Spontanblackthorn
Mikkeller ApS

Pours a cloudy, bronze color. 1/5 inch head of an off-white color. Decent retention and decent lacing. Smells of strong citrus (earthy, pungent, and acrid), bacterial funk, and slight alcohol. Fits the style of a Lambic - Fruit. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of strong citrus, strong bacterial funk, slight alcohol, hint of hop, and a hint of spice. The feel is strongly tart as well. Overall, pungent, resin-like, citrus-sweet, and unique.

 

 

this whole series has been incredible, and i am really excited to drink the rest of them over christmas this year, have been collecting them for some time, but this one somehow ended up being a double, so lucky me! fun stuff, but they all have been. its more pink than purple. learned from wikipedia that this is sloe berry, or sloe fruit, a member of the plum family they use to make sloe gin (which is a wonderful beverage if you arent familiar). cloudy and thick looking, and not a lot of head. smells like lambic though, wildy funky, less sour maybe than some others, but that could be to do with all the sugar in the fruit. its bretty and oaky and musty and farmy and all of that which i love in the base beer, but with a cool almost generic sort of sweet fruity middle that could be almost blackberry or black currant or something. it will be cool to have a few of these side by side! the taste is just like the nose, not necessarily sloe fruit as i know it, but it does have a mix of berry and plum notes, and with all the funk, it really doesnt matter, it stands as an excellent fruited wild, regardless of the fruit almost. that might sound like an unapologetic mikkeller loyalist propping this up, but taste this blind, you will have a tough time identifying the blackthorn as blackthorn, even if you know what that is, but you wont care, because the beer is simply fantastic. maybe a little less bubbly than the others, with a little more yeast left in it, but i love the mild sweetness the fruit brings on the back end. overall an awesome beer, worth trying of course, but i would tell you this whole series is worth it...

 

 

 

 

Acidic and funky with a nice rich herbal berry flavor and a slightly vegital finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOTTLE: Green glass (ugh). Appealing colourful label art. Branded pry-off pressure cap. 375ml. 16/09/24.

Imported by the Shelton Bastards. Reviewed live as an American wild ale. Expectations are pretty high given the brewer (Mikkell is my favourite). Served cold into a stem-tulip at low altitude in New York City and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. 7.7%

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: None. No lacing.

BODY: Murky 7-11 strawberry smoothie colour (for lack of a better description). Nontransparent. Quasitranslucent. No yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible.

Appears adequately carbonated. Not special looking for a wild ale, but the colour is unique - though it doesn't pop.

AROMA: Weak (~3/10 in terms of intensity) sourness. Some tartness. Berry fruit; I've never had blackthorn berry, but this evokes strawberry and to a lesser degree raspberry. Malt sweetness is low, and it seems almost watery.

Average aromatic intensity. No true spontaneous bacteria or wild yeast is detectable.

TASTE: Powdered sugar, tart berry, and mild (~3/10) sourness. Balanced but simple, with a fruit forward presence complemented nicely by the tart sour characteristics. Nice depth of flavour. Average flavour duration and intensity. This will satisfy - but not impress - sour lovers. Could use more of an oak presence to lend it cohesion.

Generally well-built. I do wish it were far more berry-forward, sour, and tart.

TEXTURE: Lightly powdery, smooth, wet, refreshing, medium-bodied, aptly thick, and quenching. Not too weighty or hefty on the palate. Complements the taste generally well. Nicely soft.

This mouthfeel doesn't quite elevate the beer or accentuate specific constituent notes, but it's nicely smacky and lets the sourness shine.

OVERALL: Drinkable and enjoyable, but not worth the high price. Not Mikkel's best sour, but worth trying at least once. I wouldn't buy it again at U.S. prices (~$17.00 USD at retail in NYC), but it's a nice addition to Mikkel's burgeoning sour lineup. The discerning drinker won't be impressed, but it's always nice to see a lesser known ingredient showcased - and Mikkel is the best at doing that.

B-