Spontanlemon
Mikkeller ApS

Drank on August 23rd, 2017. Man, that puckers your bum! Super sour and tart. Very tasty, though not remarkably citrus or lemon forward. I still like it for what it is!

 

Bottle cap dated 23/06/26. Somewhat hazy deep reddish orange, good waves of carbonation with filmy head. Smell is tart and lemony. Taste is quite sour, lemony with some more delicate fruitiness. Feel is fresh, good carbonation, puckering. Overall, this hits the mark for a lemony sour beer, but I would only try it rarely.

i must have had 40 of these spontan beers now, and this is one of the weirdest ones in the series, carrot and beet included! the lemon is insanely sour here, like biting into a slice of real lemon, which is both compatible with the sweeter lambic base and similarly acidic, but also so intense as to seemingly cut down some of its nuance and complexity that make so many of these so compelling. the lemon is natural, no denying that, but its more lemonade than beer here, and aside from the honey sort of sweetness in the base beer, i dont get as much of it, some lacto sourness and some light funkiness, but less of the maturity and the wood, more fruit than maybe there needs to be, and with all the acid, its almost too sour to drink even half a bottle of. part of what makes this series awesome is the lambic base, which hasnt always tasted exactly the same to me in each of them, but its always good. here the lemon runs over it a bit, and it seems simpler but not in a good way. this is a cool beer because ive never had anything like it at all, its super intense, and that is what i rely on mikkeller to deliver. a standout in the series, but more for being strange than amazing...

375 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 6/23/2026. Pours slightly hazy golden orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lasts. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big tart/sour lemon, lime, green apple, peach, pear, melon, berries, citrus peel, white grape, white wine, oak, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, lemons, and light-moderate pale malt/oak barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge tart/sour lemon, lime, green apple, peach, pear, melon, berries, citrus peel, white grape, white wine, oak, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Good amount of fruity/lactic sourness; and some yeast/oak spiciness and citrus peel bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour lemon, lime, green apple, peach, pear, melon, berries, citrus peel, white grape, white wine, oak, peppercorn, hay, straw, grass, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, lemons, and light-moderate pale malt/oak barrel flavors; with a nice malt/sour/bitter/spiciness balance. Increasingly puckering, but not overwhelming on sourness. Moderate increasing dryness from sourness, citrus peel bitterness, and yeast/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, acidic, fairly grainy/tannic, and sticky/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 7.7%. Overall this is an amazing fruit lambic! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, lemons, and light-moderate pale malt/oak barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the increasingly lactic/puckering/tannic/drying finish. Insane levels of vibrant/juicy lemon juice/peel flavors; with fantastic Brett/Lacto complexity, and solid malt/oak presence. A highly enjoyable offering. One of the best in the series so far.

 

 

 

Aroma is sour fruit and strong lemons. The flavor is lemons, fruit/sour fruit, malts and a slightly earthy/very sour/tart finish. The lemons definitely were strong.

Spontaneous but controlled, throw on some lemons and allow acidity to run amuck. Turns out that Mikkeller's sour slemon a one sombitch that's sour as shit!

Pale straw and faintly hazed, a delicate cotton froth begins to build. Looking the part of kamikaze mixed drink, the scent bursts with citronella and a backdrop of cider, brine and white wine. With a scant biscuit and wheaten sweetness to start, its confectioner's sugars only highlight the lemon additions and little more.

The ale shrugs off any noticble sweetness in a hurry and the sourness begins its utter dominance. Bright lemon flavors lay its juiciness, peely, pulpy radiance upon the sharp sour base underneath. Crabapple, cider, sour white grape, dry white wine, lime and gooseberry all pang away at the tastebuds with pin-point precision. Utmost sourness squints the eyes, floods the salivation glands and tightens the jaws, provoking a sweat-inducing taste and texture.

Bracingly sour and absolutely enamel-stripping, the beer's lemony sourness washes the palate with refreshment, thirst quenching and an overall bright palate. Trending clean, crisp and short in aftertaste, only a brisk and briny lemon candy taste persists. Yep, its sour as shit!

 

On tap at Koelschip, Copenhagen, into a Mikkeller Spontan mini gueuze type glass.

Appearance: It was a clear copper colour with a half finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly, leaving sparse lacing.

Aroma: Lemon, tart, sour, wood, oak with very light funk.

Taste: Lots of lemon. Lemon and carbonated water, sourness, some light oak and funk.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with high carbonation.

Overall: This was ok, but not one of the better beers in the Spontan series.