Mikkeller Draft Bear

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

Bottle, with renffisch, 2nd September 2008. Amber with a very long lasting head which leaves lacing. Floral, perfumed aroma. Malty, nutty, mature cheese notes but with a good balancing bitterness. A very enjoyable beer. Certainly the best I’ve had in this style, by a country mile!

Poured from 750 ml a golden hay or straw color, a bit haz. Aroma of hops, field grasses, and malts. Formed huge foamy head. Lacing was incredible with each swig. Flavour smooth with malts and hops, perfectly balanced. Spices, along with pines come through making this a wonderful college of flavour that says "this what a beer should be like". Bottom line, Mikkeller does it again, a beer to be experienced. Behold it, as it sits it your goblet, for it is truly beer!

Slightly cloudy, orange-yellow beer with big and lasting cream-yellow head. Aroma is stunning, tropical sweet fruits, at the least grapefruit and mango and some bitterness. Flavour is also great, fruits, some pine needles and sweetness that turns into dryness and quite bitter. Easy, and nice to drink but still slippery. Absolutely great beer (if every lager would be like this...), that reminds me to Anchor Liberty Ale for every aspect, so this beer can’t be far away from the truth.

Rating 600! 750ml plastic-corked bottle. Thick, murky orange color with a big, foamy head. The aroma is sweet, with some Belgian yeast tang. The taste is sweet and malty, with a smooth thickness to it. Decent hop presence for a Belgian, very earthy. Really captures a lot of styles at once. Fruity Belgian yeast nuances, solid hop character, an almost bock-like smoothness in mouthfeel. Excellent beer, would love to have it fresh.

Bottle. Pours an orange/amber colour with large frothing head. Flavor is very flowery and fruity, but also with hops. The mouthfeel is amazingly soft and smooth. Flavor is long lasting hoppyness, only slightly bitter. Very sweet. Really good! Never imagined a "pilsner" could taste like this.

Corked bottle. Big and rich travelin’ lager, nice harmonious over hopping, orange marmalade, "lively" malt, complex caramel and piney hop aftertaste, I love it and really truly wish I could afford more!

Corked bottle and served in my big Karmeliet tulip:

A slightly hazed golden hue with a big fluffy head with left very nice lace upon the glass. The aroma has notable continental hop vapors, lightly fruity and herbal along with a biscuity and dusty ester. The taste is a wonderful balance of crisp clean hop bitterness and properly done pale malt additions. Hint of earthy and herbal notes around the edges. The best part is that the alcohol does not get in the way of the flavors like a few other "Imperial Pils" that I have had. Lively and refreshing, dangerously drinkable considering.

This is a VERY WELL DONE BREW! I am honestly surprised by this beer, in a good way. Worth the money IMO and that is saying something at $12 a bottle.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 2     Golden(1)->Dark brown(5) : 2     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 4   Lacing : 5
Aroma:
Intensity : 4  
Yeast : 2   Bread : 2   Tropical Fruits : 2   Soap : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX   Fusel : XX  
Malt : 4   Biscuity : 3   Hay : XX   Toasty : XX   Caramel : XX   Fruity : 2   Nutty : XX   Honey : 3   Maple : XX   Molasses : XX   Cereals : 3   Grainy : XX
Hops : 4   Noble(1)->American(5) : 4   Leafy : XX   Spicy : XX   Floral : 4   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : 2   Herbal : 4   Grassy : 4   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : XX   Earth : XX   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : XX   Dates : XX   Bourbon : XX   Bubblegum : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 3   Complex : 2   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 4   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 4   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 2   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Tea-like hops, herbal and fully flowery. Bright American character (amarillo, cascade?), but delicious pale pils malt foundation. Tight-bodied. Very different. Gorgeous stuff.