Pontus Noma
Mikkeller ApS

 

Courtesy of the importer of Mikkeller’s beers in Taiwan; coming in a slim 375ml green bottle, BB 04/10/2016, served lightly chilled in straight imperial pint glass.

A: pours a dark yellow-ish straw colour coming with light haze, a fast retreating thin white foam, and rather mild carbonation.
S: the aroma is… soft-drink like sharply gingery-lemony, sour-sweet and spicy without enough support from a malt backbone. The intriguing edge of the spices/herbs added points to aromatic Indian sandalwood and pine sprigs, although I have no idea if these are indeed added to the brew.
T: overly effervescent, the foretaste is not sweet but comes with a pronounced edge as of Taiwanese herbal Ai-Yu jelly, ginger root, lime peels, coriander seeds, rosemary (only just), pine sprigs and more undertones of Indian sandalwood on the aroma side, against a fairly light-bodied malt backbone. The hop bitterness and a higher level of attenuation come at a good timing to relieve the otherwise potentially sweet and bizarre flavour profile, rendering a tannic dry, lightly bitter, leather-ish, aromatically spiced, and semi-chewy finish in the end. The attenuation level is pretty high, while the unmalted wheat used in the brew also contributes a mildly wheat-ish feel through the drink.
M&O: the carbonation level comes a bit too much to my taste, but all in all this light-bodied wheat-ish and spiced ale shows a rather clean palate and a very distinctive profile all in all. I admire the efforts of the brewers in making something so different, but this is not to say I’d easily purchase it again… (esp. considering the beer is usually available only in that extravagant restaurant named Noma).

375ml bottle. Made with unmalted wheat, oats, and something called jemurt - nothing at all comes up for that, so who knows.

This beer pours a hazy pale golden straw colour, with three fingers of puffy, bubbly white whipped cream head, which leaves a few bloated bands of frilly linen lace around the glass as it slowly abates.

It smells of lemon window cleaner, floral lavender, aloe vera, a hint of spicy rosemary, further, more robust citrus notes, understated pale grainy malt, and very subtle earthy yeast. The taste is rather intensely herbal and floral all at once - mint leaf, rosemary, fresh parsley, coriander, chalky perfumed florals, and botanical salve - all surrounded by a lemon-tinged green essence, and supported by a timid pale malt sweetness.

The bubbles are there, sure, but hardly push their case, the body medium-light in weight, and actually fairly smooth - the herbs and flowers keeping their barbs and thorns to themselves. It finishes off-dry, the fruitiness and weak malt character keeping up airs, while the hodgepodge of herbs and fusion of florals continue to run rampant.

An interesting herbed beer, that's for certain - at first it was a bit off-putting, but once I settled into the various interactions among the lemon, herbs, and flower essences, things improved. I almost forgot that I was drinking a beer - this will have you thinking of herbal cocktails. Overall - nice to try, but not particularly easy to put back.