Sometimes what at first blush seems like a great idea, doesn’t turn out so well in the end. Trust me, I ought to know, I’ve had a ton of them. Being a guy, these ideas usually involve a 6 pack and a power tool. Thankfully, I still 
have all my important pieces still attached in the appropriate places. So in addition to being a schemer, I can also identify these types of ideas when I see one.
Take an offering from the Mikkeller brewery for instance. Now, Mikkeller is a small brewery only recently opened (2006) in Denmark. It was started by two home brewers that quickly scaled up to national and then international scope. Their “mission statement” or at least what I can discern as one, comes from their web page and states:
“The brewery want to challenge the Danes’ taste buds with intense taste adventures, and some of the inspiration is found on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean where the American breweries aren’t afraid to play and break all the rules.”
And in three short years they have compiled quite a list of brews that they make, including seasonal Christmas brews. However, today, we are going to talk about one specific brew they make, the Stateside IPA.
This IPA is inspired by their love of American microbrews. They took aromatic American hops and balanced it with caramel malt to make and American style IPA. Now, let’s gather up all these disparate thoughts in one succinct sentence. This is a Danish beer manufacturer that is going to take American Hops and European malts and make and American style IPA. Now that sounds like a really great idea until I realize that the little light blinking in the corner of my eye is the same light that starts blinking right around the time I take out the nail gun. There is that little nagging thought that says this isn’t going to end well.
My instincts are always correct.
When the beer is first poured there is a slight chill haze in the glass. Ok, that’s on me, I’m keeping my fridge too cold. However, one thing I immediately notice is that there is a large but not necessarily dense head of foam on this beer. It took up close to half the available space in a pint glass. Typically not a good start. It has a nice amber/caramel color that is very pleasant to look at.
They nailed the aroma spot on. The nose is that of a typical American IPA, citrus and grapefruit with a light touch of malt in the background. It is nice without being too assertive, setting you up for a very nice drink. On the palate there is a hint of malt, quickly overwhelmed by grapefruit which is obliterated by a sharp bitterness. You know that bitterness that is typically associated with skunky European beers? Yeah, it’s that same bitterness here. Except that there is no sweetness to balance it off so you’re left with this tang of an aftertaste. There is almost no flavor in the hop profile, just this metallic bitterness left behind. Very disappointing.
The other two components, mouthfeel and drinkability are just afterthoughts at this point. Mouthfeel is fine, with a light body and a slight bit of astringency. Drinkability is definitely meh. I would still drink it if someone else paid for it, but I certainly won’t go out of my way to find or buy this beer. Like I said, a great idea that just didn’t turn out well in teh end.
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