Mikkeller Williamette showcases the fuggle out of that hop

This is my third single hop IPA from Mikkeller but the hop, Willamette, I know very little about. My googling machine conveys that it's similar to the English style Fuggle but is more fruity and has floral notes. So what's the real story?

It's improbable, since most of/allMikkeller's beers are limited production, that he would make six packs of his single hop varitals, but Jebus I wish he would. He has the innate ability to balance the hops and malts to create brews that are delicious and showcase the IPA. He puts together the perfect backing band for the pop star, Willamette. The hop itself is delicious and tasting some light citrus, apple, pear flavors. I wish their was a Single Hop Super Hero who doled out six packs right now. Rrreal bad. TRANSFORMERS rating.


Side story, as I went out on the patio to grab the beer, I was almost past the screen door when something huge caught my eye and gave me a jolt. It's not every day you see a white Praying Mantis!

You have to understand, we are as far away from what you'd call 'nature' as possible in this urban parking lot called Los Angeles. David and I live in Marina del Rey, surrounded by huge apartment complexes, water and boats. Pizza delivery people rarely come down here, let alone insects. So this fella was a very cool surprise for me. Apparently their sightings symbolize the coming of personal growth and inner change. Science would say that because he was 4 inches long but still white, he was seeking a protective place to molt (shed his skin) for the final time, thus becoming green. But as a passive idealist, I will go with the former.

What's even weirder, is that Lindsey and David get home late and coincidently had a captured insect with them. A bee, which they want to "put a leash on" using floss. SOOOMEBODY has been sniffing paint chips. David is a little insulted that I hadn't captured the creature - "they're really rare you know." I'm beginning to feel 7 years old again.

What's with all these insects? Symbolism or are they just getting lost? I was never a kid who collected animals and such, although there was a kid in elementary school, Will, who grew frogs in order to skin their hides. He's a big rig truck driver now, I kid you not. Redneck to the core. Another story I just remembered from an old ex-girlfriend was from her childhood, her family caught a praying mantis and a scorpion and decided to invoke Darwin's Survival of the Fittest. They placed a glass bowl over the two unwilling participants to see which creature came out victorious, gladiator style. The main event was billed "WELCOME TO THE THUNDER DOME." HA. I just wanted to tell that story so I could say that phrase. Mad Max 3 rules. Bye

Mikkeller Chinook Single Hop is a tasty education

Thank goodness it's Friday. I can't actually say TGIF because it's not very becoming of a man my age and social stature...Basically it sounds like I'm in a teenage Facebook chatroom. Regardless, I'm excited to be over with this week, which was long and hard. That's what she....

Btw, I discovered today there are more single hop varieties than the Chinook and Simcoe, but those are the only ones available at Beverage Warehouse. FFS.

Jeez. BTDT. Well, I'll have to make do with what I have.  

The Simcoe single hop IPA really surprised me because I thought I knew the character of Simcoe. For the Chinook, I am more prepared for the elementary effect of a single hop IPA. After the first couple of sips, I'm admiring the subtlety of this IPA.

Accordingly to my Designing Great Beers book, if Chinook is employed later in the boil it imparts a herbal, almost smoky aroma. However, Mikkeller clearly used Chinook at the beginning of the boil because it has a rich and pronounced aroma with a citrus component.

For having a very high alpha acid count (one of the strongest hops), the IPA is surprisingly refreshing and citrusy. It's like finding the big silent bully has a heart of gold.

I'm enjoying this much more than the Simcoe, and would love to get my hands on the Amarillo, Centennial, Citra and Cascade single hop IPAs. TRANSFORMERS rating. GLWT Walker.


And finally,

MTFBWY


(May The Force Be With You)

Mikkeller Green Gold is made for the Spring

After work I stopped by the Surly Goat, where I was able to revisit Deschutes Lost Mirror Mirror Barleywine (post). I was lead to believe that I would never have it again, but apparently they had 'found' another keg of the stuff because it was on tap.

I walk in the door and Storm Tater is ready to mash me, but I deftly deflect his blows. He's getting better, and one day I may land a fatal stroke...if his arms don't fall off first. 

Mikkeller Green Gold IPA awaits!

StormTater's long awaited return to the blog

I love the name of this - hops are green gold. This brew is made with Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo hops, all hops I've used in beers and I'm enjoy immensely.

If yesterday's Mikkeller 10 is a Summer IPA, this is an American Spring IPA. It has a strong citrus hop with a classic American body. I've noticed this week Mikkeller's beers have outstanding carbonation, which adds to the beer's crispness.

Every IPA from Mikkeller I would drink again. Few breweries create brews of such high standards - Stone, Dogfish Head - and I feel Mikkeller is in the same club. I'm beginning to understand why he's so revered. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Mikkeller 10 IPA gets close to a perfect score

I'm still recovering from the 4th o' July weekend and I'm spending the down time making the only dish that would utilize all my left over ingredients from the bbq - meatloaf! 

Hamburger buns, chipotle bbq sauce and 2 lbs of ground beef are almost all I need to make this bad boy. That, combined with Sam Malone and an American style IPA complete the evening.

