Struise Mikkeller (Elliot Brew)

330 ml bottle from Perry’s @ Livermore. Pours a cloudy amber with yellow fluffy head. This one’s a gusher so take care. Aroma is that Mikkeller malt, and some hoppage. Flavor is strong and hot. Lots of alcohol flavor. Finishes clean. Not the greatest IIPA, nor the worst.

330 ml bottle. From Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Dark brown colour with average tan head. Dry hoppy aroma with some sweet chocolate and coffee. Lots of bitter hoppiness in flavour with dark malts and coffee. Not the best Double IPA I’ve tasted (and if I counted right this is only my second (actually sixth) Double IPA).

Lovely bronze color with a thick head. Aroma is lemony grapefruit. This is incredibly bitter, but well balanced. The bitterness hits you most in the finish. It is also very astringent. Flavor is grapefruit with lots of bitter hops. I have to say that while this is a good beer, it is nowhere near the best double IPA that I have had.

Dark, shiny copper color with reddish orange tints and a huge, ultra-fine head. Aroma of big, dry, piney hops, tobacco, and not much malt at all. Smells exactly like my third batch of homebrew. A touch of dark fruit in there too. Dry, extremely hoppy flavor, but with almost enough caramel to carry it, dark fruits, a bit of chocolate. Astoundingly bitter hop finish. Wow. Rich, full body. I don’t know about this. Very dry and bitter, but with enough interest as well. OK, but not at all what I expected from these two brewers. No balance at all. Amateurish.

330 mL from Sam’s Quik Shop. Pours a very cloudy deep red with a towering four-finger yellow head that has excellent retention and leaves swathes of lacing. Rich aroma of candi sugar, black cherry, toffee, herbal hops, alcohol, strawberry tart. Taste is extremely dry with spices, powerful alcohol, potpourri, grapefruit rind, moving to ultra bitterness at the end- holy god. Creamy mouthfeel. Numbs your lips. Great warming alcohol as you start to finish this little treat. Really really good. Again unfiltered DIPA = awesome.

Serving: 330 ml. bottle. Appearance: Slightly hazy amber color with lots of carbonation streaming through. A huge (2/3 of the glass) rocky, off-white head. Great head retention. Aroma: The smell of this one permeates the room as soon as you start to pour it. Spice, ripe fruit, yeast, some melon, pineapple, and more. Flavor: Surprisingly bitter with lots of pine notes. Not what I was expecting at all given the nose. Lots of pine hops, spice, some malt sweetness, salt, resin, and alcohol. A good bit of grapefruit too. I think they need to take their foot off the hop pedal with this one. It is a bit out of balance on the bitter side. Palate: Highly carbonated but smooth and rich. Long, bitter finish. Overall: A bit too in your face for my tastes. I got all 130 IBUs but I didn’t get much of the balance.

Pours rusty with orange highlights and a large off-white head. Aroma is quite hoppy, but there’s something else to it. Plenty of grapefruit, pine, and lime, as well as dust, earth, buttered toast, and slightly spicy yeast. Flavors starts with a tangy citrus hop flavor immediately followed by caramel, toast, brown sugar, rye, and a distinct "Belgian" quality, something vinous I suppose. Finishes with toast, lime, grapefruit, and vinous yeast interplay and the earthy bitterness sticks around a while without ever tasting ashy. High carbonation, creamy mouthfeel, thick body, but I wouldn’t call this heavy necessarily. Very good, a refreshing take on the IIPA. This is nothing like the Chouffe beer, but it’s also nothing like American IPAs. Way to go!

11.2 oz bottle. Pours a deep cloudy amber with a delicious tan head. A potent wild berry and candy aroma. A sweet and smooth brew with toffee malts crushing the hops away. This is one you enjoy by yourself to capture and ravel in the complexity.