the Psychic Maps;

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyyHPx2hl90&w=420&h=315]

 

BELGIAN STRONG ALE

Belgian Strong Ales can vary from pale to dark brown in color, darker ales may be colored with dark candy sugar. Hop flavor can range from low to high, while hop aroma is low. The beers are medium to full-bodied and have a high alcoholic character. Types of beers included here include tripels, dubbels and ultra-strong abbey ales.

Beer - #348 - Amager/Mikkeller - Hr. Frederiksens Væsel Brunch Barrel Aged

Same but different this is the Amager/Mikkeller Hr. Frederiksens Væsel Brunch - the  Barrel Aged version.

Brewed by Amager Bryghus in the style of an Imperial Stout and not new to me, being the second beer -  from Kastrup, Denmark

Again - 10.7% ABV beer in a 500mml bottle, making it about 321 calories and this would be 4.2 standard drink units.

[caption id="attachment_7831" align="alignright" width="300"] Selfie[/caption]

This is a unique blend of two of the best imperial stouts. We have brewed Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel and Amager Brewery Mr. Frederiksen separately and then blended the two brews. This has given a very balanced, harmonious and full-bodied beer.  An imperial stout brewed with: water, barley malt, wheat malt, oat malt, sugar, hops, yeast and gourmet væselkaffe.

This then to labour the point is the Bourbon barrel-aged edition.

You can tell, the label is white not yellow. You can tell I also discovered the underline, bold and colour buttons :-)

Different more sour aroma on opening for this one.

Pours the same pitch black pour but the head is creamier and thicker, go on I could be telling you truth!, I thought it was darker too.

In the glass there is more a vanilla aroma, the head settles to more a coffee film.

Totally different profile from the standard one. This is a bit sour and confronting.  having one then the other you notice that this finishes with more cigar smokiness for instance, and that the up front taste is totally different.

Gone is the sweetness, still there is the alcohol. So then,  deep breath.

The Bourbon, its the bourbon, it really is there, and you know how I know, I don't drink bourbon, and I know the taste, so for me it's really making a presence. Really.

None of the polite coffee and fruits things going on, although the aroma does still have some coffee/chocolate notes going on. Alcohol astringent is still up front and not in the back like sometimes you get with Belgium beers as part of the finish.

This then is the same but different, I can pick that this has bourbon or hard liquor in in as a thing, I can still pick the coffee/chocolate notes, and the sweetness is there but less present.

It is still dangerously drinkable and will get you in a world of pain. 

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a 9.25 on the scale of it’s own making.  Why though, why is this not a 10?  I can't tell you why. Actually I can. There is still the sourness in this. and although this has more body and is a better beer it still isn't a total delivery.

That wager that you should enjoy it or I'd pay you back might apply to this. I know that 'infused' or 'Barrel Aged' beers are a thing, for me this works because the 'thing' isn't my usual thing.

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes, yes I am


2. Would I have another? I thank you for asking, I will


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yup. Invite me over, I'm brining.

Musically we moved on, it was MrsPhil's turn to pick - and so -  Snow Patrol, Songs for Polar Bears. And I sang along as I know most of the words, or I'm good at improv. Judge me.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWsln8EtS0w&w=420&h=315]

 

IMPERIAL STOUT
Imperial stouts are usually extremely dark brown to black in color with flavors that are intensely malty, deeply roasted and sometimes with accents of dark fruit (raisin, fig) or milk sourness. The bitterness is typically medium and often the low sie of that. Imperial stouts are strong and often exceed 8% by volume.

Beer - #347 - Amager/Mikkeller - Hr. Frederiksens Væsel Brunch

Tonight I'm kicking off with the extended named Amager/Mikkeller Hr. Frederiksens Væsel Brunch - which is an Imperial Stout beer.

Brewed by Amager Bryghus in the style of an Imperial Stout and new to me, this is from Kastrup, Denmar. The label points out that this is brewed with coffee.

This is a 10.7% ABV beer in a 500ml bottle, making it about 321 calories and that makes this 4.2 standard drink units. Not to be taken lightly. Buy hey I pushed myself for a 5km run today so I did enough, right? That and I made bread to go with the dinner tonight.

[caption id="attachment_7820" align="alignleft" width="300"] Selfie[/caption]

This is a unique blend of two of the best imperial stouts. We have brewed Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel and Amager Brewery Mr. Frederiksen separately and then blended the two brews. This has given a very balanced, harmonious and full-bodied beer.  An imperial stout brewed with: water, barley malt, wheat malt, oat malt, sugar, hops, yeast and gourmet væselkaffe.

This is a very highly rated beer, but you know that I will tell it as I see it and I'm not going to ooh and agh because the everyone else did.

Aroma on opening does not give a lot away, perhaps a hint of coffee, although I would be wishing that.

Deep dark pour with a mocha coffee head of some thickness and creaminess. Smokey coffee aroma in the glass. Head settles back.

Then there is the initial surprise in the taste, this is very sweet, much more sweet than you'd be expecting, and it kind of brings you up a bit short. In a good way.

Alcohol astringent is apparent in this from the get-go, but it's the noise at the front before the crash of the coffee, chocolates, sweets and the sour bitterness that carries this along to a lovely feel in the mouth. Almost poetry!  Me that is not the beer.

Lots of fruit notes in this as I drink it, and thinking about it makes it all the more complex.

Alarmingly this is avery easy drinking beer, which you can attribute to the smoothness of the delivery added to the sweetness of taste, the nice carbonation and for me the coffee and fruit tastes. The only down note I could pick on would be the slightly sour finish, and that there isn't a lot of depth, the flavours are all bright and clamouring for the front.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a 9 on the scale of it's own making. It's not a 10 though, it does not have a knock out punch or a real depth of taste that would make this a complete delivery, it is however spectacularly good.

This could be one of those beers that I'd wager you'd enjoy and that if you didn't I would refund your costs, but I'm not sure.

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes very much so


2. Would I have another? I would buy this with my own money


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, this would be a great conversation carrier.

[caption id="attachment_7824" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Amp, the iPod and the jar of caps[/caption]

I was re-loading my iPod after a user-error saw all the songs deleted, and I stopped at Kings of Leon which I then dialled up to 11 ---  Need Somebody.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhXHvRoUd0&w=560&h=315]

IMPERIAL STOUT

Imperial stouts are usually extremely dark brown to black in color with flavors that are intensely malty, deeply roasted and sometimes with accents of dark fruit (raisin, fig) or milk sourness. The bitterness is typically medium and often the low sie of that. Imperial stouts are strong and often exceed 8% by volume.

 

Related articles

• Hr. Frederiksens Væsel BRUNCH


• Beer Style Spotlight: Stouts


• I'm a 'Legend', Imperial Stout & Untappd