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.

500ml bottle obtained in an in-person trade with <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank>henrikb, thanks Henrik. Murky peach in colour, long lasting off-white head, great lacing. The aroma is of citrus hops, fair amount of grapefruit, caramel malts, light sweetness. The flavour is of grapefruit citrus, some floral hops, caramel malt sweetness, thick and chewy. Lightly bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes with a moderate bitterness, very long, dry. An interesting IPA, not as hoppy as the west coast IPA’s but pretty close. Very good, very refreshing.

Pours orange / light bronze with a beige soapy head. The aroma has grapefruit, pine, green onions and musty malt. Medium body that is quite resiny with a moderate amount of sharp carbonation. The flavor begins with creamy caramel malt, earthy / piny hops, sour grapefruit and lots of sticky resin. The finish has a dry hoppiness than lingers for a lot time. A very nice IPA, I just wish it was priced so I could get it more often.

bottle at Fort Wayne tasting - Pours slightly hazy copper with an off-white head. It has a big citrus hops aroma with grapefruit in particular coming to the fore. The flavor features lots of citrus accented hops. There’s some mild malt in the background that maybe could have had a little more character. The balance works alright. The hops finish is crisp and enjoyable.

Sampled during RBSG 2006. Very dark for an IPA, this pours a hazy light brown. Earthy hop aroma. Dry overall, with subtle bitterness. Full body.

500ml bottle. Freshly citric, floral nose, green, leafy and full of honeysuckle sweetness and orange, along with lighter notes of pine and grass. Lightly hazy medium copper color with a vigorous head and plenty of lacing to match. Flavor does indeed showcase plenty of American hop character, but features a nicely balancing toasty caramel maltiness throughout. Begins with fruity and sweet, turning hoppier from there onwards, showing a powerful citrus and pine quality along with a moderately strong amount of drying bitterness that makes for a snappy, resinous finish. Mouthfeel is slightly oily and finely effervescent, body is medium-full. Highly drinkable and flavorful rendition.

Bomber from after4ever. Thanks! Pours a cloudy amber with a lacy white head. Citrus and caramel nose, fruit and nut taste with a piney finish. At first I thought the hops were wrong, but now I think that they’re sort of fighting with the malt - maybe it’s bitter that wants to be an IPA? It’s nice that Mikkeller did a ’tip of the hat’ brew, and it is a tasty brew, but it would be difficult to confuse this with an IPA that was really made ’stateside.’

Just a other fabulous beer from mikkeller with a long tast of hop and malth,golden colour with nice head.