Clocks in at a 6.9% alcohol and has a fresh grass and piney hop bite that combines with a very light and citrusy body. Rather than the typical hop bombs that Americans love, Mikkeller's IPA's are proving to be subtle characters and rarely do I taste IPA's this light and refreshing. I could describe it as a summer IPA, perfect for a picnic. THE ROCK rating.

Mikkeller Simcoe single hop IPA isn't what I hop'd it to be

David is away in Austria and Florida all week (filming the Space Shuttle's last launch! He will have seen the last two shuttle launches EVER. Lucky bastard), but I'm not that jealous because it's Mikkeller time.

I would classify Mikkeller - from what I know - as a brewer's brewer. Mikkeller is Danish and is a 'gypsy' brewer, brewing and collaborating all over the world. The beer world loves him. I picked up five of his beers, which are only available in 11 ounce bottles for around $5 and they would be hard to split with David so I'm taking advantage of his absence to squeeze them in before the year ends.

I'm especially excited because two of the five are single hop IPA's, which will be a cool experiment. Beers almost always combine multiple hops to create complexity, but Mikkeller created a line of IPA's to highlight the contributions of several hops. Sam Adam did a single IPA box of beers and I heard they were not so tasty. I bet this is different.

I chose the Simcoe IPA to drink first because I have a nostalgic connection to the hop. The first IPA I made, a Double Belgian IPA called Double Dutch Rudder, was made with Simcoe and it has a very unique hop bite to it. I am of the understanding that Simcoe is a 'super hop,' and so the hop complexity owed itself primarily to Simcoe and not the two other hops I used as well.

Well after tasting this single hop, I am quite wrong. The IPA isn't as bitter as I hoped it to be and the body is surprisingly clean and malty. Simcoe, I'm learning, is a far more subtle and earthy hop than I supposed it to be. I like this IPA because it is refreshing and I learned a great deal from it. That being said, I'm not going to rate it highly because it is, after all, a single hop beer and it's not something I'd recommend everyone spending their money on unless they're a homebrewer. ARMAGEDDON rating

Mikkeller I Beat yoU sunsets a crazy and delicious 4th of July

Happy 4th o' Julie! This was one incredibly busy day that included dog sitting, bottling two home brews and entertaining people from 10am until 9pm. Only with the stamina gained through the spirit of Chuck Norris was I able to live through this day.

Nick G, Beth, AJ and Nic came over around 10am for some patriotic brunch. And by patriotic I mean coffee cake and Freedom Toast drowned in Vermont Maple Syrup. With Nic and Nick around I able to bottle both David and my home brews, which I've been dying to do because it's the highly experimental and unique, Sea Salt Caramel (Brewing Sea Salt Caramel). It was a wild brew day and I'm nervous about the taste, because I wasn't as OCD on keeping the temperature as constant as I have been in the past. Could this be my first bomb?

Hell no! This turned out perfect! My experience has made me aware that carbonating beer can lead to something completely different than what you taste during bottling, but this is pitch perfect. It has a heavy caramel flavor profile and the salt is at the right level. No weird ester or fruit flavors, which I was worried about because of the high percentage of Special B malt. The color is perfect, a dark brown reminiscent of caramel. This is one syrupy and dank dessert beer. I plan on cold conditioning three bottles in my refrigerator to experiment and the rest go in the beer closet to carbonate. David's Imperial IPA didn't fare as well however, it seems a little watered down. Hopefully carbonation will provide a fuller body. A big thank you to Nic and Nick for helping me clean and cap over 4 cases of beer in only 1.5 hours!

Tiffany and her crew brought over materials for bacon mac and cheese and jalapeno cornbread, as well as some phenomenal jello shots. Ridiculous right? Alyssa had some sort of jello shot contraption that allowed her to layer them. I may have had a handful...does that make me a super patriot?

 YUP

Meanwhile, I'm getting to work on my Blueberry Chipotle BBQ sauce burgers with fried onions. I don't cook very often, but with David out of town in Austria, it's time to represent the apartment. The recipe comes from an article in the LA Times food section last week, and it turned out delicious! Check this good looking son of a gun out:

I still have 3lbs of meat and a bowl of bbq sauce leftover, will I be eating burgers all week?

Many people came by throughout the day and I poured a bunch of home brew to treat everyone, including Heisenburg's Honey Wheat, David's Imperial Red, and my Summer's Blonde Intern. Thanks everyone for coming out!

While I didn't choose an American beer for the special beer of the day, I did drink a bunch of Bud Light and Jose Cuervo, which is strangely more American than you'd think. Right? Sure.

I bought 5 beers from legendary Danish brewer Mikkeller on Friday and I'll be damned if I don't get to drink them before David returns from Austria, which is when we start our 7 straight days of Rogue Brewing beer. With the spirit of Chuck Norris protecting me, I pour this hopefully delightful Danish Imperial IPA

Who wears seersucker shorts with a chuck norris shirt while drinking Danish beer? This guy!

I Beat yoU is an Imperial IPA that clocks in at 9.75% and smells incredibly well, the piney hops really come through. It is full bodied and has a toasted malt that balances nicely with the piney, herbal hops. Everything is so well balanced that you don't realize this is an Imperial IPA. The more I drink, the craftsmanship becomes more apparent. This is a smooth IPA. THE ROCK rating.


I hope everyone had a an awesome and fun 4th of July!