Mikkeller: It’s Alive: Lychee and White Wine Barrel Aged Version (Denmark: Sour Ale: 8% ABV)
Visual: Bronzed red. Large loose bran flake brown bubbles.
Nose: Bran flakes. Horse blankets. Strawberries. Ice cream. Soft grapes. Rustic. Tinned grapefruit. Peppercorn.
Body: Tart apple juice. White wine. Tinned grapefruit strips. Sweet but tart fruit. Light perfume. Custard cream biscuits. Soft texture. Peppered and with soft cheeses.
Finish: Dry white wine. Custard. Orange segments. Funky yeast feel. Perfumed. Light spices and tannins.
Conclusion: For a strong abv beer, and a sour beer at that, this comes in with an amazingly soft texture and a flavor that was very unexpected. Lightly tart apple, but hits you playfully with funky yeast and this sweet yet tart fruit (I presume the lychee – I’ve never tried it so can’t say for sure). It is like a beer kitten, playing with a ball of yarn made of flavor in your mouth.
Or something – I really need to work on my similes.
Slightly rustic saison like aroma, bit of wine dryness and grape effects. Smooth yet funky texture. The grapefruit feels like those tinned chunks you get, soaked through and falling apart on the tongue. Over a kitten. Erm, maybe I should let that simile go..
So, playfully tart and fruity. Lots of wine and a soft fruit influence. Soft custard sweetness and lightly perfumed and tannin touched on the body. All comes together for a beer that is dry but still refreshing.
I don’t feel wowed by the beer, it is tasty and relaxing but feels all cotton buds and smoothness. It has a very nice flavor but somehow manages to keep it so soft that you don’t quite appreciate it. All very gentle and fluffy. Like a kitten.
Ok, ok I’ll let that go (Kitten)
So yes, soft, tart and relaxing. Lots of fruit and just a dash of spice. Feels like Belgium soft cheese soaked in beer and let loose to play. So, for just that lack of push it isn’t quite a wow beer, and yet is still amazingly proficient. A beer to let wrap around you, to sip, relax and breath deeply as it lulls you to rest. Really could do ith either more punch or a lower abv as right now it is far too easy to drink and at a low abv would be a lovely session beer. Ah well what can you do.
KITTEH!
..Sorry I don’t know what came over me there..
So, a pretty nice beer, but a bit too easy going to get the respect it deserves
Background: I’m not quite sure what I was on when I wrote this review. In the past week I had been on some quite powerful painkillers, but, not being dumb enough to mix painkillers and booze, my system was clean by this point. Maybe it was flashbacks. Anyway, despite the slight oddity of the review, it amused me so I thought I would upload it anyway. Hope you enjoy.
On the beer itself, well, like the name says, white wine barrel aged and with lychee. Now I don’t know what lychee is, wikipedia helped a bit but I’ve never tried them. Mikkeller always seem to be pretty mental with experimentation so when this turned up on Brewdog’s Guest Beer selection I thought I would give it a shot. Drunk while listening to “No Deliverance” album by Toadies, a quite rough and fun album a mate lent me which seemed to suit the beer well with a rustic energy.
