Nuclear Hop Assault
Mikkeller ApS

lmaduells from Spain

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

this beer n expected more. The beer is fine, it complies with the style standards and has the quality of a good brewery. But when you see an etiqeta like the one with the bottle and a name like the beer you are waiting for an extreme beer. And it's not an extreme beer. Unhealthy marketing

Dec 04, 2018

Gajo74 from New York

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden/orange color with a fingernail length bubbly white head. Not much retention on the head.
The aroma starts off simply but grows in presence. The first impression is mainly of grapefruit rind, hinting at bitterness to come. Throughout the session, aromas open up, yielding floral, grassy and piny tones that gradually increase in fragrance. A cracker and biscuity malt presence also develops and adds sweetness. In the final phase, tropical aromas interplay with herbaceous danky tones.
The taste starts off so simple and clean. Dry crackery malt with grapefruit pith, not bitter, yet not sweet. However, the “hops assault” develops gradually, its initially clean bitterness combines with light piny and grassy flavors. Yet, the bitterness increases, especially in the finish, which provides a lingering resiny aftertaste; it all interplay’s nicely with the grapefruit flavors like a good old fashion west coast IPA. Adding complexity, tropical flavors of pineapple, mango and passion fruit add juiciness and combine with a subtle malt sweetness.
Medium bodied and nicely crisp. Dry palate, high bitterness and alcohol well masked.
With all the sweet and non bitter NEIPAs I’ve had lately, it was nice to have a hop bomb that was bitter to boot. I like how it developed.

Aug 13, 2018

Bombelsky from Poland

3.97/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden hazy. Average foam, average lacing. Medium-high hoppy aroma of mangos, pineapples, tutti frutti medium-high. Hoppy, high flavor. Medium-high bitterness. Medium, malty sweetness. Medium body,average carbonation, juicy, sticky, spicy, medium-high dry finish, long lasting.

Apr 24, 2018

qrazvan from Romania

3.96/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Light yellow colour. Intense hoppy smell.
The taste is dominated, as expected, by the tons of strong aromatic hops. Grapefruit and citrus also, but less obvious.
A NEIPA style beer with a lot of herbal aromas in, but the overall bitterness is somehow its drawback.

Dec 04, 2017

rex_4539 from Greece

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L: Hazy amber color, one finger white head, nice lacing, very good carbonation.

S: Hoppy, juicy, tropical fruits. Nice!

T: Juicy, hoppy, tropical fruits, bitter on the back end. Very good.

F: Medium bodied, rich feeling.

O: Very good DIPA from Mikkeller.

Jul 13, 2017

rolltide8425 from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Nothing about it stands out but it's still an enjoyable drink. Surprisingly a touch watery, but not enough to where it really diminishes the beer at all.

Aug 13, 2016

Jugs_McGhee from Louisiana

2.41/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

Nabbed my bottle earlier this week at a Southern Coloradan bottle shop. Best before date is "20/04/17."

8% ABV. Imported by the Shelton Bastards (boy how I wish Mikkel would leave them - even for Twelve Percent LLC). "Imperial India Pale Ale brewed with Hybrid Hops."

Ample yeasty sediment is plainly visible about the bottom of the bottle as I pour.

APPEARANCE: ~6.5cm wide white colour cap over a clear copper body. Body colour is of average vibrance. Head retention is pretty good for an 8% ABV beer - ~8-10 minutes.

AROMA: Bitter rind. Pale malts. Citrus. Muted floral notes.

No resinous, juicy, piney, herbal, or grassy hop notes here. Luckily, no overly sweet caramalt either.

It's merely mild in terms of aromatic intensity, and it's hardly as hoppy as you might expect a beer branded "Nuclear Hop Assault" to be. I'd chalk that up to this perchance having been an old bottle shipped across the Atlantic, but then the best before date invalidates that justification.

No off-notes. No booze.

TASTE: Fruity and floral, though not juicy or particularly expressive. Not resinous, piney, herbal, grassy, or even evocative. There's some pale malt in play, but overall this is awfully shallow and simplistic...I didn't expect that from Mikkeller.

It's surprisingly muted and reticent, lacking any vivid hop notes whatsoever. Then again, I guess I'm glad it's not imbalanced; somehow, Mikkel manages to avoid making this too bitter.

TEXTURE: Generic. Smooth, wet, unrefreshing, medium to full-bodied, overcarbonated.

Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, harsh, or rough. There is some alcohol warmth, which shouldn't be there in an 8% ABV brew.

OVERALL: Say what you want about Mikkeller (and many {almost predominantly American} drinkers like to shit on him), but he isn't known for shallow, timid brews. With that in mind, what is this? I didn't expect a beer called "Nuclear Hop Assault" to drink like an aged "West Coast style" (if that's even a true substyle) pale ale. I expected a polarizing beer - not a forgettable one.

