Mikkeller - I Beat U

So here's what you need to know about Mikkeller. First of all, they're not an actual brewery in the traditional way of looking at things. They're a nomadic brewery, so they rent out space in other breweries to brew their beers. Most of their beers (including I Beat U) are brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium, but they've done a few in Scotland at Brewdog. Even though, they're an extremely young brewery (they were only founded in 2006), they are known as one of the best breweries in the world and have a reputation for pushing the limits of nearly every style they take on. In their first year in business, they were named the best brewery in Denmark and the fifth best brewery in the world. So that's a little about Mikkeller. I Beat U is their take on the American Imperial IPA.

I Beat U pours a deep orange color with a ton of haze in it and a one finger tan head. The smells coming off of this one were pretty wild. I got a lot of citrusy hops, a ton of maltiness, a little wet blanket funk and something I can only describe as "vet's office." Even though that may sound gross, it wasn't a total turn off. I just had no idea what this thing was going to taste like.

Even though this beer has a ton of both malt and hops, it managed to find a good balance. The hops in the taste were much more on the pine side of the spectrum than the smell suggested and they were joined by tastes of biscuit, tropical fruit and some earthy funk. The "vet's office" smell didn't join the taste party, but it added some character to this beer. This was definitely like no IPA I had ever tried before and I don't know that it's the first one on the shelf I would go for next time, but it was worth a try.

Final Grade: B+