Cascade Imperial India Pale Ale
Mikkeller ApS

 

 

330ml can - a traditional big 'C' hop is our next stop in this single varietal series.

This beer pours a hazy, medium copper amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and mildly creamy off-white head, which leaves some random streaky and sudsy lace around the glass as it slowly sinks away.

It smells of orange and red grapefruit juice, slightly dank pine resin, bready and doughy caramel malt, and further leafy, weedy, and musky floral green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, acerbic pine needles, a faint earthy yeastiness, tart mixed citrus peel, and more leafy, herbal, and gently perfumed floral verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-coddling frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and mostly smooth, just a bit of hop cone detritus seemingly getting stuck in my throat. It finishes off-dry, the big citrus fruitiness still duking it out with a lingering pine forest floor character.

Overall - once again, we have ourselves a single hop that can do it all - act, dance, sing, but more importantly, provide a complex range of flavours. This is what double IPAs were like when I first got into them, and it's always nice to revisit that feeling. Great stuff.

 

A 330ml can with a best before date of 15th November 2017. Poured into a Mikkeller tasting glass.

Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger frothy white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.

Aroma: Orange juice, honey, pine and caramel with hints of grapefruit.

Taste: Bittersweet orange juice, grapefruit, pine and caramel while at the same time, quite boozy.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.

Overall: This was one was not really for me. My least favourite of the four single hop IIPA’s that I tried. It was the clear booziness that took away from my fully appreciating this.

Poured this from a 330 ml can with the same design as the bottle, into a tulip glass. Could not pour out the whole can because of the massive head of white froth which develops straight out of the an over the hazy golden orange tone of the brew. THe aromas are a mix of fruit, citrus, pine and florals, although a bit more muted and mixed than some of their other single hop IIPAs. Taste-wise, there is a light sweetness, mixed with a somewhat heavier bitterness, plenty of fruitiness and pine bitter, making it quite mellow and balanced. This brew is medium bodied, enhanced by the soft to medium carbonation. Nice!

 

 

Almost clear orange color with off-white head. Aroma is floral, citrusy, also a bit dank. Taste is slightly sweet and malty at first, continues with fruity hop flavors, finishes with medium bitterness and yellow grapefruit flavor. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. Overall it's another good beer from the IIPA single hop series.