Mikkeller It’s Alive! (White Wine Barrel)

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Copenhagen, Denmark

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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37.5 cL bottle, courtesy of Ungstrup. Pours hazy dark orange with a small white head. Aroma is citrusy, hoppy, wineous and horseblanket. Medium sweet, fruity, barnyard and hoppy to citrusy/orange fruity flavoured. Smooth brett and fruity flavoured into the finish. Ultra soft and smooth brett-fruity lasting finish. Stunning - Orval on speed!

In short: A blonde ale with an extraordinary bright bretty character and tart oaky white wine. A true complex wild ale (not a sour ale)
How: Bottle 375ml, capped only. Consumed when probably between 1 and 2 year of age, but still over 6 years before expiration date!!! (that’s mikkeller to you).
The look: Cloudy orange-blonde body topped by a medium off-white head with medium retention.
In long: The aroma has a kick-ass brett character that is farmhouse + horse blanket + dusty attic + barn wood. I was already sold from the aroma. Not the wildest bretty character I have smelled, this was like a truly rustic Saison on steroids. Taste is just as nice. Yes there is some crisp crackery malts, some white wine oak barrels, some tannins, some honeyed hay, some other stuff. But it is the yeast character that dominates the beer and I’m not complaining, when brett comes out so bright and so stimulating, I’m in heaven. Finish shows a lot of oaky white wine and even some tart white grapes. Body is full and the carbonation is very lively, superb mouthfeel. I was turned off by the price of the beer so I only bought one bottle and now I’m hitting myself over the head with that very same empty bottle. Might just be my favour Mikkeller ever, and they’ve made a whole lot of beer. This could really be an Anchorage creation, and I even doubt Anchorage could match the quality of this bottle I drank. It may be a bit too intense and astringent to make it a session beer but that’s not the goal with a beer like this. This was a treat of amazing complexity. Looks like I’m giving this one an abnormally high rating, maybe it is because I cellared it before drinking like I do with most of my brett/wild beers, I’m a patient man, I learned patience when I was a kid, back then porn took forever to download.

On tap at Biero. Great beer, cidery aroma, but sweet in the mouth. Aroma of apples, dough, and caramel. Taste is sweet, with only a hint of sourness, and long length. Palate is creamy, and full bodied. Orange, with a creamy head.

I don’t drink much wine, not that I don’t like to I just never ’got into it’ but this smells like some good quality white wine. I’m told this was aged in a white wine barrel and you can tell. Nice head on pour that goes into usual Mikkeller lacing. The flavour... is really hard to discern other than to say there is some beer in there, but there’s a huge wine presence that totally overshadows and demolishes the beer. There were some hops too. After the flavour wears off you’d swear you just had a glass of wine, or some sort of crazy wine/beer snakebite. Truly amazing in terms of what is possible in flavour.

05/01/2012 Brasserie 4:20 (375ml bottle). Bevuta al Mikkeller Beer Festival. Ambrata chiara, intensa e brillante, con schiuma bianco sporca dai riflessi giallognoli, non molto persistente. Al naso è magnifica, sembra un vino bianco, acidula, delicata, leggermente fruttata. In bocca parte come un diesel, risultando un po’ debole di corpo, corta, leggermente acquosa, ma mantiene comunque una certa finezza e migliora tantissimo sorso dopo sorso. Corpo medio-basso, carbonazione soft. Sorprendente.

Hazy brownish orange. Small soapy white head, lasting. Yeasty, Brett, Funkalicious, woody, grape skins. Light body, soft, lively. Starts sweet/tart. Finish is smooth-woody-dry...what a transition! Some lasting funk left over. Lots of accessible character is here.

A - Dark copper-orange with a finger frothy off-white head. Fades fairly slowly. S - Sweet pale and caramel malts, vanilla, oak, white wine, funky and tart Brett, lemon zest, citrus hops. T - Sweet pale and caramel malts, oak, vanilla, white wine, tart and funky Brett, lemon zest, citrus hops, some mild bitterness, hint of booze and acidity. M - Medium bodied, moderate carbonation. Smooth with a dry, tart, and funky finish. D - Great mix of flavors with good tart and funkiness. The barrel adds some nice character.

Cloudy golden color with a perfect tan head. Aroma is fruity and hoppy, with pears, pine, and some yeast. Very well balanced subtle flavor. Mildly bitter, slightly sour, and slightly sweet. Velvety mouthfeel is very thirst quenching.

First beer in 2011 should some how be something special. This one I have been looking much forward to taste. I heard about the making of this beer some time ago and ever since I have been looking forward to taste the results of another "Mikkeller working on wood". The pour is sparkling with a hazy dark orange body topped with an orange fizzy and frothy head that don’t loose its potent style. The aroma is stunning and you are instantly hit by the funky brett combined with a both sour and sweett citricness as from young grapes like you find in a fresh sparkling german riesling - there are also some impressions of fresh berries like young strawberries. The taste is more raw messure with the aroma - its agressive and strong with fine notes of alcohol and a powerfull taste of brett. The finish is really nice and balanced, and its actually here you get the long and multicoloured impression of the beer. Its funky and its fruity, its dusty and dilicioius and it has a soft and smooth mouthfeel that makes this a really treat to drink. Happy 2011. jcheers

Bottled. Hazy amber, rich firm head. Vinous grassy nose with some sweaty funkiness. Mid sweet with solid body and lightly spritzy mouthfeel. Some old hay and horseblanket, lightly vinous. Salty finish. Outstanding!