D+ (2.41) / NOT RECOMMENDED

Aug 09, 2016

Slatetank from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

thanks to my brother for the share enjoyed from the bottle in a glass chilled

the color is amber with slight haze and thick white head with fine bead. The smell is fruity grapefruit -like hops with mild herbal aroma and gentle tropical fruit accent with slight mango and gentle orange quality
to be continued

Jun 01, 2016

Tsar_Riga from Indiana

3.93/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A - Golden body, serious haze, white head, lots of lacing.

S - Huge floral nose, a bit of honey.

T - Very big open, floral, with a honeyed middle, and a moderately bitter end. Probably faded, but not unpleasant even so.

M - Bright and slightly spiky, but not brutal.

O - A hop front worthy of its name. The beauty is to end without blasting out the palate, and this one manages it. Not necessarily complex, but interesting nevertheless.

May 27, 2016

snaotheus from Washington

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2016-04-23
330ml bottle served in a tulip. Best Before is on the cap, 2016/04/17. So, just past the date.

Pours hazy pale golden with a medium head and medium carbonation. Smell is pine and catpiss, very very piney. A hint of floral sweetness in the background.

Taste is bitter hoppy resin and pine with a stronger emphasis on the floral sweetness. This is the older school non-tropical style, and I like it.

Mouthfeel is dry and resinous. Good beer. I like it. I'd probably like it even more if it was fresher.

Apr 23, 2016

LiquidAmber from Washington

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a hazy, medium caramel amber with a fine, one finger white head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of bready malt, citrus and dank hops, tropical fruit (good pineapple), orange family citrus, inviting. Flavor is light caramel malt, citrus and lightly piney hops, excellent orange and tangerine, light pineapple and mixed tropical fruit. Starts citrusy but develops much deeper, resinous citrus hops with a long, lingering quite resinous and intense finish that actually gets more intense a little while after the taste. Medium bodied with great carbonation and mouth feel. A very nice imperial IPA that is deceptively fruity and moderate to start, but has quite a kick in the finish and aftermath. Less like a nuclear assault and more like a sneak attack, but in a good way. The hop bitterness is flavorful and satisfying. Really nice orange citrus flavors to start and interesting herbal flavors to the linger hops. This is a very flavorful and tasty big IPA. I liked this a lot.

Mar 30, 2016

Sound_Explorer from Washington

3.83/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This is an interesting one to rate as far as being a DIPA. Pours from the 330ml bottle with a straw/golden color with not a lot of head when poured into a shaker (so sue me). Aroma gives the expected lemon and overall citrus for a DIPA but it also has this almost sour characteristic to it. Like something you would expect of most Mikkeller offerings. However, the taste doesn't give that at all but rather gives a very balanced hop and malt character that is so often forgotten in DIPA's and TIPA's. Taste is smooth and citrusy with a nice amount of hop fun of lemon and pine. Overall pretty easy to drink and one that finishes with a bit of watering in the mouth. Definitely worth a go if you see it.

Mar 12, 2016

JackieKu from Taiwan

4.16/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

330ml bottle.

A: Cloudy pale amber. Poured 4 fingers high of foam with medium retention.
S: Intense lemon (zest), piney, and grassy aroma.
T: Lemon and honey. Slightly tropical fruits (like pineapple). Off-dry. High bitterness. Long, dry, and bitter finish.
M: Medium body. High carbonation.
O: Great refreshing IPA.

Feb 11, 2016

superspak from Ohio

3.78/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 11/18/2016. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep golden yellow color, with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, pine, light honey, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/tropical/pine hops and light-moderate pale malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, pine, light honey, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Medium pine/citrus rind bitterness; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, lemon/orange peel, pine, light honey, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/piney hops and light-moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero astringent hop flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness that lightly increases through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately sticky, and lightly creamy/bready balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice DIPA. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/pine hops and light-moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.

Jan 31, 2016

BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.06/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cramming as much hoppy goodness as you can into a 12oz bottle can be quite challenging. But Mikkeller's insistence pays off with this imperial IPA that drops quite a bomb on the tastebuds.

Nuclear Hop Assault's creamy, peachy-gold color is commonly hazy for the stye and carries a creamy white froth and uniform lace across the session. Its bright aromatics come alive with a host of tropical, citrus and berry fruits to tease and tantalize the senses. Once the hoppy elixir hits the tongue, its the sweetness that resonates first with mild caramel, honey and the breadiness of angel-food cake.

But then the taste explodes on the middle palate, delivering on promises of tropical pineapple, mango, passionfruit and kiwi; then citrusy pink grapefruit, mandarin orange and lemon; then following with the tang of gooseberry and juniper- all en route to a smooth bitter finish of soft pine resins and pleasant herbaceous grasses.

Medium-bodied but trending dry and crisp, the tangy-sweet fruitiness carries the refreshment of sherbet with a gentle zing on the late palate. Lasting flavors of freshly shaven pine and citrus out duel all others with an extended bitter grassines.

Jan 30, 2016

OmahaKF from Nebraska

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Smell is orange citrus, lemon zest, pineapple, some type of winter spice, and Jell-O.

Taste is fruit gelatin, orange juice with some of the rind bitterness mixed in, sweet pine, and a little bit of a bitter bite on the finish.

