Nuclear Hop Assault
Mikkeller ApS

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

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.

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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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.