It's not what you think it is: Mikkeller Ris A La M'ale

A beer table with Mikkeller Ris A La M'ale

A beer brewed with almonds and cherries.
It's sweet? - no.
Sour? - nope.

One Woman thinks that Mikkeller Ris A La M'ale is a beer to be appreciated in the quieter moments in life.  Pink, soft, and round in the mouth. It's subtle. So subtle that you almost have to love it first in order to appreciate it. It smells ever so slightly of almonds and muddled cherries, but really just memories of those flavors. Barely carbonated, and not very fragrant the most noticeable feature of this beer is its murky sepia toned reddish pink color. Just a touch of berried vanilla sweetness that could be confused with tartness, a suggestion of yeasty malt, a couple of vanilla seeds and a tiny pinch of allspice. Somehow, it makes you forget that you're drinking, even at 8% ABV.


Musical pairing - Morton Feldman, Piano Four Hands (1958). Crudely put, Morton Feldman's music is quiet, easy to dismiss, and hard to like. And yet, it has the ability to resonate in the moment and linger in your mind in the form of pretty fragments of memories.