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Spontangooseberry
Mikkeller ApS
- From:
- Mikkeller ApS
- Denmark
- Style:
- Fruit Lambic
- ABV:
- 7.7%
- Score:
- 89
- Avg:
- 4 | pDev: 9.25%
- Reviews:
- 22
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 27, 2017
- Added:
- Aug 23, 2013
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 15
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Justin8mypants:
Rated by Justin8mypants from Oklahoma
4.24/5 rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Jan 10, 2016
4.24/5 rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Jan 10, 2016
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina
4.1/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.1/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
375 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 5/21/2025. Pours lightly hazy deep orange/amber/light copper color with a 1-2 finger dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on down the glass. Aromas of big tart/sour lemon, lime, green apple, pear, white grape, gooseberry, white wine, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, oak, musty funk, light leather/white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, gooseberries, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tart/sour lemon, lime, green apple, pear, white grape, gooseberry, white wine, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, oak, musty funk, light leather/white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/sour lemon, lime, green apple, pear, white grape, gooseberry, white wine, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, oak, musty funk, light leather/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a white. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, gooseberries, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness balance. Lightly puckering, but not astringent. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic, and lightly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 7.7%. Overall this is an awesome fruit lambic style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, gooseberries, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the balanced lactic tart/sour finish. Very well rounded funky Brett complexity; with great fruit, oak, and malt balance. A really enjoyable offering.
May 27, 2017Reviewed by Ciocanelu from Romania
4.35/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.35/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Hazy orange color with off-white head. Aroma has really nice lambic funk but it feels somehow clean, fresh, not cloying at all. Taste starts sour up-front with nice fruity notes. I couldn't put my finger on gooseberries but it has a general tart fruitiness. Finishes dry with lingering fruitiness. Medium to light body with a nice effervescence. Another nice one from the Spontan series. Funky, sour and fruity.
Apr 16, 2016Reviewed by Lingenbrau from Oregon
4.15/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pale gold with little head. Instant smell of sour and funk with just a hint of fruit. Sourness dominates the flavor, with a crisp sweet fruitiness (by the way, isn't gooseberry just a fancy word for kiwi?), paired with a dry soda like carbonation. Overall, a refreshing sour but nothing over the top. Cheers!
Apr 12, 2016Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas
4.23/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
I admit it was a while ago since I had this beer/lambic, but Gooseberry is a favorite berry of mine, and the way the Gooseberry distinctly presented itself in this sour ale made this a very memorable drinking experience. Blueberries and raspberries are both sweet and tart berries and yet they have distinctly different taste that is hard to describe. The taste of Gooseberry might roughly be described as a mix of grape, pear, and green apple, and yet that is not how Gooseberry really taste like, it has its own unique taste that cannot easily be described. You have to taste it. The Gooseberry taste was wonderfully and distinctly present in this beer.
Other than that it had a hazy orange hue, a white head, a pleasant aroma, it was moderately carbonated, light, and refreshing.
Jan 11, 2016Other than that it had a hazy orange hue, a white head, a pleasant aroma, it was moderately carbonated, light, and refreshing.
Reviewed by bnes09 from Illinois
4.07/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.07/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Assertive funky notes well varied with yeast and bacteria qualities. Citric acid, citrus fruit, mild, balanced hop. Bright, crisp and refreshing. Puckering, mouthwatering. Great sour fruit beer overall.
Jan 07, 2016Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.97/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.97/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a hazy goldenstraw with a frothy head that delivers excellent, leggy lacing action
Smell: Funky, oaky and vinous, with the gooseberry fruit underneath
Taste: Lactic sourness, up front, with gooseberry and vinous tones prominent; bitterness builds but then acetic sour tones take over in the mid-palate and dominate the finish
Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation; quite puckery
Overall: Perhaps it is the age on the bottle, but the acetic sourness adds a vinegary tone that overwhelms some of the more subtle flavors
Oct 12, 2015Smell: Funky, oaky and vinous, with the gooseberry fruit underneath
Taste: Lactic sourness, up front, with gooseberry and vinous tones prominent; bitterness builds but then acetic sour tones take over in the mid-palate and dominate the finish
Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation; quite puckery
Overall: Perhaps it is the age on the bottle, but the acetic sourness adds a vinegary tone that overwhelms some of the more subtle flavors
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado
3.65/5 rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.65/5 rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
BOTTLE: 2013 vintage. Green glass. Lime green label art. 375ml. Unbranded pry-off crown cap. Best before: 28/05/23.
