Mikkeller Single Hop Simcoe IPA

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

11.2oz bottle marked 22/10/10 on the cap. Pours a mostly clear, shiny copper-orange body until the end of the bottle when some particles appear. A big, two-finger width, light brown, rocky foamed head that dissipates very slowly and leaves some nice, sticky foam lacing. Aroma is resiny and sweet grapefruits with some apricots and oranges. A really nice caramel backing making this quite sweet, but still has a noticeable earthy pine. I like this aroma a lot. Big on the hops, but a very nice caramel that never gets too fat, and lots of sweet candy fruits without being sugary. The flavor is a little more one dimensional and definitely puts the hops on display. Starts off with just a touch of sweet caramels before the big, dominating grapefruit takes over. Despite the takeover, there is still a nice caramel balance that never allows the big hop flavors to grow to the extreme. Finishes with a heavy bitterness and a resiny, sticky, very dry ending. Lingers with lots of dry bitterness for quite awhile. Palate is medium bodied and pretty slick with a soft carbonation. Overall, a really flavorful IPA. Lots of straightforward bitterness, but it all seemed to come together and stay fairly well balanced. Highly enjoyable.

Bottle. Pours a murky orange/brown with a fluffy off-white head. Sweet candy and citrus (sweet grapefruit?), slightly tart, hop aroma. Very nice. Flavour is mostly citrus hops; actually a lot like the aroma, but it works much better there than here; it’s somewhat cloying. At the same time it seems both complex and one-dimensional, as the hops have a lot to show, but it’s still just about the hops (that’s not necessarily bad though). Finish is bitter hops with notes of apple lingering. Rated against the Warrior hops version and in comparison this was much better; more interesting (and better flavoured) hop profile, although this proved more cloying in the long run. 06-06-09.

Bottle from Systembolaget, Lund. Frech yeasty aroma. Very big head and unclear orange colour. Bitter taste, not as fruty as the best IPA:s but still very good. Kind of belgian in the character. A good IPA.

murky brew lots of sediment and active carbonation an almost wheat color w/ a hint of red and a huge frothy well laced head. Palate is smooth and well coated. A nice very floral and fruity aroma.. GAWD do i LOVE SIMCOE. Opened the bottle and was ready to drink. I think this is a near perfect ipa.. evenly bitter w/ just enough sweetness to keep the tongue from drying out. i love the floral hop flavor the light caramel and a hint of fruits and citrus rind. I enjoyed.

Bottle from systembolaget. Big head that quickly overflow the glass, over carbonated. The fluffy white head then stays a long time. The aroma is typical american with grapefruit and tropial fruits but also a small sulfur aroma that goes away after a few sniffs and swirls. The hops dominate the tastewith just a small caramell. Nicly fermented with a low residual suger content. The bitterness is low to balanced that makes this a wery drinkable beer in larger amounts (for a IPA).

A nose of apricots and yeast. Taste is of apricots and cherry stones. Finish is complex - Not so bitter, but acidic, dry and a bit "belgian". Easlily one of the best IPA:s I’ve ever had, but it’s not representative for the style, mainly because of the low bitterness and its belgian character.

Bottle@home Apperance: Hazy orange with a enormous foam and lots of lacing. Aroma: Grapefruit, Cheese(!), Hay, Pine, Grass. Flavor: Orange, Grapefruit, Grass, Caramel, Hint of grain. Palate: Nicely balanced ipa with plenty of malt and hops. Fruity! Very nice AIPA from Mikkeller that i’d probably would buy more of if it wasn’t for the somewhat expensive price.

Thanks to JMFG. Had this with the single-hopped Warrior. They were both good, but this was my favorite of the two. Piney hop aroma and flavor with some sweet malts. Very good.