[1] Review by Oiznop from Pittsburgh, PA, USA who has tried this beer once. (12/14/2008 8:19:32 PM)
"I can't help but wonder if the Rolling Stones should right a song about this one for the yuletide. At any rate, this new discovery was recommended by the inn keeper at the Sharp Edge Brasserie as we were cheering on the Steelers to victory over those dreaded Baltimore Rat Birds. Santa's Helper had a huge foamy latte like head on top of a pitch black hue. Unlike one I have ever seen before. There was a very nice balance to this treasure of a brew with regard to the hops and sweet flavor of burnt malts, thus making it very smooth. Coffee bean aromas wafted from the chalice, but on the buds, slight hints of cocoa and spice made everything nice. The finish was highly bitey with a hop tinge and a very alcoholic warming to it. Yet another top notch brew for the Christmas season. Yo Ho Ho! And please pour me some more!
"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[2] Review by eaglefan538 from DE, USA who has tried this beer once. (12/22/2007 8:26:03 AM)
"Bottle from SL, poured a full porter-brown to stout-like almost black color, somewhat motor oily looking, yet highly carbonated to keep it a bit airy looking and feeling in the mouth. Also, a little chewy. Tan colored head. Aroma was of berries, brown sugar, chocolate-mocha notes if not straight up coffee. The flavor followed suit, a presence of candi sugar too, yet this had a light astringency to it, light roasty bitterness too, which kept it from being "sweet," relative to other Belgian Strongs. Overall a nice experience, but not a great beer."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $14.99 Unit Cost: $9.46 per Pint
[3] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (10/23/2007 11:34:08 PM)
"As I pour this beer, aromas of caramelized bananas waft to my nose. The beer pours with an almost three-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head that sits atop a burnt amber colored brew that shows a slightly hazy, deep, ruby-red color when held up next to the light. Yep banana is definitely noticeable here; warming alcohol notes and the banana make me think of some sort of banana liquor, though not nearly as concentrated as that would be. Spicy clove notes sort of mix in with the banana aromas. It is surprising how dominant the banana is, I am having a hard time smelling anything else. Perhaps a touch of tart plum, some hints of cherry cough-syrup and some definite raisins aromatics help to round things out a little bit.
Soft, creamy, full feeling, yet with a slight prickle of carbonation, this beer is very smooth up front. Towards the end some sharper notes that seem derived from hot higher alcohols kick in. This definitely has some estery banana flavors to it as well. It reminds me somehow of a banana syrup, or perhaps it is more like a raisin syrup coating a banana. The finish, in addition to a touch of hot alcohols, has quite a phenolic spiciness to it in the form of a substantial clove flavor. The beer is definitely sweet & malty; the malt lends a raisin flavor as well as a touch of prune.
Definitely a bit rough still, this should still improve quite a bit for quite some time & maybe even get quite a bit better; if I had another bottle I probably wouldn't think about it for at least another two years. In the end I really do wish I had held on to this a bit longer, it is just not a big enough beer (I am mostly referring to residual malt character here, as the alcohol is certainly high enough) to stand up to the higher alcohols and phenolic spiciness."
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 22oz @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint
[4] Review by oh6gdx from Vaasa, Finland who has tried this beer once. (8/22/2007 4:33:31 AM)
"Dark copper coloured, mediumsized beige head. Aroma is spices, alcohol and some caramel malts. Flavour is sweet malts, spices, alcohol and some caramel. One of the more boring Mikkeller beers I've had. "
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by ante from Stockholm, Sweden who has tried this beer once. (5/25/2007 5:02:18 PM)
"Pours out in a hazy reddish brown colour, topped with a massive beige foam. Sweet aroma of caramel, spunned sugar, nuts, sweet licorice and dried cherries. Full, sweet and somewhat yeasty flavour of sweet licorice, raisin, nuts, red berries and alcohol. Long warming finish of spices, licorice, almond-paste, nuts and alcohol. "
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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(4.1)