Note: I haven't the fuckest what a gooseberry is...
Reviewed live as an oak aged sour ale per the label. Expectations are high given the brewery. Served cold into a flute and allowed to come to temperature over the course of consumption. 7.7% ABV.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: ~1.5 inches wide. Off-white colour. Thick and full, with a soft even consistency and a good overall complexion. Retention is nice - ~5-6 minutes.
BODY: Pale murky copper with neutral orange hues. No yeast can be seen within.
It's a nice looking sour ale, but offers nothing unique or special.
AROMA: Tones of white oak unify the aroma, lending the beer seeming cohesion. I don't pretend to know what gooseberry tastes or smells like, but I do pick up on some pleasant fruit character on par with lychee or peach. Neutral Belgian pale malts bend to the whims of the dominant sourness, though the intensity of the sourness is not high (it's about a 5/10 in terms of intensity). The lychee-like twang is an interesting feature, and helps set this apart from others in the style. An inviting aroma overall.
Aromatic intensity is above average.
TASTE: Lychee twang and peach-like sweetness provide the fruity notes; I guess that's gooseberry. The oak in the background ties the beer together, and complements the modest 4-5/10 sourness nicely. The neutral Belgian blonde and pale malts at the core of the beer disappear behind the veneer of the mellow oak. Not a wildly tart or puckering sour, but a pleasant and balanced one to be sure. Satisfying depth of flavour.
TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, acidic, refreshing, light-bodied, and approachable, with a lemony twang throughout that works with the acidity. Feels tailored specifically to the taste, and elevates the beer.
OVERALL: A crowd-pleasing sour ale with a harmony of texture and taste as well as a gestalt flavour profile, Spontangooseberry - while lacking the intricacy and effortless subtlety of the best offerings in the style - will nevertheless please the discerning drinker. More good work from Mikkeller, and well worth picking up at its European price point. And the gimmickry of the obscure berry isn't just a marketing ploy (so don't get any ideas, Stone Brewing).
B (3.65)
Aug 03, 2015Note: I haven't the fuckest what a gooseberry is...
Reviewed live as an oak aged sour ale per the label. Expectations are high given the brewery. Served cold into a flute and allowed to come to temperature over the course of consumption. 7.7% ABV.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: ~1.5 inches wide. Off-white colour. Thick and full, with a soft even consistency and a good overall complexion. Retention is nice - ~5-6 minutes.
BODY: Pale murky copper with neutral orange hues. No yeast can be seen within.
It's a nice looking sour ale, but offers nothing unique or special.
AROMA: Tones of white oak unify the aroma, lending the beer seeming cohesion. I don't pretend to know what gooseberry tastes or smells like, but I do pick up on some pleasant fruit character on par with lychee or peach. Neutral Belgian pale malts bend to the whims of the dominant sourness, though the intensity of the sourness is not high (it's about a 5/10 in terms of intensity). The lychee-like twang is an interesting feature, and helps set this apart from others in the style. An inviting aroma overall.
Aromatic intensity is above average.
TASTE: Lychee twang and peach-like sweetness provide the fruity notes; I guess that's gooseberry. The oak in the background ties the beer together, and complements the modest 4-5/10 sourness nicely. The neutral Belgian blonde and pale malts at the core of the beer disappear behind the veneer of the mellow oak. Not a wildly tart or puckering sour, but a pleasant and balanced one to be sure. Satisfying depth of flavour.
TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, acidic, refreshing, light-bodied, and approachable, with a lemony twang throughout that works with the acidity. Feels tailored specifically to the taste, and elevates the beer.
OVERALL: A crowd-pleasing sour ale with a harmony of texture and taste as well as a gestalt flavour profile, Spontangooseberry - while lacking the intricacy and effortless subtlety of the best offerings in the style - will nevertheless please the discerning drinker. More good work from Mikkeller, and well worth picking up at its European price point. And the gimmickry of the obscure berry isn't just a marketing ploy (so don't get any ideas, Stone Brewing).
B (3.65)
Spontangooseberry from Mikkeller ApS
Beer rating:
89 out of
100 with
114 ratings
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