Mikkeller Draft Bear

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: European Strong Lager
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Best By Cork Date February 2009; Sampled March 2008
A vigorous pour yields a four-finger thick, light tan colored head that forms some structural mesas and leaves some crunchy lacing on the sides of the glass as it slowly recedes. The beer is a honey color, but shows a lightly hazy, orangish copper color when held up to the light. The aroma has a nice grassy hop character to it up from, but this is immediately followed by a mix of sweet malt and hop notes that contributes an almost honey-like, wild flower nectar aroma. Aromatic notes of orange blossoms, lemon zest, fresh mown hay, grassy grain, soda crackers and a distinct fruitiness that is like a cross between apricot and pear. The fruit notes in the aroma are quite interesting, though this seems to dissapate as the beer warms and I work my way through the beer.

The beer is still fairly well carbonated after sitting for the last ten minutes; it foams up a bit as it hits my mouth. There is a nice grain sweetness to this beer, but it is not so much that I would characterize this as a sweet beer. Lots of hop character helps to offset the grain sweetness; flavors of hay, herbal grass notes, and a touch of menthol. Towards the finish the hop character gets much more herbal, with an accented menthol note and it even gets a bit astringent and green; a sure sign of a hopped up brew. The bitterness is not overwhelming here, it is solid, noticeable and even lingers on for quite a bit in the finish; either some low cohumulon hops were used or it does not have an over-abundance of IBUs when compared to the malt. The malt sweetness accents flavors of wild-flower honey with a touch of bergamot and orange flower. While this is certainly not a light Pilsner, it drinks fairly lightly for a beer of its strength, capturing perhaps the intent of a Pilsner if not the actual lightness.

As the beer warms up it picks up some more sweetness and a bit of warming alcohol in the finish, though I will admit that over all the alcohol is fairly well hidden here. A pretty tasty brew; the hop character can be a bit green and grassy at times, but this is perfectly in line with an "imperial" Pilsner and certainly distinct from an IPA.

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Cloudy orange, huge white head. Big hoppy, fruity, citrusy (grapefruit) aroma. Very hoppy up front, Surprising crisp palate. Some notess of wood, lemon and other citrus flavors. Nice beer, and surprisingly easy to drink.

Bottle. Head is initially large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is dark yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), moderately to heavily hoppy (resin), lightly yeasty (dough), with a note of alcohol. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic. One-dimensional and lacking in elegance or finesse. Overhopping alone isn’t a sufficient solution to making a strong golden lager interesting IMHO. Nice appearance, though. Mouthfeel is nice other than the somewhat oppressive alcohol burn.

Pours clear deep gold with 3-fingers of white head. Aroma is pale malty, with hopcitrus, some Saazy hops, and mild funk. Tastes pale malty, with s fresh hop bite, some citrus, and some honey flavors. The repours get a little turbid as some sediment makes its way into the glass.

750 ml corked and c aged bottle poured a clear orange with a lasating off white head. Aromas of straw, fruitiness, pine, citrus and a hint of earthinerss. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of straw, earthiness, light pine and light grapefruit with a smooth lingering biotter finish.

75 cl bottle at Ørsted Ølbar. I think this was my first Imperial Pilsner and I definately want more. I wonder how a lager yeast ends up with such an impressive and interesting result. Hoppy (grapefruit, grass) and fruity (peaches). Great bitter finish that leaves you craving for more.

Bottle shared by Robert at SL. Pour was full golden to orange in color, some haze, good head, good retention, good lacing. The aroma was pretty darned hoppy for a lager, some citrus and pine in there, not much pilsner saaz type action detectable. Flavor starts with a good malt foundation, bread, some honey also present, not the often sulfury type character in a pilsner. The hop balance was certainly there, keeping this thing crisp (along with the high lager attenuation and yeast contributions), resinous and light citrus. The mouthfeel was full and hearty for the style, another nice one from Mikkeller, although it doesn’t beat out Rogue’s Impy Pilsner!!!

The aroma was fruity and spicy with a strong grassy hop presence which was bright, floral, and a bit citrusy. The aroma was strongly malty with caramel coupled with a smidge of toffee and toast. The aroma had a spicy and resinous hop feel. The beer poured into the glass crystal clear golden with a frothy and moussy off-white head which lasted forever to lace the glass. The flavor was malty with some presence of caramel and a fruity flavor of pineapple just in the background. The hop flavor was lightly citrusy and lightly spicy while showing a bit of grassy and resinous character. The bittering won the balance war, but only by a nose. The bitterness was smooth and worked well with the malt. The finish was dry with lasting resinous bittering and hop flavor smoothly diminishing into the aftertaste. The body was almost medium-full with a moderate level of carbonation and a creamy texture on the palate. A nice beer, not exceedingly clean, with more similarity to an IPA than a lager. Pretty tasty stuff. 750 ml corked and bailed bottle.