Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

I had heard a lot of positive things about a “gypsy-brewer” named Mikkel Borg Bjergsø aka  Mikkeller who supposedly has no brewery of his own but uses other brewers equipment to make some great beers.  Last week I was in the new “mega” beer store here in Atlanta called Hop City and I saw a bottle of their Beer Geek Breakfast so I got it.  This oatmeal breakfast stout with coffee has received good ratings so I thought I’d try it.  I had the beer with a “breakfast for dinner” of a fritatta with country ham and cheese.  Seemed like a good pairing:

Appearance: This beer is “stout dark” with a nice dark tan head that sticks around and has excellent lacing.  Poured into a snifter it looks very good just sitting in the glass.

Smell: The smell is excellent with lots of coffee, dark roasted malt, and chocolate just pouring out of the glass.  There is also some dark fruit hidden a bit in the back.

Taste: The mouthfeel is excellent with a ton of dark roasted coffee and chocolate.  There is a bit of acidity as well.  The dark fruit makes another appearance as well.  This beer is full bodied and hides the 7.5% ABV pretty well.

Drinkability: This is a fairly smooth drinking beer that coats your mouth with chocolatey/coffee goodness.

This is one of the best beers I have ever had.  The way it looks in the glass, the aroma it gives off, and the full bodied/full flavored taste are excellent.  I am partial to stouts, especially those with coffee and chocolate flavors.  Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast delivers on all fronts.  The only detriment (and its a small one) is the (very) slightly acidic component in the taste.  This affects the drinkability a tiny bit as well.  I’m nitpicking some and I think if I had reviewed this beer some other time I might have scored it a tad higher or lower, depending on my mood, etc.  In my book, any beer that gets 40 points or over is a great beer.  Get one if you can.  It is a little expensive ($8.99 for the 1 pint+ bottle here in Atlanta) but well worth it if you like full bodied stouts with coffee and chocolate.

Here’s the score:

1.  Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 9 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 18 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)

Total 44 (out of 50) Points -4 Mugs