Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 2007

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled (thanks to whoever sent/gave this to me, lost track...). Very deep brown colour, close to black, mediumsized brown head, nice lace. Aroma is some sour fruits, mild roastiness, spiced, yeast and mild notes of raisins, plum and some nuttyness. Flavour is quite much the same along with some red berries and mild notes of vanilla. Aftertaste is chocolateish and a bit nutty with some spicy hints. Big beer and surprisingly full of everything. Hides the alcohol very well too.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a deep black color ale with a small but condensed light brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet dense malt with light vinous notes at the end. Taste is a complex mix between some spices and dry fruit with light dry finish including some vinous notes. Body is really full with a great creamy texture and great carbonation with no alcohol being apparent. Very well made and something I would like to try again.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

I can't help but wonder if the Rolling Stones should write 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 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Shared the bottle with a friend who likes his stouts and wanted something dark. "Well, this is a quad, so it probably won’t have coffee or chocolate in it." Ironically, I was wrong. Dark brown pour, nice pillowy head and decent lacing. A winelike aroma was detectable. The flavor was lots of molasses and dark fruit figgy/plum fruit (which I’m not overly fond of), but a surprisingly roasty mocha-like finish. Not really creamy or rich and a little acidic. Better as it warmed, but still not something I’ll be rushing out for again.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

An almost black beer, but with a red shine under a thick dark brown head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of chocolate, spices, yeast, and some berries. The flavor is sweet and very powerful and complex, the first thing that hits is yeast, pine, and spices, but then notes of chocolate, prunes, brown sugar, and over ripe fruits builds up, leading to a somewhat dry woody finish where notes of over ripe fruit and some of the spices lingers for a long while. This is a sipping beer - preferably in front of a fireplace - too bad I don’t have one.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours out in a dark thick brown colour with a rich and frothy tan-coloured foam. Sweet and spicy aroma of dark chocolate, raisins, coriander, fresh cherries, anise, sweet raspberries and yeast. Full-bodied with notes of dark chocolate, sweet fudge, brown sugar, mild coriander and red berries. Well-hidden alcohol. Long finish of raisin, figs, tar berries, sweet licorice and chocolate. Another superb offering from Mikkeller.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Aroma is strong alcohol and coffee overtones with some sweet malt as well as some bitter hops and dark chocolate. Appearance is a pitch black in color when held to the light with a medium-sized head on top that is light-brown in color and diminishes to a light lacing that is sticky and adheres to the glass. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with extreme complexity as well as spicy balance with a palate that is robust and well-rounded and very smooth as well as creamy. Flavor is smooth and creamy with malty sweetness as well as bitter chocolate and is chewy with some spice with an aftertaste that is a bit dry-like and a finish that is sweet with some peculiar coriander and very good. Overall, and very dynamic brew here for sure and very robust and highly recommended for sure!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours with a frothy, initially three-finger thick, deeply browned, tan colored head. The beer appears almost black in color, but has some amber hues to it. If held up to the light one can just barely see through it as it is so dark, concentrated ruby-red notes show up where the light is able to pierce through the beer. The aroma is spicy, malty and fruity, but the spice notes definitely seem to dominate. The spiciness has a sort of woody quality to it, though I can't quite place it. Aromas of cherries, maple, woody coriander, smoked salt, wintergreen, lightly roasted coffee, ample toasted grain, a touch of buttery dark caramel. This has an interesting aroma, the spices are hard to differentiate from the dark malt and sugar notes.

Quite sweet, much more so than I was expecting. After the first sip though it becomes much less sweet. The finish is a mix of alcohol and roasted grain flavors (though only lightly roasted like chocolate malt), with a light roast acidity, woody roast malt and espresso. Has similar flavor tones to Rochefort, which is I think the earthy / woody coriander notes. Dark fruit notes of raisins, prunes, dried figs join sweet candi sugar notes and molasses. Fairly light bodied for a beer of this strength, still a sipping brew because of the alcohol, but is dangerously drinkable. This is a touch chalky towards the finish with burnt grain husk flavors. It definitely needs a bit more texture and richness. At times with the coriander spice notes this takes on flavors of dr. pepper.

An interesting brew, I can't say I am thoroughly infatuated with the sweetness; the sweetness would be less noticeable if this was richer. This is much more drinkable out of the bottle than last years version, but I have a feeling a bit more age could add some richness and even texture. Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

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: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This was a murky brown pour with a tan head. The nose and flavor had lots of alcohol in them. Tasted at the Woodshop II Tasting at Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel