Suregork Loves Beer

• Brewery: Mikkeller (Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij)
• Country: Denmark
• Style: American IPA
• ABV: 7.8 %
• Size: 330 ml
• Bought from: Alko, 5.23€
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Christmas beers have made their annual debut at Alko, and you can find the list of this year’s Christmas beers here. I’m usually not that super excited about the Christmas beers, but I bought a couple of bottles from the list. First up is Mikkeller’s Hoppy Lovin’ Christmas, an IPA brewed with ginger and pine needles. Sounds quite interesting and hopefully the spices aren’t overpowering. Have had a couple of ginger-spiced beers before and they are usually a bit over-the-top, but pine needles in beer is new to me. The beer has been brewed with Pale Ale and Melanoidin (these are starting to become one of my favorite malts) malts and hopped with Magnum, Amarillo, Columbus, Centennial and Citra to an IBU of 66. On paper this sounds awesome at least! Let’s see how it does in reality!

Mikkeller Hoppy Lovin’ Christmas
Appearance
The beer pours with a slightly hazy golden-orange color and a massive white-colored fluffy head is formed, that collapses slowly leaving patches of lacing along the glass. The beer is bottle-conditioned, so the second pours contains some yeast.
Smell
The aroma is dominated by fruity hops, featuring tones of pineapple, mango and citrus, together with resiny pine notes and ginger. The aroma is quite sweet as well, with some caramel notes in the background. A really nice aroma, but you definitely have to like (tropical) fruity hops to enjoy it.
Taste
The flavor begins with a slightly sweet, caramelly and bready maltiness, that is quickly joined by a resiny, citrusy, pineapple-like and dank hoppiness. The hop flavors are strong and they dominate the palate. The taste finishes with a quite dry and bitter finish, giving room for a slight bite of ginger as well. Positively surprised that the ginger has managed to stay in the background, while it still contributes positively to the flavor. The flavors are well balanced for an IPA, with the moderately strong bitterness being coupled with the strong hop flavors and not too weak of a malt backbone.
Mouthfeel
The beer has a medium body and carbonation level, and it is easy to drink. A really enjoyable and well put together beer.

Overall

A very nice 'spiced' IPA, where the spices are actually in the background and complement the hop flavors that are very present in this. Lots of tropical fruits, citrus and resin flavors in this, which I really enjoy. Maybe just slightly too much of the fruits if I have to find something to complain about. The bitterness level is good, and it is very well backed up by the maltiness contributed by the melanoidin malts. My kind of Christmas beer!

Since I haven’t reviewed a single ‘Christmas’ beer yet this year (even though I have a couple of them in my beer cabinet) and tomorrow is Christmas Eve, what better time than to try two spiced beers by Brewdog and Nøgne Ø. I’m not usually a big fan of beers that are spiced to taste as something else, e.g. gingerbread or glögg, but hopefully these will be drinkable, and at least go along with the gingerbread and ‘christmas pastries’ we baked today. Merry Christmas to all you readers!

• Brewery: Brewdog
• Country: Scotland
• Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer
• ABV: 4.7 %
• Size: 330 ml
• Bought from: K-Citymarket, 4.20 euro
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Brewdog’s Christmas beer, There Is No Santa, is a stout seasoned with cocoa nibs and ginger stems. Since it’s only 4.7% ABV, it is available in shops other than Alko as well. I found no information on any malts or hops used, but I assume the spices are the central flavor element of this beer. Let’s see how it tastes!

Brewdog There Is No Santa
Appearance
The beer pours with a dark brown, almost black, color, and if held against the light, one can notice some red tones in the color. A fluffy cream-colored head is formed during pour, but it collapses really quickly, leaving minimal lacing along the glass.
Smell
The spices dominate the aroma, and especially the ginger is prominent, which together with some tones of cinnamon, give this an aroma similar to that of gingerbread. There are also some tones of roasted malt and chocolate hidden behind the spices.
Taste
The flavor is very similar to the aroma, and it is dominated by tones of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. This is joined by some roasty tones from roasted malt, cocoa and dark chocolate. There is a slight sweetness in the flavor as well, making the flavor, like the aroma, very reminiscent of gingerbread. The flavor ends with a lightly dry and bitter finish. A bit too much spices for my taste, but I guess it suits the occasion.
Mouthfeel
The beer has quite a light body with a medium carbonation level. It was quite easy to drink, but felt it was a little too watery, and could have used a bit more body to it.

