Category Archives: Denmark

4 - Good (buy), Amager Bryghus x Surly Brewing Company, American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark

Amager x Surly Todd the Axe Man IPA

Friday, 9 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Amager Bryghus x Surly Brewing Company collaboration
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Malt – Golden Promise. Hops – Hercules, Citra and Mosaic.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For quite some time the Amager crew has been discussing the question: which person is the most rock’n’roll in the whole craft beer world – is it Barnaby Struve of Three Floyds or is it Todd Haug of Surly Brewing? In the end it wasn’t really all that difficult to decide since only Todd has played for Laura Dern in a David Lynch movie (yeah, Nicolas Cage was in that same movie, but since when did he count?) AND Todd plays the guitar in both a speed metal band and a stoner band. Add to that that Todd and his wife Linda are some of the nicest people to hang out with. So Todd, here’s to you: “Todd – The Axe Man” – a potent IPA loaded with fresh American aroma hops on a base of rich Golden Promise malt, Surly’s signature malt. Raise a glass to Todd, world class brewer – and master of the axe! Bonus facts about Todd: yes, he DID actually have a perm in his younger days (his wife confirms) and he does indeed love cats an awful lot.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle from batch #911 with a best before date of November 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a three finger fluffy white head that has pretty good retention and leaves thick sticky lacing.
Aroma: Tropical apricot and peach aromas, with some pineapple, orange and hints of lemon.
Taste: Light caramel malt sweetness gives way to citrus bitter grapefruit and orange peel. There’s even a hint of tropical mango.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I have not tried the Surly version yet, so I can’t say which I think is better, but apparently the difference is that Surly chose to use Warrior as the bittering hop whereas this Amager x Surly collaboration version uses Hercules. In any case, this collaboration version was a great IPA and very drinkable.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Garden of Eden

Thursday, 17 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.4%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A salute to the beauty beyond man. An IPA at 6,4% brewed with a wide amount of tropical fruit. As fruity as it is fresh and hoppy.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 24th September 2016 and poured into a D’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white frothy head that eventually collapses in on itself after a minute or two leaving thick frothy lacing.
Aroma: A little dank at the beginning but gives rise to some tropical fruits, mainly guava, mango and passion fruit. There are also hints of lemon and pine.
Taste: Very tropical fruit like, especially get mango, passion fruit, guava and peach. There is a slight bitterness in the middle with citrus grapefruit coming through, but its definitely more fruity than bitter.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A self described IPA, I can understand why its listed as a fruit beer on both beer advocate and ratebeer. It is very fruity which makes it very easy to drink. However, I do prefer my IPAs to have more bitterness at least in the finish, but I think overall it does retain enough IPA characteristics for me to still consider it an IPA.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, IPA - Black, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast

Monday, 31 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at Lervig Aktiebryggeri (Norway).

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Black India Pale Ale brewed with coffee.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with surprisingly for Mikkeller, no best before date either on the bottle or cap. Poured into an oversized wine glass.
Appearance: The beer poured opaque black with a slightly less than two finger dark mocha brown head that dissipates quickly leaving spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mainly roast coffee bean and chocolate, hints of almond and brown sugar with a pine hop background.
Taste: Strong coffee bean mixed with pine hop and grapefruit bitterness. A hint of brown sugar sweetness lends a hand to a very nice lasting bittersweet finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation and slight creaminess.
Overall: I enjoyed this a lot. It is very well balanced and extremely tasty. I see debate on whether this is a black IPA or just a hoppy stout, but for me, mostly due to its lightness, it’s a black IPA.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Southern Frontier

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Hops – Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus. Brewed at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A real American inspired south state pale ale packed with hops and maize. Brewed in collaboration with Bishops Arms Gustav as a tribute to the long lived peace between Danes and Swedes.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 8th January 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy amber copper colour with a two finger slightly off white coloured head that slowly dissipated into a thin foamy layer with stringy lacing.
Aroma: Starts with citrus orange and grapefruit followed by a light hit of tropical pineapple and finishes with a somewhat caramelly note.
Taste: Strong caramel malts at the beginning but finishes bitter. The aftertaste bitterness lasts long and is largely citrus grapefruit with hints of pine and lychee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: This was quite nice but personally due to the strong hop bitterness, it feels more like an IPA than an APA. Having said that, Southern Frontier is still nice to drink and goes down easy.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl First Frontier IPA

Tuesday, 4 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.1%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial. Brewed at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium.

Brewer Description: (from website) First Frontier” We all got pieces of crazy in us, some bigger pieces than other” The thing about First Frontier is the hops. Easy… This is an IPA “the American way”, no sticky-sweet malt profile, just the real deal potent and aromatic hops. The result is a refreshingly dry, fresh and bitter IPA, heavily dryhopped with the three American hop varieties warrior, simcoe and centennial, dealing a punch of citrus, peach and grapefruit from the deepest of our hearts directly to ya face. Just added a bit of caramel malt; merely to harness and balance the alcohol.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle dated best before 1st October 2016 and poured into an IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange with a huge cream head that dissipated slowly leaving lots of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Piney hops with some pineapple and citrus grapefruit. Light caramel malts to finish.
Taste: Taste follows the nose with citrus grapefruit and caramel dominating followed by a piney hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: This IPA is worth a try. While not at the top of its style, it is still very refreshing on a hot summer day.

words of another dreamy traveller