Mikkeller Special Series Cherry Alive

Formerly brewed at Mikkeller
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Copenhagen, Denmark

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Pinkish wax-dipped 25cl bottle. Best by 2020. Poured vigorously, the ruby red grapefruit colored liquid yields just a small patch of off-white suds at the head. Momentarily, the patch has disbursed to a pencil lead thin edge, as soapy, wet micro-spots glide down the glass, returning to the body. The nose is massively acetic, showing exceeding red wine vinegar notes amidst a mash of sour red cherries and sugar glazed cereal malts. Yeast is sharp and musty, hinting at horseblanket, farmhouse wood, and maybe even a little dry hard, sharp cheese. I even got some unexpected sulfuric egg notes out of this, a major turnoff in my book. Vanilla softens things just a bit, but overall the nose maintains a razor sharp, crushing vinegar and sour cherry profile, with a bit of unfortunate acetone harshness. The first sip confirms the acetic dominance, causing an immediate puckering reaction that only intensifies as it reaches the glands at the back of the mouth. Red wine vinegar is at the forefront, followed by massively sour cherries, and then sweeter sugar glazed cereal and wheat malts. The acetone that was apparent on the nose is, for the most part, absent from the taste, but I keep coming back to the insanely acetic vinegar here, and I have a pretty high tolerance for the stuff. This beer borders on salad dressing, honestly, and is more acetic than all but a handful of brews in my memory banks. The palate shows a moderate body that gets most of its heft from the sticky sugars that account for its 9% ABV. Carbonation is soft to average, with a fine-bubbled consistency. The acetic acids burn after the swallow, drying out to the point of becoming downright astringent. Disappointing. I had high hopes for this, but it’s just too far over the top and unbalanced, not to mention exceedingly alcoholic.

12/17/10. Bottle shared by fata2683 - HUGE thanks, Keith! Nice woody and sour cherry aroma with acid and vinegar. Puckering sour cherry flavor that ends with big tannic wood dryness that almost leaves your mouth chalky.

Pours with no head, pale red, sour, some boozy taste. Cherry and sour. Very nice.

Thanks to Zach, blazer. Strong acidic vinegar aroma. Flavor mimics. Whew!!!

A nice pink-red with barely no head. The aroma is vinyl, red fruits, some vinegar. The taste is extremely sour, harsh and dry. Lack elegance.

2/10 0.33 l can courtesy of Marko, thanks! It poured murky brown-orange-reddish body with smaller head that went down soon. Vinegar aroma, only a little bit of sour cherry; strange and harsh, yet nice and elegant. Very sour, typical wild lambic sourness dominates the flavor, cherry is only slightly present, no mercy for sweetness here. Medium body, with, of course, long sour cherry finish which was actually very nice and showed all the qualities of this brew. Alcohol...perfectly hidden! Those are the ales you simply like or not, you can enjoy in one or find it completely pesky. I don’t mind having one, such a good sour ale/lambic.

Bottled. Hazy reddish amber color, short head. Aroma is tart, cherry, cheesy, barnyard. Extremely harsh sour taste, very very acidic. Too much for my esophagus.

Dark red colored brew. Sour aroma. A lot of sourness in the flavor. Some cherries and alcohol. Too much sourness for my stomach.

Nose of some acetone, somewhat harsh hops, feel is wine, carb is mediumweak, taste is sour cherry, bittersweet hops, late mandarin

Bottled 250ml. -Courtesy of Marko(thanks), shared with him and heavy.
Cloudy dark red coloured, almost no head, sour fruity nose. Very strong dry and sour cherries tastw with lingering peppery alcoholic finish. Also some notes of glue. Well balanced brew.