Overall
This is definitely a Christmas beer, as it tastes very much like the gingerbread we just baked. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a big fan of spiced beers, but still felt this was drinkable and suited the occasion. Could have used a bit more body, a little less spices, and some more flavor from the malts. Might buy again next year.

• Brewery: Nøgne Ø
• Country: Norway
• Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer
• ABV: 6.5 %
• Size: 500 ml
• Bought from: Alko, 6.33 euro
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The second beer of the evening is Nøgne Ø’s Underlig Jul. This is a beer inspired by glögg, mulled wine, and has been spiced with 5 different spices: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coriander and cloves. Other than the spices, the beer has been brewed with Maris Otter, Munich, caramel, and chocolate malts, and hopped with Columbus and Cascade hops to an IBU of 30. The beer was fermented with an English ale yeast. Nøgne Ø also brew another Christmas beer, called God Jul, which is more of an American Strong Ale, and not spiced at all. Seems more to my taste, but is unfortunately not available in Finland. Let’s see how Christmasy this one is!

Nøgne Ø Underlig Jul
Appearance
The beer also pours with a dark brown color, though slightly lighter than There Is No Santa. A huge cream-colored head is formed during pour, and while it collapses (which takes a while) curtains of lacing are left along the glass.
Smell
Spices also dominate the aroma of this beer, and similar tones of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, typical of gingerbread and glögg, can be detected in the aroma of this beer. Behind the spices, tones of floral hops, as well as a slight maltiness and roastiness, can be detected.
Taste
The flavor is also very spicy, but I think it has a slightly different focus compared to There Is No Santa (it's more 'harsh'). There are strong hints of cinnamon, ginger and even some licorice-like tones, and these are joined by roasted (almost ashy) tones from the roasted malts. The flavor ends with a slightly bitter finish. Again, not really my cup of tea.
Mouthfeel
The beer has a medium-full body and a medium carbonation level, making easy to drink. The spices were a bit too harsh, and felt it decreased the mouthfeel a bit.

Overall

Of these two beers, I liked Underlig Jul slightly more, due to it having a bit more body, and a bit more complexity in the spiciness. On the other hand, it was a little harsher on the tongue. I really like when brewers are experimenting with beer and exotic ingredients, but overall I'm not really into Christmas-spiced beers. Again, it fits the occasion, but would probably not drink again, especially due to the quite high price.

The list of this year’s Christmas beers available from Alko was ‘leaked’ a couple of weeks ago at the Olutopas forum, and yesterday their prices followed. A nice list of 23 beers (but still quite weak compared to the range of Christmas beers that will be available from Systembolaget in Sweden). These beers have usually been released in the beginning of November, so stay tuned until then. I will definitely buy some of them to try out!

• Koff Jouluolut 6% 0.33l 1,73€
• Ayinger Winter-Bock 6,7% 0.5l 3,84€
• Erdinger Schneeweisse 5,6% 0.5l 3,67€
• Anchor Christmas 5,5% 0,355l 3,49€ (Will buy!)
• Fullers Old Winter 5,3% 0.5l 3,71€ (Might buy!)
• Saku Porter 6,9% 0.5l 3,40€
• Laitilan Savuruis 5,3% 0.5l 3,87€
• Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock 6,5% 0.5l 3,58€
• Estrella de Navidad 5,5% 0.33l 2,29€
• Samuel Adams Winter Lager 5,5% 0.355l 3,38€ (Might buy!)
• Stallhagen Julbock 6,8% 0.5l 4,60€ (Might buy!)
• Ayinger Weizen-Bock 7,1% 0.33l 3,24€ (Might buy!)
• Arctic Circle Ale 7,3% 0.5l 4,99€ (Will buy!)
• Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 2011 10,9% 0,375l 6,19€ (Will buy!)
• Nøgne Ø Underlig Jul 6,5% 0.5l 6,33€ (Will buy!)
• Liefmans Cuvee Brut 6% 0.375l 4,89€
• Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock 12% 0.33l 3,98€ (Might buy!)
• Ørbæk Jingle Bells 7% 0.5l 4,18€ (Might buy!)
• N’Ice Chouffe 10% 0.75l 8,99€ (Might buy!)
• Svaneke Jule Spektakel 8% 0.5l 6,02€ (Might buy!)
• Stallhagen Winter Porter 7% 0.5l 5,06€ (Might buy!)
• Mikkeller From Via To 8% 0.75l 10,91€ (Will buy!)
• Westmalle Trappist Dubbel 7% 0.75l 9,49€