USAlive! (Alive) - Mikkeller ApS

Viciousknishs

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- pours a coppery amber color with a finger and a half of creamy off white head. Superb head retention with gobby lacing.

S- floral citrus peel hops with musty Brett funk laying underneath. Light candy sugar notes with a cookie like malt on the finish.

T- Belgian candy and cookie like malt up front. Musty wet hay and earthy Brett with a substantial floral hop characteristic. Citrus orange peel notes blend in as well. Eatery fruit notes of green apple and underripe peach on the finish.

MF- slick expressive mouthfeel with a medium body. Frenetic carbonation.

D- very drinkable

Belgian IPA with Brett! Love it.

Serving type: on-tap

09-01-2012 03:57:40 | More by Viciousknishs

soccerfancooch

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +13.6%

05-17-2013 04:20:22 | More by soccerfancooch

TheBadger0289

New Zealand (Aotearoa)

3/5  rDev -24.2%

05-11-2013 01:39:55 | More by TheBadger0289

justforrazors

Missouri

4/5  rDev +1%

05-10-2013 01:23:40 | More by justforrazors

Paonz

Hawaii

3.5/5  rDev -11.6%

04-17-2013 05:30:23 | More by Paonz

asafarc2

Rhode Island

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

03-28-2013 02:20:27 | More by asafarc2

sendbeer

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +7.3%

03-17-2013 21:33:59 | More by sendbeer

GuzzLah

Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A - medium orange with a one finger head and nice lacing.

S - tutti-frutti bubblegum, soft caramel malt and slightly vegetal

T - ambiguously fruity flavor with some tropical/citrus. Low/medium bitterness with a short sustain. Hint of acidic tartness. Aged about 1.5 years.

M - medium body, decent carbonation, pleasant and easy bitter finish

O - Not a funky wild ale. Zero barnyard and a hint of lacto, perhaps from Acid Malt. Fruity from hops and Brett. An enjoyable Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Fair price at $13 per 750ml. Would drink again! Mikeller and De Proef usually impress me. This is no exception.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 23:52:35 | More by GuzzLah

IanSpindler

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +7.3%

02-26-2013 22:03:25 | More by IanSpindler

AdamL73

Vermont

4/5  rDev +1%

02-16-2013 21:22:30 | More by AdamL73

GrindFatherBob

New York

4/5  rDev +1%

01-24-2013 13:47:55 | More by GrindFatherBob

hagbergl

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I received a bottle of Mikkeller Alive! as a Christmas gift. It was purchased at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, MA. I think this should prove to be quite the interesting beer...750 mL bottle, poured into my Rodenbach Grand Cru glass.

Appearance (4/5): Alive! has a cool burnt orange-reddish hue and is topped by a gorgeous, towering off-white head of foam of 2.5 fingers. The beer is translucent and brilliant when held up to the light.

Smell (4/5): Hoppy, spicy, a little funkiness (due to the Brettanomyces), herbal, grassy hops, earthy, a little bit metallic (perhaps this bottle is a bit on the older side and has begun to spoil?).

Taste (4/5): Not what I was expecting from its style identification, printed on the bottle, as an "American Wild Ale." This beer tastes quite hoppy, and has an interesting fruity-spicy yeast quality that comes on late, making this beer reminiscent of a Belgian IPA, but with Brett. Fruity-bitter aftertaste is like ruby red grapefruit, semisweet and balanced at the end, perhaps from the caramel malt. Brettanomyces adds a layer of earthy, grassy funkiness. This beer has a very complex flavor profile: every sip brings a slightly different taste to the fore. Its complexity makes classifying Alive! pretty difficult. Maybe by calling this an "American" Wild Ale Mikkeller was trying to indicate this beer would be an unusually hoppy affair.

Moutfeel (4/5): Medium body, medium carbonation. Not super active or effervescent like some wild and sour ales. A little hop prickliness can be noted, along with a light dryness (perhaps contributed by the Brett?). Goes down easy (this is helped by the fact that there is little alcohol flavor to be remarked upon.

