Mikkeller Single Hop Cascade IPA

Mikkeller
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Copenhagen V, Denmark

Big flavors here from a straight up IPA. These beers have given me a refresher course in hop flavors and aromas. Cascade for all those out there is that piny, resiny, sticky hop flavor. Color is an orange amber like color. Aroma is sweet caramel malt with a touch of citrus and pine in there. Finish is a bitter and leaves a long lasting experience. Really digging this one.

I always find it interesting how some single-hop beers can pull unique flavors and aromas out of hops. This is one of those cases. And it doesn’t seem like Cascade. Good and interesting, regardless. The beer pours deep amber with an off-white head. Malts were filled with crusty bread and accented with tobacco and box. Lively carbonation; medium body. Bitter citrus. Earthy, wholesome yeast with a snappy twang. Very interesting beer, but nothing like your typical "American Cascade" beer, like SNPA, for example.

smells hoppy, floral, bitter. citrusy. Color is golden yellow/copper and crystal clear. Taste is astringent, hoppy bitter, piney finish. Bitter aftertaste lasts forever. Its a good beer but a little harsh.

11.2 oz bottle, cap stamped 08/01/11from Bottle Barn. Clear dark orange with a two finger beige yellow head, fair retention. Lots of citrus and lime in the aroma, however, I don’t get the sweaty citrus that I usually do with Cascade heavy beers--with the exception of New Glarus Imperial Weizen and Crack’d Wheat--which actually, it smells a helluva lot like (the hop character, anyway). There is a light B.O. character, as well as a good amount of caramel. As it warms it gets little too hair sprayish for me. The flavor adds a ton of earthy bitterness that is just way too detracting for me--I feel like I’m eating dirt. Dry finish with bitterness at a 6. Moderate carbonation with a medium body. Not that great, actually.

bottle. Gentle pour (as I’ve learned with these Mikkeller brews) shows a clear, darkish amber copper color, inch and a half head of very light tan head that sticks around and laces well. Aromas of sticky citric grapefruit and lemons, oranges, and some muted floral sweetness. Heady aroma that strays nicely from the typical aggressive grapefruit cascade aroma. Flavor starts with an acrid, sharp citric hop bite. Slightly understated but even bitterness throughout. Oranges, lemons, and various fruity and floral notes round out a nicely deep hop profile. Malt balance shows up in a muted sticky floral sweetness. Flavor shows some interesting aspects, but those aspects don’t blend especially well. Could be better with some rounding out. Palate, as with the other Mikkeller single-hop IPAs, shows some astringent sharpness, but more tamed in this brew. Overall, another interesting entrant in this single-hop series, but not an altogether superb brew. Very good, but not quite great.

12oz bottle. Cloudy amber/copper pour with a big off-white head. Floral hop aroma with caramelly and bready malt. Malt flavor up front followed by bitter hops. Finishes a bit too botanical; lots of grass and leaf flavor. Still pretty good though.

Dark amber color with a moderate, fairly wispy, but surprisingly stable off-white head. Big citric zest scents. Seems to have lost most of the malt in the nose. Earthy malt start. The earth seems to move (not in a shattering way) through the flavors, and combining with other flavors, including bright and fairly sharp hops. Seems light in feel. Very sharp in the finish and linger, with a bit of metal late. Looks like earlier versions had a bit more balance.

Bottle from Orland Park Binnys. Pours murky orange with a fizzy white head. Lots of carbonation. Aroma is of hops, citrus, caramel, pine, and fruit. Taste starts off with a very bitter hop burn. Backbone is of biscuity malt. Lots of pine notes to this one. Lingering hop burn. Mouthfeel is heavily carbonated, making the hops burn even more. Too much bitter hop and not enough flavor hop to it. Dissapointing.