Mikkeller: Beer Geek Vanilla Shake (Denmark: Imperial Stout: 13% ABV)
Visual: Black and still. A good milky chocolate head but that soon fades.
Nose: Milky coffee. Vanilla and toffee. Banana milk shake. Milky chocolate.
Body: Very thick. Vanilla. Toffee. Milky chocolate. Banana milk shake. Texture froths up lovely. Bitter chocolate underneath and bitter coffee. Molasses. Slight hop oils in the middle.
Finish: Bitter chocolate. Roasted nuts. Finally a quite bitter touch here. Bitter coffee. Chocolate orange.
Conclusion: Bloody hell this is like a fondue that has had a big wodge of condensed cream dropped in texture wise. On the tongue this thing is rich and thick, or maybe like a thick milk shake if we go with the beer’s chosen analogy.
That must be what lets it develop such big and brash flavours I guess, there is huge sweet toffee, banana milk shake and vanilla up first. Luxury feeling and yet not sickly sweet. Next up is the nicely bitter coffee and chocolate that hides behind, though any real bitterness is saved for the finish as we find as we move on.
There is a similar contrast between aroma and finish, the smell epitomises the sweet and thick syrup, while the finish is all the traditional bitter and roasted elements of a stout. It is like the aroma and the finish are warring and the main body is the battleground where they shift back and forth over contested territory.
Lovely, thick and rich. So we will get onto the flaws shall we? Well, they are minor. The two elements of sweet and bitterness do feel at war rather than integrated, but that is about it.
The sweetness is great, and that froth heavy texture really lets it asset itself. The finish is impressively bitter as a capstone. I would still give the nod to beer geek brunch weasel for the best of the range as it is the whole, integrated, package, but this is damn nice. If it could just smooth the transition between elements it would be excellent.
So, yes it expresses the “Vanilla Shake” very well, even if I would say Banana shake myself. It still manages to go into unmistakable stout elements and gives a good package overall. Very nice.
Background: Ah the Beer Geek * selection, I seriously love this set of beers so when I saw there was a new, vanilla infused version I had to give it a try. Seriously, Oatmeal stout with vanilla and coffee from Mikkeller, how could this not work? As you may have guessed, I was a bit excited for this one. Mikkeller are nicknamed the gypsy brewers as they do not actually own their own brewery, instead renting time at other breweries.