Overall (4/5): Mikkeller Alive! is a strange beer...what is it? It's grapefruit hoppy, a little dry, a little Brett-y, some Belgian yeast sweetness, not sour...Is it a Belgian Strong Pale? An American Wild Ale? A Belgian IPA? Whatever it is, it's a fairly tasty beer, so I say embrace the weird and try it. It won't disappoint if you like a beer curveball every once in a while.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 03:47:44 | More by hagbergl

falloutsnow

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From: John's Grocery, Iowa City, IA
Date: None listed on bottle, but bottle has what I assume is an older, "white" label
Glass: Tulip

Called a "Belgian Wild Ale" on the label, which certainly caught my eye at the time. I really enjoyed this very complex beer that manges to mix sweetness, spiciness, wildflower/herb, and Brettanomyces components together in a way that is very palatable to me.

Pours a 2cm tall head of small to medium-sized bubbles, faint tan in color, with excellent retention. As it slowly descends, the head leaves substantial and interesting lacing along the sides of the glass, some looking like the Earth's continents: very pleasing. Head settles to a thin cap atop the body at all times. Body is a deep, orange-tinted, burnt, light brown color, with light bringing out the pale orange undertones. The haziness of the beer's body still allows for carbonation to be visible, reaching up from the bottom of the glass.

Aroma is, at first, richly sweet, like toffee; this fades into a sharp hop bitterness mixed with a bit of Brettanomyces pepperiness; finally fading into substantial Belgian amber candi sugar.

Backbone of toffee-like malt sweetness with fruity, herbal, and spicy undertones overall. Front of palate discovers toffee sweetness along with flowery/herbal flavors and Brettanomyces pepperiness. Mid-palate finds mild hop bitterness, equally mild and pleasant Brettanomyces peppery and pineapple-like characters, and Belgian amber candi sugar. Back of palate has sharp bitterness from hops well-tempered by toffee-sweet malts, Brettanomyces pepperiness, and . Fades out with a faint burst of peppery spiciness that indicates Brettanomyces and ethanol. Lingering taste caramel malts and Belgian amber candi sugar mixed with Brettanomyces pepperiness and pineapple, fairly substantial hop bitterness, and ethanol. Really, pretty excellent.

Beer is medium-light to medium in body, with fairly high carbonation that leads to an at first fizzy mouthfeel that becomes soft and pillowy as the carbonation crosses the palate. Closes dry, with modest stickiness across the palate.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2012 17:44:26 | More by falloutsnow

klipper

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -11.6%

11-05-2012 06:47:57 | More by klipper

cmoody91

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

11-04-2012 22:35:57 | More by cmoody91

FEUO

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

11-01-2012 13:19:58 | More by FEUO

MrRockstar

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -11.6%

10-22-2012 22:53:25 | More by MrRockstar

ObeMaltKinobee

California

3.25/5  rDev -17.9%

09-18-2012 05:01:31 | More by ObeMaltKinobee

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

this is a classic mikkeller brew, all thing things ive come to expect from this guy. its different, strong, expensive, and worth it. pours a very hazy amber brown color with a massive head in my tulip glass. head does not subside at all. smells like intense funky wild yeast and sweet earthy red malts. its belgian yeasty in that super carbonated, mildly spicy, still alive aspect, but its more of a farmhouse in the funk department. this is somewhere between a saison and a sour, right down the middle. the flavor is definitely yeast driven, maybe a touch of brett tartness, but more fieldy meadowy polleny glory. it leaves a real dry tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, ready for another gulp. its a fast drinker for its strength, and a beer that has a really memorable flavor profile. im somewhere between white pepper and lavender, its very unique, complex, and rewarding to the patient drinker. id gladly pay 14 bucks for another bottle of this, its exquisite. just short of magic.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 04:35:07 | More by StonedTrippin

bigred89

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -11.6%

09-14-2012 10:52:01 | More by bigred89

RES

New York

4/5  rDev +1%

09-12-2012 01:52:20 | More by RES

Hanzo

Virginia

4/5  rDev +1%

09-06-2012 23:12:36 | More by Hanzo

sbanacho

California

4/5  rDev +1%

09-03-2012 21:42:17 | More by sbanacho

let8it8grow

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1%

09-01-2012 01:32:31 | More by let8it8grow

MarkyMOD

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

08-31-2012 20:12:05 | More by MarkyMOD