Tag Archives: it’s alive!

justintoxicate 2:30 am on March 14, 2014
Tags: , , , , it's alive!, , ,   

It’s Alive! (White Wine Barrel) – Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark)

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  • My Rating: B-

It’s Alive! (White Wine Barrel; Lagret 7 måneder på hvidvinsfade) – Mikkeller, 10% ABV – 375ml., (Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Style: (barrel-aged) Sour/Wild Ale
  • Taste: Super woody apple-malt with some barnyard funk
  • Where I got it : Sherbrooke
  • How much: $9 (after 10% off) – 375ml., June 2012
  • Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  • Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: only if sour ales are your thing

Visual: Pours cloudy maple syrup brown with a smallish ultra-creamy lasting head, tons of very sticky lacing, several very active streams.

Nose: woody sour apple cider with substantial funk (7/10-pungency)

Attack: light-pukey up front

Mid-palate: controlled (5/10)-sweetness, mild sourness/tang, creamy-fizzy mouthfeel, (MAIN) intense woodiness, very yeasty, apple-malt, light-moderate funk/mild puke

Finish: residual wet-wood, soft sweet-bitter hops, woody exhale-hoppy finish.

Summary: Most woody, but actually quite drinkable after you get accustomed to it. I like the gray version better.

justintoxicate 6:45 pm on September 25, 2013
Tags: , , , it's alive!,   

It’s Alive! – Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark)

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  • My Rating: A-

It’s Alive! (grey label, original version) – Mikkeller, 8% ABV, 750ml, (Copenhagen, Denmark)

from ratebeer.com:

“It’s Alive! is Mikkellers answer and tribute to the trappist beer Orval. It’s Alive is an easy-to-drink beer, with a lot of hops. The color is amber, the foam is high, white and dense. The potent Brettanomyces culture makes It’s Alive continue to develop in the bottle.
Ingredients : Water, malt (pale and cara), light candy, hops (hallertauer and styrian goldings), yeast and brettanomyces.”

  • Style: (Belgian-style) Strong Ale
  • Taste Profile: creamy sweet/sour -> caramel malts/grapefruit -> grapefruit hoppy bitter finish.
  • Where I got it : Sherbrooke (EDM)
  • How much: $14 (after 10% off), June 2012
  • Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  • Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes

Visual: Cool name, it makes you think of the yeast and bretts used to make this beer. Mikkeller has never let me down, and I highly doubt it would start to do so tonight. Pours medium-light brown with a MASSIVE ultra-CREAMY head, very sticky lacing, lots of foamy retention, and a plethora of activity = all top notch.

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Nose: (First have to sip off all that foam to get to the meat… ) Partial red fruity caramel sweetness (almost strawberries) and cereal, rather muted in comparison to the visual. (3/10-aromatic strength).

Attack: incoming sweet and sourness, ultra-creamy/light fizzy mouthfeel

Mid-palate: (MAIN) sweet(8/10) caramel malts, cane sugar, grapefruit (HINTS) chamomile

Finish: light burpy, yeasty, soft/gentle grapefruit hopped bitter end.

Summary: Superb visual and excellent clean flavour. Excellent drinkability and balance. It would need a bit more depth to make it in the A, A+ range, but still highly recommended.