Ultramate 1000
Mikkeller ApS

 

This beer looked hopeful from the pour. Poured a nice copper color with a frothy head. Smelled of hops, but had a dankness that I couldn't figure out. The taste was just awful. Started out as full-on hop-forward hoppiness; but, some weird metallic strangeness took over. The aftertaste had some lime-like flavor, but this beer is gleefully retired.

 

 

 

 

This pours as murky as mud! Solid Brown body with a slightly off white soapy head. Ok, looks good, I guess for a pale ale. The aroma has hints of pine and slightly toasted malts. Smells decent. Let's see what this brew tastes like. This first tastes like the aroma (pine and sweet toasted malts), then fades into a huge bitter mess! This is incredibly bitter. The body is medium light and carbonation is par.

Overall: This beer isn't entertaining me at all! The bitterness is like I just took a handful of Ritalin and just stated chewing on them like bubblegum. I don't usually drain pour, but this one left me no choice! I can see why this brew is "Retired".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our local in Ohio might have gotten this in last month, I kept wanting to try it. That's crazy if this was brewed in 2013, I know their wholesaler gave it to them at full price. To resell a beer that's already been aged a year would be crazy no dates on the bottle anywhere but the cap has 8571112, I can't tell if there's a date within that mess. Body is clouded deep apricot hue with a big biscuit shaped head forming thick like a big fermenting ale yeast during open fermentation. Fine even lacing spread around the sides of the glass. Aroma has a sour note, lemon zest, herbal character with bready biscuit/fresh cut hay and a bit of aged hop presence going on here. The most unbalanced infected beer I've tasted in a long time, band aids with a lingering pine bitterness that will most likely induce your gag reflex, there's a reason this is no longer brewed and how the hell did I pay 4 something for a 11.2 ounce bottle of it. Straight drain pour nothing good will come out of finishing this beer. Mouthfeel akin to paint thinner with a medicinal/bitter herbal hop finish that lingers and makes you want go brush your teeth. It was like sucking on hop pellets, not a single pleasant note here. Overall, Mikkeller beer makes me nervous throw down big bucks and rarely do I have a good experience, but that new Prairie collaboration American Style, don't pass big thumbs up!!!

 

 

 

11.2 fl oz. bottle, with no apparent bottled on date present. Another one-off beer from Mikkeller, and something of a lucky find at the local beer store. I'm typically pretty impressed with what Mikkeller has to offer, so I'm looking forward to this one as well.

Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours two nice fluffy fingers of off-white / tan colored head. Body is a murky dark orange color with hints of ruby thrown in there as well. Lots of bubbles rushing topside, with some sediment twirling around. Nice fluffy rings of lacing.

S - Smell is mild and subdued: strong presence of dusty bready malts, with faint faded smelling hops.

T - Taste is of extremely strong bitter hop presence, but not the usual array of bitterness that is found in many pale ales / IPA's. And considering this beer's low 4.90% abv, this beer hits your tastebuds pretty hard. Lightly floral, but with a slightly nasty, unpleasant bitterness in the aftertaste.

M - Feel is of bitter hops and dryness, still trying to remove that putrid hop bitterness from my palate, but it's lingering. Body is medium-full, with lively carbonation.

Overall, this was a beer that looked promising, but definitely failed to deliver. Very intense in character for being such a low abv pale ale, it definitely tasted like much higher than 4.90% abv, but that doesn't help it taste any less vile. Not a beer I would try again, that's for sure, especially not at the price small bottles like these go for. Glad to have tried it, but never again. Would much rather have drank a bottle of Mikkeller 1000 IBU over this.

Mikkeller Ultramate 1000 ---3/5.