Mikkeller Stateside

Mikkeller
Brewed at BrewDog
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Golden orange. Fluffy white ring of head leaves sparse lace. Earthy yeast aroma is capped with honey, aspirin, stewed apricots, pinesap, Munich malt, and grapefruit pith. Both flowery and herbal with a hint of oxidation (sherry). Touch of plastic. Loose prickles of carbonation. Bottle conditioned. Fairly brash and unclean from the start, as tongue-gripping hops deposit notes of assorted citrus pith and a dash of spicy pine. Heavily oily and moderately acidic. Earthy yeast fuses with the mild but perceptible hop-derived woodiness to bring more firmness to the body while augmenting the dryness. Malts contribute plenty of balancing sweetness with a sweet wafer and weighty pound-cake effect, but are fairly dull and unrefined. Grapefruit peel bitterness stings the tip of the tongue while the dense resinous weight both saturates and tugs heavily at the back of the palate. Hops are quite dull and particularly devoid of explosiveness as well as brightness. Quite muddled and overly busy, which totally clashes with the equally busy maltiness. Finish is chock full of honey-drizzled pound cake (and overly sweet and wet as a result) though a pinpoint sharpness reminiscent of lemon zest manages to impart a negligible amount of quenching acidity which helps to offset some of the busy maltiness and hoppiness. Yet another dime-a-dozen IPA as far as I’m concerned. Given the name, however, I’d say they’re right on target. Just isn’t my thing. Dully hoppy, overly resinous, unclean, brash, etc. This fresh bottle is curiously oxidized, and oxidation is the worst enemy of such a beer that largely relies on brightness.

Bottle. Poured orange-amber, with a small off-white head. Grapefruity hop aroma, with a fair amount of malt in the background. Fairly big citric hop flavor. Long bitter finish, with some metallic character. Not bad, but not great.

50 cl bottle from LS - Pours a hazy amber color with a one and a half finger thick off white head. Light lacing. Aroma is pine, citrus and light esters. Flavor is full of hops with a light toasted malt background. Palate is intially bitter. Medium body. A good beer.

Bottle from the Cellars in Roseville. Pours an amber apricot juice color. Can you smell bitter or just taste it? Well I knew that there was going to be a bitter flavor from this with my first sniff. Still some what of a fruity note, peach or something, nice IPA.

Bottle from Capones, sampled with Stegosaurus. An amber/copper pour with thin white head. Hoppy/pine and caramel malt aromas. Sweet up front with a piney bitter finish. Very enjoyable.

Bottle. Pours a clear, deep gold color. Medium sized white head. Strong aroma of grapefruit. Beer is nice and thck. Really big mouthfeel. Bitter piney hops dominate the palate with subtle caramel undertones. Smooth finish with the bitterness lingering in the back of the mouth for quite some time. Really refreshing beer from the Danes!

Nice amber color with 1 finger of head, good lacing. Nice moderate hoppy aroma and flavor. Bitterness seems well balanced although it does linger a little too strong. Very enjoyable.

Bottled, pours a clean and bold golden color with a half-inch off white head that dissipates into fine film. The aroma is mostly dominated by the sweetness from the malts, with the amarillo hops there as well. Flavor is less so with the sweetness and more so with the hops. Nicely balanced blend of the green stuff that leaves a hefty bite on the palate for minutes. Great mouthfeel to this beer, very crisp with lots of carbonation. Highly enjoyable, Im seriously impressed with the Danish take on an American-style IPA.