Stick In The Ear
Mikkeller ApS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8oz glass at Beer Revolution - not paying that much for a 12oz tulip for something from Mikkeller.

This beer appears a hazy, medium apricot amber colour, with one finger of puffy, loosely foamy, and mildly creamy ecru head, which leaves a solid wall of painted lace around the glass as it slowly recedes.

It smells of pungent tropical fruit (pineapple, guava, and generic melon), semi-sweet caramel malt, some house brand yeastiness, and more leafy, weedy, and piney green hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, a bit of biscuity toffee, mild earthy yeast, some muddled exotic fruitiness, and more leafy, herbal, and perfumed floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly benign in its insouciant frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, just a touch of alcohol ingress stepping on the petunias here. It finishes well off-dry, the lingering fruit and big-boy malt making it so.

Overall, this is certainly one of the better IPAs that I have had from this gypsy brewing concern - nice and fruity, with a heady balancing bitterness. Not sure about the reason for the name here, but I find it somewhat amusing that an NHL game is on in front of me right now.

 

L: Hazy dark orange color, three finger slightly off white head, excellent lacing, no visible carbonation.

S: Hops, some spices, sweet.

T: Hoppy, malty, slightly bitter.

F: Very drinkable and refreshing.

O: Good IPA.

i agree with others that this is definitely a little bitter, more so than it needs to be, but its awesome ipa, and in a world where its harder and harder every minute to make a beer in this style thats any different from anything else, these guys have done an exceptional job with this, very very unique beer. heaady juice on the nose of this clearish and sticky lacy brew. it smells like honey oil, pot, pineapple slices, tangerines, and some yeast thats very much de proef, belgian american, very mikkeller in this format. the taste is dope too, like smarties candy at first, a little sweet but only from the dankness of the hops, orange juice, pineapple again, grape, i wonder if there is any real fruit in this at all or if its something derived entirely from the hops, if its the latter, i am floored by it. for as much as i love mikkeller, there have not been a lot of amazing hop driven beers since the 1000 ibu, and i think this might be y favorite since then. too bad its almost 6 bucks a bottle, i would drink a whole lot more of this at a better price, even the four pack cans, this should be next in those! cool name and cool label and amazing fruity hop profile. great stickiness but perpetual motion with the bubbles. love love love

 

 

 

Smell is tropical fruit medley - pineapple, hints of passionfruit, and citrus. Taste is citrus, hint of mango, pineapple, and a bitter finish. This is very much a west coast IPA, and a pretty good one at that!