Sizzle Sesh
Mikkeller ApS

 

a neat ipa here brewed with szechuan peppercorns! for one, its really hard to believe this is as low alcohol as its listed here, with the big dry hopping on it, all the body, and the spiciness, it seems like it would almost have to be stronger than it is to support all this flavor, but it somehow retains a very modest abv, it works. it looks a little raw, a sedimented pale golden color with a dense foggy haze and a tall white head. it smells lightly floral, more hops than szechuan here by far, lemon and lime notes, green tea bitterness, subtle pine as well, quite robustly hoppy. the peppercorns are there in the flavor, they come on past the midway mark and start to do their little zizzle numbing thing, almost piquant in taste, polleny and earthy and botanical, but they set in like mild novocaine or something, not quite numbing as much as eating one in real life, but the effect is certainly there, which also sort of acts as a taste bud inhibitor in the finish, more hop bitterness than flavor here as a result, and nothing at all hardly from the grain or the yeast. still, weird as it is, i like what the szechuan adds, i have seen and tried it in beer before, but this effect on the tongue has ever happened from drink before, its really fascinating. much shorter lived than the real experience, but i appreciate that so i can keep on drinking and tasting my beer. this is a really cool and informative little beer, id love to see these peppercorns work their way into a spontan series beer in the future...

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy to cloudy light yellow in color. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and a small collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of citrusy hops are present in the nose—oranges and tangerines seem to stand out in particular—along with hints of Szechuan peppercorns.
T: The taste follows the smell and starts out with flavors of oranges but then some notes of Szechuan peppercorns begin to appear. There is only a slight bit of heat from the peppercorns.
M: It feels just about medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a faint amount of crispness.
O: I would definitely consider this to be a sessionable, juicy IPA with subtle bits of Szechuan peppercorns mixed in. It is quite drinkable.

Serving type: can

This is a nice session IPA with just about the right amount of herbal complexity coming from the peppercorn. No heat and no distracting spicy notes. Very enjoyable