Mikkeller Single Hop Simcoe IPA

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

Bottle, 10/22/08. Aroma quite bitter with only a touch of toasty malt in the background, but pine needles and oranges are at the forefront. Flavor citrusy (lemon, grapefruit), piney, especially toward the end. Sweet biscuit/croissant malt there the whole time. Big, gritty, bitter finish. Great showcase of the Simcoe, which would seem to be the point.

Bottle. Pours an cloudy orange colour with a big off white head. Aroma is marvellous, fresh citrus mostly dry grape, pineapple and hits of yeast. Flavor is very fruity, grape, pineapple, and peach with hints of pine. Very pleasant bitter aftertaste. Fantastic stuff!

Bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki)
Beautifully fruity hoppy aroma. Some grapefruit and pineapple. Acidic sherbetty palate, lively carbonation. One-dimensional hoppiness, gets very boring very quickly. Behind the onslaught of hops there’s only a very simple slightly milky malty body. Unbalanced. Finish is just more hops. The word ’complex’ doesn’t belong anywhere near a review of this one. Snore.

Bottle. Pour was very hazy apricot with decent carbonation. Aroma was hops and noticable citrus. Flavor was hops, grapefruit, pine resin and finished pleasantly bitter. A VERY good beer, but not worth $7 a bottle in my opinion.

11.2 oz. bottle. Poured hazy, deep orange with off-white head. Sheets of lacing. TONS of small particles that stay mostly suspended. Pungent, fresh-cut grapefruits in the nose. Flavor is of mouth watering citrus fruits with some pine as well. Medium body. Smooth. Sticky, resinous finish. Spectacular, well done.

(Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, on 2009-02-11) Amber and hazy. Beautiful flying saucer shaped quite large white head. Pine resin in aroma. Medium bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Pine resin, fruitiness, bitterness and hint of sweetness in taste. Bitterness and pine resin in aftertaste.

Pours a hazy reddish burnt orange with some soda bubbles and a big dense rocky peach colored head. Candied grapefruit aroma, lightly peachy, very fresh. Flavor follows, mostly candied grapefruit, plasticy malts, hint of alcohol, lightly piney, touch salty, lightly grassy, some fruity peach and orange. Bubble-gum comes on strong after a while. Great balance and delicate finesse for something that is so fresh and rough at the same time. The body is fantastic, light and drinkable, so fluffy, like drinking meringue, no stickiness.

Bottle pours a hazy deep orange with golden notes and tons of yeast "floaties". Head was large, foamy, bubbly and off white and left tons of sticky lacing all over the glass. Aroma of a handful of Simcoe hop pellets. Pine, very fruity, lots of orange peel, a little bit grassy with tropical fruits. Malt presence is a little bit of caramel with some bready notes. Flavor is also very distinctly Simcoe (yes some of that "pleasant" cat piss thing is there) with pine, some grapefruit, orange peel, resinous and fruity. Bitterness lingers and coats the tongue. Caramel malt, some earthy notes along with slight yeast flavors complete this well done bottle conditioned IPA. Been a while since I have had a beer that has had the whole fresh Simcoe hop thing going on and it was a treat. Worth the $9 for a 11+ oz bottle. Tough one...worth it to give it a try, but not to buy it on a routine basis.