Beer of the Weekend #417: Mikkeller Saaz
Though I still have three or four more Samuel Adams seasonals to try, I think it is time to break into the good stuff. J-Rod went all out to offer me the gift of beer for Christmas and I plan to gladly recognize his generosity. (All I got him was an $8 rechargeable battery for one of his Xbox 360 controllers.)
The beer tonight is Mikkeller Saaz, brewed by Mikkeller of Copenhagen, Denmark. However, the back label says the beer was brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at “De Proef Brouwerij, Lochristi-Hijfte, Belgium.”
I like the Danish spelling of Copenhagen better: København. Just thought I’d mention that.
Saaz is part of Mikkeller’s single-hop series of IPAs. Each IPA in the series is brewed with a different hop, imparting its unique qualities. Here is an explanation via the label:
John’s has quite a few of them. I have six and Saaz is the first I am trying.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. “10111204” is printed on the bottle cap, and I can only assume the first six letters represent the bottling date (probably day-month-year).
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is cloudy amber with specks of floating sedimentation. Three fingers of dense, meringue-like head dissipated very slowly, leaving trails of foam along the side of the glass.
Smell: Saaz hops! Just kidding. (I would have never been able to identify the hop variety unless I knew.) It is almost all hop bitterness, which is the point. Astringent pine and floral hoppiness, and grapefruit and lemon intermingle with the two. Very vinous and a touch boozy. It has a pepper spice quality, too. Light malts and caramel emerge after the beer has warmed.
Taste: Very subtle, but the finish is very Bohemian; the tail of each sip and the immediate aftertaste reminds me of Czech lager. The flavor does not register for a moment or two, and when it does it is much more floral and grassy than the smell leads on. It is a little barnyard-like. As it warms, the vinous and pepper qualities emerge at the front of each sip, but fade as the floral qualities take over. A hint of lemon citrus pervades.
Drinkability: I like the idea and applaud Mikkeller for the effort. The result is a little different, but kudos to education. I hope the experience stays with me.
Fun facts about Mikkeller Saaz:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA.”
-Price: I think it costs somewhere around $4 a bottle. Outrageous, huh?
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 6.8 percent ABV.
-“Theoretical IBU”: 30. The label actually does say “Theoretical IBU.” It is theoretical because, I assume, that is the supposed bitterness of the hops.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
The beer tonight is Mikkeller Saaz, brewed by Mikkeller of Copenhagen, Denmark. However, the back label says the beer was brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at “De Proef Brouwerij, Lochristi-Hijfte, Belgium.”
I like the Danish spelling of Copenhagen better: København. Just thought I’d mention that.
Saaz is part of Mikkeller’s single-hop series of IPAs. Each IPA in the series is brewed with a different hop, imparting its unique qualities. Here is an explanation via the label:
This brew is part of a Single Hop IPA series by Mikkeller. We created this series to showcase hop varieties on their own. This gives the consumer the possibility to smell and taste the unique characteristics of each variety and will hopefully help to educate people about the wonderful world of hops. For each version, the single hop variety was used in the same weight for bittering, aroma, flavor, and for dry hopping. All 18 varieties of single hop ales in this series were brewed the same week, from the same batches of malt, using the same yeast and fermentation temperatures. This is done to better compare the characteristics of the different hop varieties.
John’s has quite a few of them. I have six and Saaz is the first I am trying.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. “10111204” is printed on the bottle cap, and I can only assume the first six letters represent the bottling date (probably day-month-year).
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is cloudy amber with specks of floating sedimentation. Three fingers of dense, meringue-like head dissipated very slowly, leaving trails of foam along the side of the glass.
Smell: Saaz hops! Just kidding. (I would have never been able to identify the hop variety unless I knew.) It is almost all hop bitterness, which is the point. Astringent pine and floral hoppiness, and grapefruit and lemon intermingle with the two. Very vinous and a touch boozy. It has a pepper spice quality, too. Light malts and caramel emerge after the beer has warmed.
Taste: Very subtle, but the finish is very Bohemian; the tail of each sip and the immediate aftertaste reminds me of Czech lager. The flavor does not register for a moment or two, and when it does it is much more floral and grassy than the smell leads on. It is a little barnyard-like. As it warms, the vinous and pepper qualities emerge at the front of each sip, but fade as the floral qualities take over. A hint of lemon citrus pervades.
Drinkability: I like the idea and applaud Mikkeller for the effort. The result is a little different, but kudos to education. I hope the experience stays with me.
Fun facts about Mikkeller Saaz:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA.”
-Price: I think it costs somewhere around $4 a bottle. Outrageous, huh?
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 6.8 percent ABV.
-“Theoretical IBU”: 30. The label actually does say “Theoretical IBU.” It is theoretical because, I assume, that is the supposed bitterness of the hops.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
