Mikkeller Stateside India Pale Ale / IPA

Bottle: Pours a lighter copper with a bit of haze. Nice sized creamy beige head. Fresh hops of citrus and pine dominate the aroma with a moderate malty sweetness. Flavor is hoppy with the malt balance taking out most of the bite. Sweet, caramel, and citrus come to mind. Finished soft, without a hop bite. Palate is full and creamy.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is light to medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately to heavily hoppy (resin, grapefruit). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Well, the one-dimensional hop-driven aspect is certainly accurate, so it does indeed smell like an American IPA. I was hoping for more old-world finesse and charm, but you can rarely have it all when it comes to this style. Good for what it is, but doesn’t stand out in any particular way from the glut of other examples out there.

From the bottle this pours a bright (at least, when I hold it up to the light) amber body with a tall head, both well sustained and heavy lacing. The aroma is strong on floral hops with a touch of grapefruit and, when it works its way out, some sweet caramel. There’s just enough malty sweetness in the flavor to support a sturdy hop bitterness - floral/herbal/citric/piney. The finish is dry and bitter, kind of like my ex, although this is pleasant in a beer. Well done.

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Bottle from Secret Santa. Pours amber with a nice lingering head. Lots of herbal floral hops in the aroma with a touch of caramel malt. Has a very appealing aroma! The flavor is somewhat similar with floral, herbal, and earthy bitterness backed by a touch of malty sweetness. Up front bitterness with a nice light balance. Dry and resiny on the palate. Almost chewy. Damn good stuff! Thanks Slob.

From bottle : Pours a clear amber color on the dark side, with a finger of rocky white head. Nose is big beauitiful and powerful floral hops, i can smell them from a couple feet away even. Taste is good, floral hops again, with a malt backbone that makes the hops not to overbearing. Citrus notes begin to ring in the mouth after a few seconds. Not much bitterness, but a little bite when it first hits the tongue. Pretty clean palate, medium bodied. A very nice tribute to the American Micros if i say so myself.

Poured from a 650ml bottle and served in a shaker. This IPA poured a clear amber color with a large, lasting beige head. A decent amount of solid lacing was left around the glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of sweet citrus notes and caramel. The flavor of the beer included notes of bitter grapefruit rind, sweet caramel, toffee, and just a hint of alcohol. The mouthfeel was medium to full-bodied and slightly resiny with minimal carbonation. Overall, this was a well executed, straight to the point IPA. Nicely balanced and not overly bitter. Very tasty!

Bottle. Real good citrus ipa aroma hits the nose. Copper body with lot of carbination bubbles and creamy foamy head. Decent lacing. Flavor has that quality citrus hop to it. But also with the juicy citrus a bitterness that hits hard mellows out and comes back. Dryness lingers on the palate along with the oranges. Good brew.

Pours apricot w/ a solid two finger frothworth. Good head retention receding slowly to reveal a full spattered canopy. Aromas of crispy citrus rind w/ mild biscuiting. Medium nectar w/ good carbonation resulting in a cotton like texture. Balance is of the essence and this brew has it. Crispy, crunchy, chewy hop flowers dominate a perfect malt backbone. The brew flares up on the palate and you almost have to eat it to get it down. The finish is bittered well w/ a heavy citrus rind component. This is a well made IPA thats true to it’s style. Not too malty or grapefuity and gladly not in the least bit sweet. They were going for an American style and they hit the nail on the head. Highly recommended.