The Target: Mikkeller’s Hoppy Lovin’ Christmas

Brewed by: Mikkeller (brewed at De Proefbrouwerij)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Style: American Double/Imperial IPA
ABV: 7.8 %

Commercial description: India Pale Ale brewed with Ginger and Pine Needles.

APPEARANCE (5/5)

Pours a light amber/honey that is fairly cloudy. A massive three-finger off-white foamy head with great retention and a crazy amount of sticky lacing. There is a dense rocky island in the middle of my snifter.

AROMA (10/10)

Relatively mild, floral hop aroma, particularly for this style. Malty notes of caramel, sweet toffee, and bready crusts help balance a zippy hop profile comprised of light pine, grapefruit rind, and slight tropical fruitiness. A whiff or ginger and alcohol at the end.

FLAVOR (18/20)

Follows the nose a great deal. Oily, piney hops are assertive and bitter, but there are some sweet fruity notes coming through, with green apple, orange, and grapefruit being detected. More malt balance than the average hop bomb, with sweet caramel malt, toffee, light nutty notes, and some toasty flavors too. Bitter like a DIPA but balanced like an APA. As it warms the pine is very strong in the aftertaste but is tempered a bit by the sweetness. It has an interesting transition from bitter to sweet to bitter again. Not as much ginger as in the nose, just a hint in the aftertaste.

MOUTHFEEL (4/5)

Nice carbonation, with a smooth feel to it. Light to medium bodied, and not too thick or hot like some DIPAs tend to be. A nice, easy drinking mouthfeel that compliments the balanced profile really well.

OVERALL IMPRESSION (9/10)

Overall this is a well-hopped IPA that offers up the subtle hints you’d expect from the name. The holidays portrayed with a gingerbread cookie-like sweetness and hints of pine. An aggressively hopped DIPA with some nice complexities but it doesn’t ruin you as some of the genre do

FINAL SCORE  (46/50)

 

The Target: Evil Twin Disco Beer

Brewed by: Evil Twin Brewing
(Brewed at Brouwerij de Molen)
Copenhagen / Brooklyn, Denmark
Style:Imperial/Double IPA
ABV: 10.5 %

Commercial description: Disco Beer is a vinous IPA thoughtfully blended with 10 % Chardonnay white wine. This Champagne of beer is a real party starter, no more shy beer geek. Drink it and you will own the dance floor.

APPEARANCE (5/5)

Poured a deep dark amber orange with a fluffy three-finger white head. Subsided to a compact and loose head slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass.

AROMA (10/10)

Nose is of floral and herbal hops. Lots and lots of sweet citrus–lemon, orange, pineapple, and grapefruit. It has a candy-like aroma. The wine comes through with a kiss of alcohol with a lightly sweet caramel and nutty malt backbone. Smells absolutely great!

FLAVOR (18/20)

Taste is similar to the aroma, but there’s also some herbal flavors and peppery spice noticeable. Piney hops, sweet grapefruit, bready malts and strong oak notes. Some hints of apple, grapes, vanilla, and spice in the background. Slightly grainy backbone tries to poke out and balances it very nicely; never letting the hop character overtake it. Lightly bitter finish but it remains very smooth and robust.

MOUTHFEEL (4/5)

Average carbonation, an appropriate amount of dryness on the palate, some stickiness, rather light-bodied for the style. Extremely smooth, but with a slight tingling from the alcohol, and a tiny burn on the lips, but it faded away nicely as it warmed up.

OVERALL IMPRESSION (8/10)

Adding actual chardonnay to the blend gives it a completely interested and different character. The wine truly does make itself present and obvious, and the IPA is formulated in a way to allow this to happen. I enjoyed this beer immensely. It does not fall in line with what I tend to look for in a DIPA, but an interesting journey off the beaten path.

FINAL SCORE  (45/50)

The Target: Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast

Brewed by: Mikkeller (brewed at Amager Bryghus)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Style: American Stout
ABV: 7.5 %

Commercial description: [translated from Danish] An Oatmeal Stout brewed with: water, malt, hops and yeast. Special version dry hopped with Simcoe and Columbus hops. Idido region coffee from Denmark’s coolest coffee guys at the Coffee Collective.

APPEARANCE (5/5)

Pours a really nice opaque and sludgy brown/black color, one finger deep mocha rocky head the holds its shape similar to whipped cream. Some sticky leggy lacing is left on the glass.

AROMA (9/10)

Dark roasted coffee beans, the slightest amount of citrus and pine. Faint hint of hops with a backing of earthy cocoa and dark roasted malts. Little bit of tobacco in there too. A near perfect marriage of dark or espresso roast coffee, toasted rolled oats, and tarry pine sap hops.

FLAVOR (19/20)

Starts off with a pleasant sweetness of milk chocolate followed up with a slight coffee bitterness. In the middle there is a smoked wood flavor coming out. In addition, the citrus hop profile starts to come through. On the back end the citrus and earthy hops come through and really balance out the malt. The combination of the hop bitterness with the roasty grains and the strong coffee taste is superb.

MOUTHFEEL (5/5)

Medium to low level of carbonation combined with a silky mouthfeel from the oats gives a big, rich feeling as it slides down the palate. No overt residual sweetness or cloying qualities. This, combined with the prominent hop bitterness, makes it quite a clean, sharp finish. Strong notes of pine sap and black coffee remain for a long time after you finish a mouthful.

OVERALL IMPRESSION (9/10)

This is a really well put together Stout with just enough hop character to balance out the rich thick malt flavors. One of my favorite Mikkeller offerings.

FINAL SCORE  (47/50)

Beertography and Review: Mikkeller Mikkeller Koppi Tomahawk x Guji Natural Coffee IPA

Brewed by: Mikkeller (brewed at De Proefbrouwerij)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
ABV: 6.9%

Commercial description: Danish: En kaffe-IPA brygget på: vand, malt, havreflager, humle (Tomahawk), kaffe (økologisk Guji Natural fra Sidamo, Etiopien) og gær.

APPEARANCE (3/5)

Pours with a vigorous, two and a half finger head of loose khaki foam on top of a very hazy, yellow-brown body. The head settles at a moderate pace a leaves moderate sticky lace on the glass. Definitely not a pretty beer by any stretch of the imagination.

AROMA (9/10)

Aroma is unique, just like the beer. There is a coffee aspect to it; notes are present but not overpowering. Lots of pleasant hops. Citrus and pine; a hint of roasted bitterness on the finish. Some biscuit is detected.

FLAVOR (19/20)

This weird marriage really works! A blast of serious piney and slightly woody hop notes are followed closely by an understated coffee. I think this works because the coffee is bright and acidic and most likely roasted light. The flavors blend superbly, creating a beer that is highly bitter, but immensely drinkable. Caramel also lurks in the background to provide balance, along with a slight husky grain profile & dryness. Finishes with grapefruit and orange zest aftertaste.

MOUTHFEEL (4/5)

Slightly sweet with a fairly full body. Ample carbonation cleans the palate between each sip. Lots of carbonation., Fairly viscous, but not nearly as much as the appearance would imply. Finishes a tad dry.

OVERALL IMPRESSION (9/10)

This is one that I look forward to each year. Awesome IPA character with some coffee added to it. Very cool concept. Love how the coffee is on the end and not overwhelming. It really works.

FINAL SCORE (44/50)