Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Beer Review: Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Cognac Edition)

Reviewing the Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Cognac Edition) from Mikkeller.
Score: 82

2012 vintage bottle served in a snifter glass and enjoyed on 07/30/12. A hearty thank you to Bryan Hernandez for buying me a bottle of this to celebrate the completion of the Illinois Bar Exam.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark coffee color. Served with a finger of fudgey brown head that totally settles. No lacing or retention. 3.5/5

Smell: Sharp, sweet red grape and cherry aromas. Cognac, ample "wood" and "barrel" that is not very blended into the aroma so much as it stands out. Coffee too. 3.5/5

Taste: Burnt, acrid coffee, "barrel and wood" flavor, cherry, red grape sweetness and fudge. Sweet and overly acidic. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, minimal carbonation. Sticky, acrid and sweet mouthfeel. 2/5

Overall: Rather than it being an integrating component, I am tasting/smelling too much "barrel" here. This beer is also way too acidic. The right flavor components for a potentially delicious beer are here, but there are too many pieces that do not seem to coalesce so much as they simply stand out. After this beer, I think I'm absolutely done with Mikkeller beers. Beer Geek Rodeo (a collaboration with Jester King) gave me hope, but Mikkeller is quite frankly entirely too expensive for what they are and they seem to miss substantially more often with their experiments than they hit. 8.5 oz's seems like a cheap sized pour, but I assure you it's harder to finish a bottle of this than you would otherwise believe.

Recommendation: Skip this one; it is incredibly overpriced.

Pairings: Green apples and honey.

Cost: $14.99 for an 8.5 oz beer.

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