Beer of the Week: Træblod Mint Chocolate

From the Beer Writer: There’s nothing like the anticipation that comes with an annual release of a specialty beer. Proof comes care of the current PtY fervor (Pliny the Younger triple IPA from Russian River Brewing for those who love beer enough to be reading this but are somehow unfamiliar with the beerophile acronym). As saved dates on beer fans’ calendars get closer, their anticipation of experiencing the latest year’s vintage grows. Honestly, what sort of beer lover wouldn’t look forward to a day completely devoted to enjoying something that offers something simultaneously new and nostalgic? Enter this week’s featured beer: Træblod Mint Chocolate. Each year, Miramar-based Mikkeller Brewing San Diego releases barrel-aged versions of its maple syrup- and coffee-infused imperial stout, including one-offs mimicking popular breakfasts and desserts. This year, MBSD’s brew crew took on a legendary, notably thin cookie that also comes around this time of year care of green-clad youths. Even if you don’t know what PtY is, you know what I’m talking about this time. The nose on Træblod Mint Chocolate is mostly maple with just the slightest herbal uplift, which is perfect. While mint is an uncommon beer additive, most that employ it end up smelling like menthol, making it impossible to ignore and, often, ruining the finished product. The mint character is even more nuanced on the palate, where myriad delightful flavors intermingle: cocoa, oak-borne vanilla, maple syrup and medium-roast coffee (in that order of prominence). This bold, brawny barrel-aged beer could easily be overdone and sickeningly saccharine, but the experience gained through mass experimentation with the base beer is displayed in the refinement of this beer, which is certainly worth circling your calendar for. This version of Træblod will go on tap along with the base beer and three other versions—Bananas Foster, Chocolate Pretzels and a Mole Edition (see our weekly What’s Tapping list for more info)—this Saturday, February 26 from noon to 10 p.m.

From the Brewer: “Here at Mikkeller San Diego, we always strive to push the envelope when it comes to the flavor combinations and ingredients used in our beers, however, we still have no qualms taking a more classic approach. That’s what we wanted to accomplish when coming up with barrel-aged Træblod Mint Chocolate. Utilizing this well know combination of flavors was always something that we’ve wanted to try and when we pulled nails to start blending this year’s Træblod barrels, we knew it was time. The healthy dose of mint-chocolate cookies provides a perfect complement to the already roasty, chocolaty base beer that is brewed with maple syrup and coffee. The mint is very present on the nose, yet subtle on the palate which adds a mildly sweet complexity without taking away from any of the flavors one would expect from enjoying our non-adjuncted barrel-aged Træblod. It also clocks in at 15% alcohol-by-volume, which doesn’t hurt!”—Amir Behdarvand, Special Projects Brewer, Mikkeller Brewing San Diego