Before he became a famed Gypsy brewer, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø was a high school teacher. Two of his students showed an abiding interest in homebrewing, so Mikkel schemed to use the school’s kitchen during off hours (10 pm until 6 am) to teach them to brew. When they slept, I do not know. Eventually Mikkel would go on to found Mikkeller to great acclaim. A few years later, his two students threw their hat into the ring and started To Øl (Danish for “Two Beers”). Like their teacher (and his Evil Twin), they would pursue the Gypsy approach to brewing, scrounging excess brewing capacity where they could, and started putting out their own well received beers. To date, I have had none, so it’s finally time to rectify the situation:
To Øl White Wine Barrel Aged Snowball Saison – Pours a mostly clear golden orange color with a couple fingers of white, fluffy head that sticks around a while and leaves lots of lacing. Aroma isn’t especially strong, but I’m getting Belgian yeast, fruity esters and spicy phenols, and that white wine barrel is coming through too. Does not smell sour or particularly funky. Taste bears that out, it’s very much like a regular ol saison, sweet with some peppery yeast notes. The white wine is there, as is the vanilla aspect of the barrel (though I really don’t get a lot of oak itself), but this not at all sour or funky. Mouthfeel is actually very nice, highly carbonated, effervescent. That white wine cuts into that a bit though, and makes the finish a bit on the sticky side. Overall, this is a nice beer, if not exactly what I was expecting. Reminiscent of White Monkey, actually. B
Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (375 ml). Drank out of a tulip glass on 2/22/14.
So not blowing the doors off the building or anything, but I’m still curious to try more from this pair of gypsies.