{"id":8950,"date":"2021-12-30T19:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T01:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/?p=8950"},"modified":"2024-12-23T21:59:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T03:59:11","slug":"12-beers-of-christmas-2021-12-mikkellers-santas-little-helper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/golf\/lifestyle\/8950\/12-beers-of-christmas-2021-12-mikkellers-santas-little-helper","title":{"rendered":"12 Beers of Christmas 2021 \u2013 12: Mikkeller\u2019s Santa\u2019s Little Helper"},"content":{"rendered":"\"mk<\/a>\n

It\u2019s a wrap, with Mikkeller making its fourth appearance on the list, thanks to its relentless production of holiday-inspired ales. The precedents: Hoppy Lovin\u2019 Christmas<\/a> back in 2013 (where some of the brewery history resides); Ris a la M\u2019ale<\/a>, a beer based on a Danish rice pudding dessert in 2017, and Win Bic<\/a>, a saison and lambic blend, in 2018.<\/p>\n

Another Santa\u2019s Little Helper<\/a>, from Port Brewing of California, was on the 2017 list.<\/p>\n

All worthy brews, and this one is no exception, but don\u2019t expect it to come around again. Mikkeller doesn\u2019t appear to have brewed it since 2019, the beer more or less supplanted by Santa\u2019s Hoppy Christmas, an IPA.<\/p>\n

But clearly, the beer can still be found in shops, and it\u2019s worth looking for. I picked this one up this year at Meulemans’ Craft Draughts<\/a> in Rawsonville, Vermont, and the best by date on the cap suggests the beer will last until August 17, 2025.<\/p>\n

\"mk<\/a>A second bottle I have is not really likely to last that long, but at the moment the beer is dark brown with a lively tan head. There was a wee touch of oxidation when I first opened it, but that soon dissipated. A few floaties attested to my lack of care in leaving some of the sediment behind.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a heavy caramel, toffee aroma to the beer with suggestions of dark fruits\u2014dates and\/or figs, a touch of brown licorice, a hint of coffee. Heady stuff, and the flavor follows suit, with an aggressive carbonation and finishing bite, but it\u2019s still a full and velvety mouthfeel, with a hearty and welcome alcohol burn on the way down (as opposed to yesterday\u2019s Greater Good Gingerbread Ale). A good way to end the 2021 12 Beers of Christmas<\/strong> with a bang.<\/p>\n

Mikkeller was established in Denmark in 2006 and was primarily a gypsy brewery in the early going, producing most of its beers at other breweries, notably at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium, where this vintage was made. Now there are several brewing locations (including San Diego) and Mikkeller licensed bars and pubs worldwide, some 50 in number. The company had a cup of coffee in the major leagues, operating a brewery at the Mets Citi Field for about two years before bowing to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

But speaking of Queens, many articles about Mikkeller make reference to founder Mikkel Borg Bjergs\u00f8\u2019s twin brother, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergs\u00f8, and the ongoing disaffection they share. Jeppe opened his own gypsy brewery in Denmark in 2010, but has since taken up residence in New York, along with his brewery, the archly named Evil Twin, in Ridgewood, Queens.<\/p>\n

And now there\u2019s another in Brooklyn, along with a coffee shop. Maybe they should ponder opening in Citi Field. Anyway, I\u2019d love to make it there some day, if only to try the Hazy IPA called Walking Down the Streets of NYC With a Christmas Tree Is Completely Normal Because Who Has a Car?<\/p>\n\"mk<\/a>\n

Suffused with holiday cheer as I am, I thought I\u2019d reunite the brothers, at least in terms of this post and add something of a drinking coda. Verily, the A\u00fan M\u00e1s Chili Jes\u00fas (\u201cEven More Chili Jesus\u201d) isn\u2019t a holiday beer per se, but it does have the name Jesus in it, for Christ\u2019s sake. Works for me, and the beer makes for a good bonus baker\u2019s beer dozen to help turn out the lights on the 12 Beers of Christmas 2021<\/strong> in general, and my night in particular, as it\u2019s a 12% ABV Imperial Stout aimed straight at the brain pan.<\/p>\n\"Evil-Twin-A\u00fan-M\u00e1s-Chili-Jes\u00fas\"<\/a>\n

This particular batch was brewed in Spain, and it\u2019s not unlike the Santa\u2019s Little Helper, but it\u2019s bigger, darker, loaded with more alcoholic heat, and then there are the chilies\u2014not overwhelming, but lingering.<\/p>\n

The burn is sharp enough to wake one up, even as the ABV is pulling the cloak up over one\u2019s head. Just as well for 2021, which certainly dashed a lot of hopes in terms of a cleanser to 2020. Well, as the Mets predecessors the Brooklyn Dodgers used to put it, season after season, \u201cWait till next year!\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay, but while we\u2019re waiting, best wishes to all for the year ahead.<\/p>\n

\"mikkeller<\/a>Name: Santa\u2019s Little Helper
\nBrewer: Mikkeller, Copenhagen, Denmark (though brewed at De Proefbrouwerij, Lochristi, Belgium)
\nStyle: Strong Dark Ale
\nABV: 10.9%
\nAvailability: No longer brewed, so happy hunting!
\nFor More Information: www.mikkeller.dk<\/p>\n

[December 30, 2021]<\/em><\/p>\n

< 12 Beers of Christmas 11: Greater Good Gingerbread Ale<\/a>
\n12 Beers of Christmas 2021 Reprise<\/a> ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a wrap, with Mikkeller making its fourth appearance on the list, thanks to its relentless production of holiday-inspired ales…. Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":8958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[939,627,18],"tags":[1016640,748,1016659,749,1016660,1190,1030137,571907,1030138,676069,1030139,975741,5126,975795,1030141,975799,1030142,975802,1030143,1002722],"class_list":["post-8950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beer-on-tap","category-tap-beer-of-the-week","category-lifestyle","tag-santas-little-helper","tag-belgium","tag-copenhagen","tag-christmas","tag-denmark","tag-mets","tag-evil-twin","tag-meulemans-craft-draughts","tag-aun-mas-chili-jesus","tag-christmas-beers","tag-jeppe-jarnit-bjergso","tag-12-days-of-christmas","tag-ridgewood","tag-mikkeller","tag-queens","tag-mikkel-borg-bjergso","tag-citi-field","tag-de-proefbrouwerij","tag-walking-down-the-streets-of-nyc-with-a-christmas-tree-is-completely-normal-because-who-has-a-car","tag-12-beers-of-christmas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/12\/mk-slh-label.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8950"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9786,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8950\/revisions\/9786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}