Mikkeller specialises in taking a beer style and, like the geeky kid that nobody really wanted to be friends with, but everyone acknowledged was something of a braniac, pulls it apart and studies how it works before reassembling it into a ne plus ultra example of the style. NJAW is a great example of that approach. Belgian witbier, made popular by Hoegaarden Wit in the late 20th century (hey, I was there) is one of those not-beers that relies on things other than malt and hops for its character - namely, wheat and spices. The wheat (wit) lends a roundness to the palate and a slight tartness to the finish, while the spices (coriander and curacao) add a completely different dimension of flavour and aroma.
At a time when everyone is in slavish thrall to hops - myself included - it's great to have something different that is made with a more-is-more "craft beer mentality".I remember visiting Kelso of Brooklyn in 2007and Kelly describing his beer as "like beer, but with more stuff in". So it is with this beer (and most of Mikkeller's output). Everything you want in a witbier - yeasty, spicy orange aroma, soft spritzy mouthfeel, coriander spice-burst finish - is here, but all turned up to 11. It's like Celis Wit on steroids. It's an old Belgian style on a rollercoaster. It is, God help me, an imperial witbier.
NOTE: I buy and sell this beer through the business I own, although I don't think this has influenced my opinion of it
A customer managed to break a bottle of this which was right at the back of the shelves somehow, about a month back. Let's just say I didn't mind as the shop smelled glorious for a good few hours!
ReplyDeleteIntrigued by Mikkeller beers despite having drunk very few. We had one in Falmouth the other week and keep thinking and talking about it, though we didn't, at the time, think it was all that brilliant.
ReplyDelete"all turned up to 11". Really, is that what we want? Faster and Louder? If 11 is good would 12 be even better? I've drunk US "wits" which were essentially orange and coriander soup served cold and fizzy. I hope this isn't one of those.
ReplyDeleteStringersBeer -- isn't the answer to that 'sometimes'? I don't always want to eat very dark chocolate, listen to really loud music, or watch loud action movies, but they're fine as part of a balanced diet, etc..
ReplyDeleteI take your point B., but do I want it in a wit? I don't think I want my fine single malts to taste of chocolate, my early baroque virginals played really loud, or there to be lots of car chases & explosions in my nature documentaries.
ReplyDelete(This conjures an entirely false, but rather lovely picture of our life here at Stringers HQ.)
Bottom line, I'll have to find, buy, and try some. Nice one Mr A.
Ah, but just because you don't want that, it doesn't logically follow that it has no place in the world. See here
DeleteI'd love to see "there" but that link doesn't work.
DeleteMikkeller is not the be all and end all - some of his beers are pretty ordinary (and It's Alight is pretty rubbish to ne honest). Although I have to say when he's good, he's very good indeed.
ReplyDeleteAs John says, Mikkel can brew some good beers but if the approach to brewing beer is to brew a different beer every time you see a brew kettle in the hope that they are all going to have been worth the time in the first place, well that just won't work will it. I'll put my hand up and say I'm one who is bored with Mikkeller beers, something like 300 beers on Ratebeer, woo woo unleash the inner ticker.
ReplyDeleteAnd a Wit beer on Steroids? Sounds really refreshing...
Indeed - I do sometimes think that for Mikkel (and others) innovation has become something of an end in itself. My view is that will ultimately be a dead end for any brewer.
DeleteABrewHaHa - I'm not sure that the ultimate goal of any beer is to be refreshing, is it?
DeleteJohn - I agree that Mikkeller isn't the brewer of consistently good beers. I'd say that I find about 65% of what he does is amazing, and I find the other 35% not to my taste, which is a strike rate that I would also attribute to most other modern brewers.
no, the ultimate goal is not to be refreshing, but one usually finds Wit Biers to be refreshing. Your description of it being a Wit bier with everything turned up to 11 doesn't sound refreshing to me, but I stand to be corrected.
DeleteWell, the "ultimate goal of any beer" is (in so far as beers have goals) to be drunk and enjoyed. It seems there's at least one person who has done just that with this beer. So the beer's a success, and as I'm sufficiently intrigued by the review here to want to try some myself, the review is a success. Which is why I wrote "Nice one Mr A.".
DeleteAs to whether a wit should be refreshing - I'd say yes, that it's probably a hallmark of the style - but that's just my opinion. Why not make an imperial sipping beer, which references the wit style? Perhaps I'd rather spend my money on something else, but choice is good, and there's a beer for everyone.
My take on extreme beers is set out here. I feel (and it is just a personal feeling) that extreme, style-busting, shouty beers are just too easy. The lack of constraint removes some of the challenge from the brewer.
I used to read a lot of poetry, rhyming and not, in strict meters and free. I still think knocking out a good sonnet might be a harder job than free verse. Which is not to say that poems in a strict form are always better poetry, or a more stimulating read, than something in a less constrained style.
ABrewHaha - it's not refreshing as such, but it is a very tasty beer, and I enjoyed it
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