Mikkeller It’s Alive!

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Draught@EBF 2008. Orangey golden. Stable offwhite head. Orange and grapefruit nose with some caramellish malts in addition. Notes of yeast and mild spices. Acidulous fruity and light malty flavor. Fine bitterness. Medium body. Sour-sweet ending. Nice brew.

My bottle labels this as a "Belgian Wild Ale," but I’m not catching much wildness in this. Still, it is a dandy brew. It pours a hazy amber body with a bubbly beige head that lingers none too long. The aroma is yeasty and spicy over tart citrus scents with a touch of tropical fruit. Much of that fruitiness is pushed to the background in the flavor by an ever-increasing citus zest and pip bitterness. The finish is very dry and mildly bitter. I like.

Bottle from 08 Night of the Funk. Aroma of sweet Belgian-yeasty fruits (citrus, pear, apple, raisin), and some distinct pineapple funk. Flavor had a lot of wood for me with a bit more funk, and somewhat acidic. Good stuff.

Bottle sampled on 09/26/08 at Night of the Funk. Pours a dirty light brown with a small white head. Aroma of citrus and bitter hops. Wow, what an inviting aroma! Flavor is quite ASA-like: lots of wheat and citrusy hops. I didn’t get any funky or sour or even Belgiany notes from this, so I’m not sure why it’s classified as a BSA...but in any case, I don’t really care because this was quite an awesome beer!

Bottled. $17. Ouch. I wish beer would stop being this expensive. Beautiful pour, darkish amber with an awesome head. Vegetal aroma, agave, bark, mushrooms. Tons of complexity and very interesting, but not really to my taste. Flavor has some waxiness to it, tree bark, some sticky sap. All sorts of crazy flavors coming out in this one. Pretty heavy and tough to drink. I appreciate this for its complexity but the flavors are just too odd.

Bottle at Tre små rum, shared with ekstedt. Hazy red with rich (but dropping) tan head. Citrus hops and spices in aroma, some grassy notes. Spritzy. Sweet taste, spices, yeast. Bitter and a little acid. Nice.

Strong wild yeast aroma. Bone dry, quite spicy flavor. Quite complex aroma, but the flavor is more bitter and flat.

22oz bottle. Pours a lightly cloudy orange with a small fizzy white head. Some strong spice on the nose and some definite funk. Definite brett there. The taste is oddly devoid of the typical brett flavors. Full bodied with alot of carbonation, alcohol well hidden. Yeast base is strong with alot of spicy flavors and a quite bitter finish. No hint of the brett in the flavor which really disappointed me. Its good but since it bills itself as a brett beer I was expecting some nice sour funk. I got bitterness which is a bit unusual for the style but not what I was hoping for. Solid but not great.