Struise Mikkeller (Elliot Brew)

Formerly brewed at De Struise Brouwers
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Bottle. Orange-grapefruit-pine hops aroma with just a hint of malt. Cloudy brown-amber color with giant head. Smooth malt and strong grapefruit-pine hops flavor. Very nicely blended. It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything this hoppy. Excellent beer.

this is a really cool, bitter (but exceedingly well balanced) brew. the aroma is full of grapefruity hops, but also a touch of yeast and quite a bit of sweet malts and a bit of spice. after getting through the several-inch-thick head, which will probably still be there tomorrow, the body was quite smooth as well. went down easy. the citrus hop taste was preceded by a big malt backbone, but finished bitter and a little dry. bittersweet sugary hop aftertaste...nice beer, although as always with Mikkeller, a bit pricey!

Bottle at PIB. Poured a murky dark yellow-orange with a solid white head. Aroma is a nice blend of sweet caramel malt with some hefty pine and citrus aroma. Flavor is initial malt attack followed by a punch of hop bitterness. Finishes pretty bitter, though there’s no way this is 130 IBUs. All the same, yet another tasty beer I sampled at this awesome brewfest.

33cl bottle. Pours a cloudy dark-orange colour with a big off-white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with hints of candies, caramel, floral notes. Flavor is very sweety and malty with some smokiness.Too much bitterness in the ending, not well blanced. Medium-high body, high carbonation. The really intense and complex flavor is quite ruined by the huge lasting bitterness.

33cl bottle from Parti-Pak LIquors (Indianapolis, IN). Pours a hazy dark golden caramel color with one finger white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of candy sugar, caramel, grain, bread, light floral notes. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of caramel, toffee, candy sugar, cinnamon rolls, some light floral hops toward finish. Generally medium body with a sweet and malty -- and slightly bitter-- finish. Not the traditional DIPA, but an enjoyable beer.

This orange beer poured with a rich foamy off-white head and a bread and spice aroma. There is an intense caramel malt flavor and some smokiness, with a very bitter and pleasantly harsh finish. Very well-made.

wow this was good. pours a dirty dark orange with huge foamy head and nice lacing. sweet aroma, balanced with grass and pine, also pretty floral. very nice balanced flavor, spiced honey. long bitter finish. medium body, good carbonation. alcohol well hidden, maybe a touch too bitter a finish.

330ml bottle. Huge offwhite foam that just doesn’t budge atop a murky copper body. Aroma is not as full on as I expected; grassy, piney, grapefruit and unripe fruit-like American hops amongst some honeyish malt, seemingly with a touch of spice, which i’m not sure where it came from. Body is smooth, particularly rich, and doesn’t seem to want to give away much with brutal dryness or bitterness; it seems happy enough hanging around without terrorising the palate too much with its moderate carbonation and sticky texture. Rich maltiness straightup; honey and caramel, subtle bready nuttiness even. Hops kick in with bitter green leafiness, unripe stonefruit, grapefruit pith and earthy spice. Becomes a bit more coherent once it goes down the throat, lingering on the tongue with a nice sweet tropical fruitiness, prominant tobacco-like spice and high bitterness linger, that finally emerges from the initial sweetness of the body. Not my favourite of the IPA’s from Mikkeller to date, seems a bit unbalanced in comparison. Having said that, certainly is very flavourful beer, certainly one for the hop heads who like their meals best served a little spicier than usual. I think it might be the journey of going from very rich to very dry and bitter in a short period of time that makes me a bit confused about this beer.