Mikkeller is a name that I trust when it comes to beer. When I saw Stateside, I thought it would be worth a taste. I split it three ways on a recent brew day.

Look

Mikkeller Stateside is golden, with a thin bone white head, which leaves some lacing. It has a slight haze to it as well.

Smell

I didn’t get the pure hop hit I was expecting, I got quite a strong honey aroma. The classic American IPA aromas were also present, but not in the volume I was expecting. Fresh citrus and grassy pine, but in a limited capacity.

Taste

Nice bitterness up front, with malth shining through in the middle, and a bittersweet, mouth-coating finish. Citrusy grapefruit hops are present throughout, but it wasn’t the massive IBU hit I was expecting.

Feel

Fairly low carbonation, and a little on the thin side.

Drink

Nicely drinkable IPA, quite different to the normal American example of the style. The Mikkeller fingerprint is there, but it isn’t quite as distinctive as his beers usually are. Worth a taste, but not outstanding.

I’m a big fan of Citra hops, and have brewed with them a few times – most recently in my Honey Wheat Beer. It sounds like a good combination, so I added a bottle of this to my last Slowbeer order.

Look

Amager Citra Weiss is an effort to pour. It is very highly carbonated. The photo was taken after about ten minutes of gradual trickling. Once poured, it has a huge fluffy white head, which fades very slowly, leaving patchy lacing. The colour is typical of a wheat beer – pale straw, maybe a bit more colour than average.

At this point I was a bit concerned about the size of the head, and was thinking that something could be wrong. Even for a wheat beer, 15 minutes is a lot of pouring.

Smell

Citra is a fairly noticeable hop, to say the least – so I was surprised at the subtlety the aroma of this beer. I thought the aroma was fairly typical of a wheat beer, with a slight fruitiness, and quite a strong yeast presence.

Taste

After 15 minutes, first sip. I got a nice mouthful of Citra; it is far more prevalent in the flavour than the aroma. It really stood out on the first mouthful, but from there it faded into the wheat. At this point I finished the pour and decided to let it warm up a bit. Once warmer, the Citra came out a bit more at the back of my mouth. The yeast flavour was also stronger.

Feel

Incredibly, it doesn’t feel as carbonated as it is, so although it appears to be hugely over-carbonated, I’ll call it medium to high. It has a medium mouthfeel/body.

Drink

Quite a drinkable beer. A moderate amount of hops – it could have used some more, but it was quite tasty. The final bitterness makes it an easy drinker.

I have heard a lot about this beer, but never tasted it until recently. It is a traditional German Doppelbock, I was interested to see what this style is meant to taste like. I think I bought it from the International Beer Shop.

Look

Paulaner Salvator pours with a tight, medium sized, fine head. It is deep amber in colour.

Smell

This beer has a delicious sweet/caramel malt aroma, with some slight fruitiness.  There is a slight alcohol aroma, but not enough to be off-putting.

Taste

Salvator is a malt-driven beer. There is quite a bit of sweetness, but it is balanced by the alcohol and some hop bitterness. The flavour is not overly complex, but is still tasty.

Feel

Medium to full bodied, with a moderate level of carbonation. Leaves some sweetness in the mouth.

Drink

A lovely sipper. Quite drinkable for 7.9% ABV. Makes me want to brew more bocks.