Overall, an interesting double IPA - a smooth integration of the flavors present, but none of them really stand out or create an overwhelming mismatch in flavors.

Jan 03, 2016

jzlyo from Iowa

3.84/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Aroma is citrus/orange and a big hint of bitterness. The flavor is citrus/orange, grapefruit, malts and a long and very bitter/slightly dry/tart finish.

Dec 28, 2015

tbryan5 from Louisiana

3.67/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This is just what I expected from a mikkeller IPA. The malty notes take over the hops. Not sure if it's age or the hops were not there to begin with. Pretty good but did not live up to its name.

Dec 07, 2015

kitch from Hong Kong

4.17/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A 200ml pour on draft at Mikkeller Bangkok into a mini stemmed wine glass.

Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head with good retention that leaves fluffy sticky lacing.

Aroma: Pineapple, grapefruit and piney with hints of breadiness.

Taste: Citrusy and bitter with citrus peel, grapefruit and a hint of lemon and grass. Biscuit like towards the end with lasting bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation.

Overall: A great DIPA with nice bitterness. Another that I would pick up bottles of if I could.

Nov 27, 2015

madelfonatree from Ohio

4.78/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Enjoyed September 2, 2015 in a tulip and also pint glass. The keg blew and they gave me the rest.

Enjoyed a bottle best by dated 18/11/16 on September 29, 2015. Still amazing.

Look - Bright but pale yellow. Not quite see through. No sediment. Crazy lacing. Thick fine bubbled head. White.

Smell - Pineapple and pine. More malt than name suggests. bread. Lemon.

Taste - Wow. Vanilla. Pine. Pineapple. Hop over malt but just slightly.

Feel - Creamy but rips enamel from teeth. Not a carbonation bomb despite good lacing and head.

Overall - This is the best Mikkeller I've had and I just said that with Dessert. This is a lot like Cimmerian from Floyds. Blew the keg too.

Sep 06, 2015

UCLABrewN84 from California

3.81/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Best before: 11/18/16.

Pours a murky whitish-orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. A foamy lattice of lace coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of citrus zest, grapefruit juice, earth, and pine needle aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest, grapefruit juice, and earthy hop flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and dry mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that has a nice mix of different hop qualities that work together slightly better in the smell to me.

Serving type: bottle.

Aug 30, 2015

Ian_B from Massachusetts

4.52/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

The flavours and character of this beer took me off guard. Juicy, sharply acidic fruit aromas from the hops. Notes of mango, spices, mint, and white wine grapes. Noticeable cereal grain with sweet flavours of honey, toast, and an earthy spice. Yeast is earthy, slightly spicey, and accentuates the fruitiness of the hops while highlighting the malt characteristics. Alcohol is noticeable but well-hidden throughout, mostly just adding to the dry and sharp citrus finish.

Aug 28, 2015

mschrei from Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into oversized wine goblet. Yellow orange colors, slightly cloudy, sustaining foam. Juicy smell and taste, slightly bitter aftertaste, mouth filling. Interesting flavors for a double IPA, seems a bit sharper and juicy.

Aug 25, 2015

StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.18/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

one of my favorite beers from my visit to mikkeller bar in san francisco, its an enormous ipa, but done with mikkeller grace, bitter and oily and yeasty and all of these things you think cant go well together, but somehow do, and spin expectations into divine satisfactions in a way few can. its almost harsh to smell, fresh raw hops, bold and assertive to say the least, wheezey and pungent almost to a fault. there is enough grain structure and sweetness to make it work though, and his weird danish yeast or whatever he uses, maybe just less cleaned up than others, but its common in so many hoppy mikkeller beers, and its here again. it makes it almost dry, and somehow real drinkable, especially with the alcohol being so well hidden. i think the name suggests a much more punishing beer, this is not sloppy but instead a beautifully engineered huge ipa. not sure which hops are in this, i imagine quite a few, but it doesnt feel like an assault so much as a really intense and borderline painful massage. beers like this are few and far between. it reminds me of a little cousin of 1000 ibu, which stands as one of the best ipas of all time for me.

Aug 21, 2015

Chico1985 from Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

More new Mikkeller. Label describes it as an "imperial IPA brewed with hybrid hops".

A - 330ml pour to a snifter. Beer is hazy+glowing orange with a finger or so of white head. Patchy cap+thick ring remain at the end along with bits of lace.

S - Mango, earthy dank grass, root veggies, tangerine, sugar cookie malt. Nice but a bit on the faint side, and kind of a weird fusel-alcohol thing going on.

T - Decent tropical citrus flavors going on like pineapple, grapefruit and mango, but lots of herbal/earthy/grassy hops take more of a lead here. Sugar cookie and slightly biscuity malt remains substantial.

M - Very smooth, good body. Light-feeling and quite drinkable for a DIPA. Carbonation and bitterness are both a bit on the low side.

O - Kind of curious what the 'hybrid' hops consist of but overall a pretty solid DIPA. Seems a bit on the fainter side, maybe some more bitterness would've been nice too, but a good mix of earthy+tropical hops and remarkably smooth.

Aug 11, 2015