Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Beer Geek Brunch Weasel 10.9% ABV
Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Mikkeller

First Breakfast and now on to Brunch.  I’m going to start feeling like a hobbit if this trend continues.

Truth be told, I acquired the Beer Geek Brunch Weasel first.  I was passing through Mount Vernon, Il and stopped at Plaza Liquor Mart, as I’m always on the hunt for beers that aren’t available in my home distribution area.  They happened to have a few bottles of this on hand. This store has the largest selection of Craft beer in all of Mount Vernon and the gentleman working (whose name I have forgotten) was incredibly kind and informative.  He even gave me a couple of brews that were about to go out of date, for free.  He said “I’d rather give them to someone like you, who will enjoy them, than throw them out.”  If you happen to be in Mount Vernon, definitely hit up Plaza Liquor Mart for your Craft beer needs.

While Breakfast was enjoyable, Brunch Weasel has surpassed it.

I know what you are thinking.  “Of course you like Brunch Weasel better, it has a higher alcohol content, you lush.”  While I do enjoy the higher octane beers, more alcohol doesn’t necessarily make a for a better beer¹.  The Brunch Weasel is smooth and rich, with a slight coffee bitterness in the finish, the inverse of the Breakfast.  The smokiness is a bit more subtle, and there is more depth to the Brunch Weasel.  I am able to discern more chocolate notes also.  This may just come down to my liking the the Vietnamese ca phe con coffee used in this brew, in lieu of French Press coffee used in the Breakfast.  I still highly recommend both beers.

In life as with these beers, I prefer Brunch over Breakfast.

I had heard of Mikkeller quite awhile ago but never thought to purchase any of their offerings.  What changed my mind and made me interested, intrigued in fact, was Bitch Beer’s great Q & A with Mikkeller’s Mikkel Borg Bjergsø.  Nothing quite as inspiring as an autodidact home brewer who is now known and critically acclaimed the world over.

Here is the boiled down version of his story.  He was a financially strapped math and physics teacher who had been introduced to great tasting beers.  He figured he could save money by brewing his own beers.  Mikkel and his friend Kristian Keller started performing “physics experiments” with beer ingredients  They really enjoyed the beers they made and so did many of their friends.  They then started entering blind taste tests and winning.  The rest, so to speak, is history.  Check out the Brewery category at the Mikkeller website for a more complete history, or better yet buy “Mikkeller’s Book of Beer.”

I look forward to trying out other Mikkeller brews that I can get my hands on, and another Beer Geek Breakfast and Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, or two.

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1. I recently had an Avery Samael’s Oak-Aged Ale (2015).  It sits at 14.6% and was not a pleasant experience, to be polite.  I’m hoping this beer gets much much better with age.  Otherwise I made a huge mistake in buying two bottles. ↩

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