I Beat YoU - Mikkeller ApS

Reaper16

Alabama

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

11.2oz. bottle served into a tulip glass
Brewed at Brewdog and, typical for Mikkeller, expensive for the size of bottle. Here goes...

The body pours out as that archetypal Double/Imperial IPA color - bronzed, honeyed orange. The head poured out substantially; three fingers or so. I love the color of the head. It is pretty much beige, a level of brown not commonly seen on a IIPA, seen on top of a honeyed orange body. The lacing is voluminous - it sticks to the glass in swaths and even has a textural thickness to it.

This is a solid IIPA in terms of aroma. It does not amaze at any point but does its job effectively. Lots of grassy, bitter hops; much more grassiness than I expect from a beer labeled as an "American Style Imperial India Pale Ale." Grapefruit rind, lemon zest, trace amounts of pineapple and an herbal quality (cilantro?) make up the bulk of the lupulin hop flavors. It has the sharpness of perfume. The malt is light but caramelly in nature. This sort of reminds me of Mikkeller's 1000 IBU but with a lot less maltiness. Which, of course, is a good thing.

The taste is like the nose in that it is clearly pretty good but falls short of being really impressive. I feel like there should be more going on but at the same time I can't fault it for being simply super-solid. Some IIPAs are citrus-bombs. I Beat yoU is not one of them. Loads of floral, leafy, and especially piny hops. The caramel malt stands its ground admirably (some would say it stands too tall). There is a bitter herbaciousness that I am unused to tasting in beer; I am attributing it to the Herkules hop varietal, which I have not tasted before this beer.

I LOVE a thin mouthfeel in IIPAs. The thinner the better for me; it carries those hop flavors forward without accentuating the heavy amounts of malt that are present in IIPAs. Mikkeller I Beat yoU has a very thin body. The only thing holding it back it a nearly complete lack of perceptible carbonation. The mouthfeel goes a long way towards making a drinkable beer. It is nearly 105 ABV, sure, but this beer goes down fast.

This is a darn good IIPA. Would I buy it again at $6 for a 11.2oz. bottle? Probably not. Like most Mikkeller product I am not blown away and miffed about the price but am glad to have tried the beer anyway.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2010 02:17:18 | More by Reaper16

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours an amber to brown. Thick, creamy head initially lingers well. Streaked lacing. On swirl large walls of carbonation present on glass wall.

S: Hoppy and piney.

T: More of the same hops with maybe a bit of earthy grass. Balanced with a nice dose of malts.

M: Medium bodies - hops prevent it from being to heavy.

O: Just bought yesterday but unfortunately hops are past their prime. But seeing through that this is a fantastic beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2013 23:21:13 | More by Oakenator

djre4orm

Virginia

4/5  rDev +2.8%

06-13-2013 20:15:54 | More by djre4orm

jmmy3

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -29.3%

06-05-2013 01:28:55 | More by jmmy3

woodchip

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

05-31-2013 00:13:07 | More by woodchip

RoryOMoore

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -10%

05-26-2013 01:13:58 | More by RoryOMoore

nmann08

Maryland

3/5  rDev -22.9%

05-11-2013 01:05:10 | More by nmann08

durlta

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

05-01-2013 02:34:26 | More by durlta

Dave_Treat

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

04-27-2013 23:10:40 | More by Dave_Treat

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

04-26-2013 23:39:14 | More by spycow

Paonz

Hawaii

3.5/5  rDev -10%

04-17-2013 05:28:10 | More by Paonz

Phillyz

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%

04-16-2013 01:00:53 | More by Phillyz

Lee45102

Ohio

2.83/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25

The smell, look, and the first upfront taste was great. The malt flavor at the end doesn't meet my expectation for an IIPA. This beer was very tough to get through. I normally love Mikkeller Beers and I am a huge IIPA lover. Good luck to those trying this beer that are big IPA drinkers.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 20:44:34 | More by Lee45102

whatname

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.8%

04-07-2013 22:49:36 | More by whatname

gabrielsyme

Virginia

4.86/5  rDev +24.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12 oz bottle served in a tulip. This is so heavenly. Dark amber color, off white head. First aroma was overpowering spruce pine; later smells sweet. Taste is grapefruit and woody pine, with a honey sweet finish. The only *possible* improvement would be if there were slightly more carbonation. But overall this is amazing and I can't wait to get more. Be careful - definitely can't tell that this is 9.75%.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 22:13:25 | More by gabrielsyme

polopaul20

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%

04-05-2013 18:28:30 | More by polopaul20

BuddyE

Louisiana

2.63/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

This beer is all over the place. The original pour is nice, with a wonderful deep caramel color and moderately foamy head. The aroma was fantastic, rich in spicy fullness with nice, subdued fruit undertones. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the beer. Upon first sip, the liquid is heavy in the mouth, with a hit of bitters that is to be expected, but with an astringent follow-up that makes the beer hard to swallow; harder still to try again. When they can be descerned, the cacophony of flavors fight with one another rather than melding into anything approaching harmony. I understand wanting to go all out and make a high IBU offering, but other companies have done so successfully while creating beer that, though potent, is still drinkable. I think this one misses the mark.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 02:43:17 | More by BuddyE

Jamison85

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +22.1%

03-24-2013 01:54:40 | More by Jamison85

saeh

France

3.5/5  rDev -10%

03-16-2013 18:21:59 | More by saeh

Samuel906

California

3.56/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

My first experience with Mikkeller, and I'm pretty sure the only Scottish IPA I've ever had. Pours a nice amber color, slightly cloudy, with a copper tinged head. Good retention and cling on the head. Huge aroma; tons and tons of hops with clover honey, lemongrass and vanilla. Some of the Scottish heritage comes through in the taste, bearing a passing resemblance to a Wee Heavy with the thick, molasses like sweetness, and grassy background.. Very very sweet, thick and creamy, with little felt carbonation; almost feels like nitro out of the bottle. Lots of lemon on the palate, caramel and loads of malt and hops. Leaves a citrus aftertaste. Not boozey, but you can feel the heat of the nearly 10% ABV.

Good but not great; better examples of the style can be found in the 90 minute, Hop Stoopid, or Simtra.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 05:22:35 | More by Samuel906

analienacorn

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -16.5%

03-15-2013 04:25:02 | More by analienacorn

IanSpindler

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2.8%

02-26-2013 22:02:24 | More by IanSpindler

Ego

New Jersey

3.01/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

eyes...
cloudy with a chance of yeast, sheesh, this looks like the water luke and solo got stuck in during empire... muddy orange hue with some bubs careening through the thick looking murk, decent head and lacing, the particles are all in suspension like some sort of sick looking snow globe, interesting enough

nose...
dark honey herbal hops, kind if like ricola on crack, some dry sugar, swamp grass, like the look this is different from most DIPAs so far, not sure if
different = good, we'll have to see about that score

taste etc...
boy, that is going to take a sec to process...
extremely bitter dark honey, completely cloying on the first sip, almost hard to go back, but it settles down as my palette adjusts...
decently thick but not gooey, the bitterness seems at war with the flavor, the beer does not drink smoothly in that regard, the phases are all at war with each other here, there is big bitterness, hooray, here's a medal, but man this is just too harsh to enjoy, the hops are almost hard to enjoy here.

verdict?
the ABV is decently hidden but the mess of flavors is not, this is certainly a different DIPA so if you want to try something that definitely does not taste run of the mill... go ahead, this one just is not for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 05:32:31 | More by Ego

mcdonald422

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

02-20-2013 02:56:34 | More by mcdonald422

rsuske

Illinois

4/5  rDev +2.8%

02-18-2013 21:08:56 | More by rsuske