Mikkeller Stateside

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

Bottle. Rich apricot colored pour, medium carbonation and a nice orange and hoppy aroma. Flavor was sweet marmalade citrus, then some mild malt and good bitter hops. Nice IPA, but not $9-10 a bottle good.

A little hazy orange colored beer, with a lightbeige head. The aroma of several hops, with fruits like citrus and grapes. There is some caramel in the back. The taste is hop bitter, fruity like citrus with some orange. It’s dry and grassy. The aftertaste is very bitter with notes of sweet.

Pours a hazy amber orange with a medium sized cream colored head. Aroma is floral and citrus hops, also a little bit of pine. This is a well balanced beer. Good bitter hops up front followed up by an evening maltiness. Really enjoyed this one.

Bottle - Mondial de la Bière, Montréal. Cloudy amber body with a lasting off-white foamy head. Well balanced malty/hoppy aroma with flowery hints. Its sharp hoppy taste carries grapefruit and oaky notes. Alcohol is well hidden. Ends with a decent bitter finish. Very well done IPA.

500ml bottle. Pours cloudy deep amber in color with full foamy tan head. Aroma sweet and floral hops. Taste citrus hops, bitter grapefruit and caramel with bitter grapefruit finish.

Very strong, bold beer without overdoing it. Well balanced and lively on the palate. Sure, it’s hoppy, but not overly challenging and certainly no one-dimensional show. Loved the murky orange golden colour.; was excited by the tantalizing citrus floral smell; and bowled over by the delicious taste. You can feel the love with this one, Joe.

Bottle. Pours copper with a medium off-white head. Sweet malt aroma of caramel, grapefruit, apricot and grassy hop notes. The flavour is caramel, stonefruit, tropical fruit mix, marmalade and resinous hops. Smooth yet syrupy mouthfeel, the hop bitterness leaves a dry finish. Very nice.

This is difficult for me. I love the brewery, I love hops and I love IPA. However, this beer doesn’t quite do it for me I’m afraid. Objectively I can taste it’s a complex and interesting beer, but I find the hops to be bordering on too soapy. I don’t mind a bit of resinousness, or a bit of soapiness from the hops, but here the finish is like I didn’t rince my glass and left a wad of washing up liquid in the bottom, (which I didn’t I may add!) Aroma is great, serious hops, fruit, citrus, classic bitter orange from the Amarillo, classic citrus tang from the cascade. Touch of soap on the nose, bit of sulphur, resin/sap. Looks a delight to behold, slight haze, lovely inviting glow, light amber orange in colour, thin white head. Palate is just right for the style, soft but persistent carbonation. Flavour is of more citrus with orange pthy-like qualities, even some orange peel in there for good measure. Spiciness, some malts hidden underneath with caramelized/burnt sugar, a bitterness that reminds me of wormwood in proper Absinthe. The beer is growing on me more but I just feel there is an astringency to the hops that takes away from the overall beer, if they had been treated to be fruitier or fuller then I’d probably fall in love with the beer, but they just come out strong and a bit hollow in a way, like a lot of flavour that some how feels a bit empty. Oh I’m all at odds, great beer but it has problems. The perfect gal, but one with psychotic mid-night tendencies that just seem to put you off a little. Maybe with a bit of counselling we’ll work it through...