Category Archives: American IPA

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS x Grassroots Brewing

Mikkeller x Grassroots Wheat Is The New Hops

Thursday, 26 November 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS x Grassroots Brewing
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from bottle) India Pale Ale brewed with wheat and fermented with brettanomyces.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.26
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 200ml pour on draft at Mikkeller Bangkok into a mini stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden yellow colour with a two finger white head with decent retention and nice clingy lacing.
Aroma: Brett funkiness with a mix of tropical pineapple, mango and citrus lemon, grapefruit aromas.
Taste: Fruity much like the aroma with mango, pineapple, orange and grapefruit, whereas the brett here brings a tart and leathery element.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This was very nice and balanced and very easy to drink. If I could get my hands on some bottles, I would definitely pick up a few.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Surly Brewing Company, USA

Surly Furious

Monday, 19 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Surly Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Malt – 2-row, Golden Promise, Aromatic, Medium Crystal, Roasted Barley. Hops – Warrior, Ahtanum, Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo.

Brewer Description: (from can) A tempest on the tongue, or a moment of pure hop bliss? Brewed with a dazzling blend of American hops and Scottish malt, this crimson-hued ale delivers waves of citrus, pine and caramel-toffee. For those who favor flavor, Furious has the hop-fire your taste buds have been screaming for.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 16 fl oz can canned on 8th July 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper amber colour with slightly less than two finger white head that leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tropical fruit especially mango, peach and apricot, caramel malt, biscuit and hints of grass and pine.
Taste: Less fruit than I expected. Mainly malt, biscuit, caramel and lasting piney bitterness. Maybe a hint of citrus grapefruit, and its peel, but not much.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: A very nice IPA. It was a lot less fruity than I expected after taking a whiff of the aromas, but the malty and piney hop bitterness was balanced and very good.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Toppling Goliath Brewing Company, USA

Toppling Goliath Golden Nugget IPA

Monday, 12 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 56 IBUs. Malt – Golden Promise. Hops – Nugget. Brewed by Toppling Goliath Brewing Co., Decorah, IA under special agreement with Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A winning combination of Golden Promise malt and Nugget hops, this IPA delivers a bouquet of hop, citrus and evergreen aromas, followed by a floral sweetness. Bold, hop-forward taste captivates the senses, leaving behind a pleasant bitterness that lingers in the finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle bottled on 30th June 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger creamy white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Rich tropical fruits especially mango, pineapple, peach and apricot with a hint of sweet citrus like mandarin.
Taste: Light tropical mango upfront which gives way to sweet caramel malt and sweet citrus mandarin before ending with a light grapefruit peel bitterness finish.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, crisp, medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very solid IPA with great aromas. Taste was sweeter than I expected and I prefer more bitterness in my IPAs, but this was still very good.

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.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Deschutes Brewery, USA

Deschutes Inversion IPA

Monday, 28 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 80 IBUs. Malt – Pale, Munich and Caramel. Hops – Millennium, Bravo, Centennial, Northern Brewer, Cascade and Delta.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We worship the flower, the hop flower, that is. We know you do too. Inversion is our tribute to that flower, with plenty of balance, finesse and personality to feed the hop lover in us all.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.59
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 11th November 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear copper amber colour. There was a huge three finger light tan head that had good retention and left plenty of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong piney and grassy aromas with hints of citrus lemon zest. There is also some light caramel malts and apple juice there.
Taste: Bready and caramel malts upfront followed by plenty of pine and hop bitterness. There are hints of apple juice and grapefruit in between and a long lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was a good IPA if not stunning although I prefer more carbonation. But Fresh Squeezed is still my go to IPA from Deschutes.

words of another dreamy traveller