Name – Santa’s Little Helper 2009
Country – Denmark
Type – Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Appearance – Poured a very dark brown with a good sized tan head that stuck around for a bit and left some lacing on the glass.

Smell – Hit with some piney hops that caught me off guard.  Under that is some sugary sweet smells.

Taste – Pretty complex but very odd.  There is quite a big hop presence that is not to typical of this style.  Pine hops to be exact.  Hints of cocoa, sugar, maple syrup and spices come out as well.

I’m going to assume that Mikkeller wants you to age this brew based on how strong the hops were in this.  Probably after time those mellow out and add another layer to the taste.  Wish I could have gotten another bottle after trying this to do just that but this was a popular one at the stores and we didn’t get many so it was gone pretty quick.  I will be sure to pick it up next year so I can age it and see if my thought is correct.

Overall Grade – C