Nelson Sauvignon (Nelson Sauvin Brut) - Mikkeller ApS

koopa

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

12-25-2012 17:21:26 | More by koopa

tom10101

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

05-19-2013 17:53:57 | More by tom10101

metter98

New York

4.38/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: The beer is clear amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin off white head that hardly died own.
S: Moderate aromas of barnyard funk from the brett are present in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste has some sour flavors along with notes of white wine from te barrel aging process.
M: It feels a bit more than light-bodied and a little tart and dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I thought that the brett and white wine barrel aging make this beer interesting and a lot easier to drink compared to other beers in the style. It hides its alcohol very well.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 02:23:22 | More by metter98

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a lightly hazy medium golden yellow in color with some moderate to heavy amounts of visible carbonation and a moderate amount of orange + copper + amber highlights. The beer has a finger tall fizzy off-white head that slowly reduce to a thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a slightly thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of brett along with some lighter aromas of white wine, oak, and some lighter citrus fruit notes (orange and lemon stand out). Additionally there are some very light notes of melon.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of oak and white wine with some moderate notes of citrus and tropical fruits. There are moderate to strong flavors of brett which contributes the tartness/sourness to the beer.

M: Just heavier than light bodied with moderate to significant amount of carbonation. Light amounts of dryness in the finish with some acidic prickliness.

O: This beer is really enjoyable, the notes of brett take the biere de champagne to the next level... I really found this beer to have a great aroma and taste wonderful - I would gladly celebrate any number of special occasions with this beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 02:20:23 | More by dbrauneis

smithj4

New York

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

05-19-2013 02:10:40 | More by smithj4

wyatt13

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

05-18-2013 13:10:30 | More by wyatt13

soccerfancooch

Wisconsin

4.75/5  rDev +9.2%

05-17-2013 04:19:01 | More by soccerfancooch

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

05-16-2013 21:21:21 | More by InspectorBob

ADTaber

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

05-08-2013 23:10:50 | More by ADTaber

Archemedies

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

05-05-2013 13:24:26 | More by Archemedies

spoony

Colorado

4.39/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From a 750 ml bottle into a tulip.

A-A normal pour produces a nice, nearly three-finger head of off-white/light khaki foam. The head drops into a one finger cap at a leisurely pace and leaves some lacing. The brew is pretty clear and orange-tinted honey in color with a decent show of carbonation.

S-The smell is pleasant, but a touch on the mild side. I get honey, sweet doughy yeast, light-colored fruit (like apple and pear), some grass, musty white grapes, and a floral/medicinal alcohol as it warms to room temperature.

T-The taste is more intense and concentrated than the smell. This brew is full of honeysuckle, vinous/musty/lightly tart white grapes, floral alcohol, and just a whiff of dry, powdery yeast and oak. Also some straw and grass in there. Nice and complex with a long finish.

M-The feel is slightly sweet, soft (but not creamy), medium body to full body (for the style), and drying on the finish.

O-The vinous characteristics of this beer are really enjoyable. It is complex, nicely balanced, with well-integrated fruit, sweetness, and alcohol. Perhaps the mouthfeel and flavors are not entirely in line with other bieres de champagne, but I found this one really enjoyable. Relatively speaking, the smell is a little weak and it is a pricey brew, but I would happily pay to drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 18:28:48 | More by spoony

ChugginOil

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

05-02-2013 18:34:08 | More by ChugginOil

Ak555667

Illinois

5/5  rDev +14.9%

05-01-2013 01:43:37 | More by Ak555667

Guinnsslvr

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

05-01-2013 01:35:42 | More by Guinnsslvr

Zaphog

Michigan

4/5  rDev -8%

04-29-2013 17:55:23 | More by Zaphog

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.19/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

