Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Our Beer of the Week!

Every now and again, brunch happens, where bites of strategic pancakes and syrup are balanced with runny eggs and coffee mugs vaping espresso steam-plumes into your face holes. Sometimes, a Bloody Mary may appear, as salty and spicy as she may be. Other times, bubbly champagne and OJ can combine to make a vitamin C-heightened sugar buzz with cheap-sweet bubbly, sending you to a friendly game of afternoon nap-roulette, where sometimes you may conk out for a few minutes, other times waking up tomorrow.  Who’s to judge?

Often overlooked is the satisfying coffee stout…a beverage complete with 100% of the daily recommended balance of oats, roasted barley, and a healthy dose of coffee. In our world of trying the latest and greatest new beers, this one is still kind of a rare beer to come by, as my last Untappd check-in was April 2012, back when Mikkeller was a tiny gypsy brewer, and his big stouts teetered on the edge of being too big, too hoppy, and often too cake-battery viscous for human consumption. Who knew beers like this would be seen as austere in 2019, where the stouts of today are commonly sweeter than a Bimbo bread truck crashing into a Hostess factory.

Beer Geek Breakfast is still reminiscent of those early beer geek times, and is dialed to an approachable 7.5%.  The addition of Black Horse coffee adds a rich bean bump to the inky-black beer and the deep brown head gives off hints of molasses, espresso crema, burnt marshmallow, and chocolate biscotti. Although beer newbs may joke that it can serve as pancake syrup, I’d argue that a pancake wedge may make the perfect garnish to match its richness. It’s velvety smooth, creamy rich, and is still a luscious beer to geek out on.

Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast is available in 4 packs at liquor stores such Veeco Food Store at Euclid Street in Anaheim, Total Wine & More, Hi-Time Wine Cellar, and more.