Mikkeller It’s Alive!

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Copenhagen, Denmark

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Wow! What a brew! Poured with a nice small (in a small sample glass) off white head and a little lace. Aroma is an incredible floral with yeast, malt and some hop. Flavor’s about the same with massive malt and a little earthiness. Great, chewy body and carbonation. Color is a copper amber. Finish is like flavor. Deliscious. Brett. adds a lot to the the beer with the flavor and edge.

Tasted 2010-03-29. Bottle. 1.5 years old. Pours clear, amber with off-white head. Very hoppy aroma but with a slight sourness to it. Lotsa hops in the flavour, but the strong bitterness never seems to come. That’s actually quite refreshing. It sorta reminds me of a fresh Orval. It lacks a bit in the funky department in comparison to the Orval, but it’s definately a great beer on it’s own, and a great tribute to the Orval.

Bottle, aged maybe 2 years. Copper pour with foam head. Nose is creamy candy malt, slightly acidic. Hint of leather, vanilla. alcohol, Lingering complex finish. Very nice and could age even more.

Bottle 75 cl. A big fluffy head full of bubbles. The body is brownish-orange and moisty. You clearly both taste the brettanomyces and find it in the aroma...and you cant help thinking of ´Its Alive´s belgian brother Orval. The nose is round with notes of flowers and fruits. Even though its "Orvalish" the dry hoppyness that almost has become the brand of Mikkeller is clearly present and blends perfectly with the sweet flavour. Love it

Draught at Ørsted. Bright orange/coppercoloured. Thin white head, that disappeares rather quickly. The aroma hits you with hops and a boatload of citrus (mostly limes and grapefruit). Brett aromas of moist wood and some horsy aromas too. On the palate it is razorsharp! All of the above mentioned elements are there in the taste plus a hint of sage and just a touch of rosemary. Modest bitterness mingles with firm sourness in a very dry and refreshing finale, that just goes on and on. I could still taste it as I went home 30 minutes after drinking the last sip. If there is one thing that should be considered in developing the recipe for future brews, it would be that the alcoholcontent of 8% by vol. doesn’t really add anything to the beer in terms of volume or complexity. I feel that the beer would probably be just as good at around 6% alcohol, but who knows? But once again, I’ve found a new current favourite beer, and once again it’s from Mikkeller.

From the big bottle I poured a clear, tawny amber brew with a slight tint of red and plenty of sticky, off-white head that lasted for at least five minutes. It’s got a wonderful bright, clean aroma of candied fruit (maybe oranges) balanced with hoppy florals, some booze and caramel. The flavor is well balanced between light roasted bitterness, like bread crust and the caramel sweetness, and booze ;) I would call the finish medium-dry, with a bit of bitterness lingering. I’m impressed. Not that this brewer has ever let me down, but it’s so well balanced. I might have even thought this was an amber ale because they managed to tame the sweetness, not overwhelming. Remarkable.

Draft @ mikkeller bar. Aroma is hoppy flowery perfume. Some spices. Flavour is really really smooth, some fruity bitterness, a touch of brett. Damn this is smooth. Dare I say I like this better than orval??? Wicked.

750ml. Pours a deep amber, HUGE head. Aroma is candied oranges, barnyard funk. Very lively carbonation. Brett taste is soft and prominent with a really bitter finish. Very dry, crisp hop bite. Mikkeller’s answer to Orval is a good one.

This was a delicious beer. bottle poured in tulip glass. Orangish brown with a huge dense tan head with plenty of retention and lacing. Has a very sweet taste with a hint of pine, and a light bitterness in the finish. Full bodied with a medium thick mouthfeel. Excellent

Deep bronze in colour with a very long lasting off-white head, excellent lacing. The aroma is quite yeasty with lots of lemon citrus, floral hops, some caramel malt sweetness, some peppery spice. The flavour is very yeasty with lots of lemon and orange citrus, fairly dry, apples and grape skins, pepper with a lingering sweetness. Spicy and yeasty mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes long, spicy and yeasty.

An excellent tribute to Orval. Good amount of brett, one year in the bottle and this was fantastic.

750ml bottle from the Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Opened on September 28, 2008.
Best before March 11, 2012.