this is one of those white whales for me, something ive been hunting for forever and finally acquired. much anticipation here. it pours an orangey hued light bronze color into my flute, with some aspects of the champagne style carbonation, rapidly rising bubbles and a hard to control white head, but its not quite as excited as I expected it to be, and it does settle rather quickly. the smell is really complex and different, funky yeast, chardonnay or some other fairly standard white wine, citrus bitterness from the hops, and a yeast strain that is unfamiliar to me. the taste is refreshingly hoppy. the nelson sauvin variety offers a lot of fruity characters, some tropical, some citrus, all delicious. its cool because while it does provide all that fruit, it retains a high degree of bitterness, a testament to the hops versatility and to mikkellers talent as a brewer. the yeast has some funk to it, and the bitterness in the finish is lemony. a lot more wine shows up from the barrel treatment that expected, and pushes the flavor more towards a 50/50 hybrid than anything else. maybe not quite as complex as the nose, but its definitely got a lot going on. wholly unique. the mouthfeel was a little lacking for me. a biere brut needs to have nuclear carbonation throughout, and this one doesn't. it starts pretty high, but it fizzles out before my glass is gone. the body is nice though, medium and smooth, punctuated by flashes of bubbles. overall this is a very interesting creation, maybe not quite as good as I wanted it to be, but its really a remarkable brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 16:02:15 | More by StonedTrippin

popery

California

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

04-24-2013 19:45:55 | More by popery

AlexFields

Tennessee

4.63/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Opened in celebration of getting our first homebrew (a Nelson/Motueka hopped saison) bottled.

Pours a thick reddish amber with a large and resilient tannish head. Looks excellent.

Smells quite dry, tart, vinous, pretty sharp sour grape/berry character, some citrus, some nice floral character too, complex and very very good.

Tastes of bright orange citrus, grape and red berries, passionfruit, dry musty flowers, nice sourness but not aggressively acidic, this is damn good.

Mouthfeel has lots of very fine and subtle carb, feels soft and dry, elegant and refreshing and pretty drinkable.

This is a phenomenal beer, has characteristics of a biere de champagne but also of a hoppy sour, like Juicy but better IMO.

9.3/10

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 00:03:08 | More by AlexFields

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +3.4%

04-13-2013 23:02:25 | More by Rochefort10nh

SupremePie

Vermont

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

04-11-2013 04:14:25 | More by SupremePie

TallSaint

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.51/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

April 7th, 2013. Bottle

This beer pours a gorgeous light brown with a hint of orange and a loose two-finger white head.

The nose is brilliantly balanced. Nelson Sauvin dominates with tropical fruits and lychees. Brett sits underneath this unique hop profile with a musty earthiness and a bit of cherry pie character. It's vinous as well, with a touch of wood.

On the palate Nelson Sauvin dominates upfront with tropical fruits, grapes, gooseberries, and sherbet. This hoppiness is overtaken in the mid-palate by a sweet/vinous maltiness as well as a classic Brett influence that comes through as earthiness and some funk. In the back Brett again exacts its influence through a nice tartness. A bit of acetic acid from the brett comes through in the back as well, adding the slightest touch of vinegar that is well integrated into the vinousness and adds to the overall winey-ness of this brew. The finish was not as clean as I expected but it does not detract in any way, it is long and complex.

Overall this is a fantastic brew that is very complex. Nelson Sauvin was the perfect hop to use. It's tropical fruit, gooseberry and grape flavors made it the perfect match for a white wine barrel. It also integrates extremely well with the Brett, even though they seem to have very polar flavors.

Awesome job Mikkel, I could drink this all day long...

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2013 09:04:05 | More by TallSaint

strongaf

Washington

4/5  rDev -8%

04-08-2013 07:29:55 | More by strongaf

mtstatebeer

West Virginia

4/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle served in a tulip glass. Pours a hazy (with floaties), amber-orange color, big frothy off-white head, and good lacing. Aroma is pale malts, apricot, citrus and earthy hops, wood, vinuous, and barnyard. Flavor is caramel, lemon, orange, wood, spicy, brett, and vinuous. Mouthfeel is medium, dry, crisp, bitter, and a touch of an alcohol burn. Good beer, nice complexity, dangerously quaff-able.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 00:43:59 | More by mtstatebeer

Derekg

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%

04-02-2013 00:38:41 | More by Derekg

baybum

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -8%

03-28-2013 00:14:33 | More by baybum