Bravo Single Hop IPA - Mikkeller ApS

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.8/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Serving type: 330 ml bottle. No freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is cloudy amber. A finger or so of dense, buttery, light tan head dissipated slowly, leaving a spotted lacing, dense ring around the edge, and foam stuck to the glass. There is also quite a bit of floating sedimentation.

Smell: Mostly malty with lemon zest and a bit grapefruit and orange. Sweet caramel, toffee, honey, a little pine, grassy and earthy hops.

Taste: It has a thick, full mouth-feel. The hop bitterness attacks the taste buds; I could even feel a tingling in my jaw and ear. The bitterness aside, there is lemon zest, grapefruit, orange, pine, and earthy hops. The bitterness weakens as it warms, but the malts are overpowered except for hints of toffee and honey.

Drinkability: This is a bitter pill that demonstrates the power of Bravo.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 02:56:45 | More by TheQuietMan22

SamJory

United Kingdom (England)

3.04/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Craft Beer co in brixton.

Poured in a tulip half pint glass. Appeared a hazy copper with a fluffy white head.

On the nose was floral hops and sweet malt, good so far.

Taste was disappointing, some bitterness upfront but it didn't last, the malt took over and the beer had a really thin, weak mouthfeel.

I don't know if the keg was old, which may be the reason why the malt took over and the hops lost their kick. Won't seek this out again

Serving type: on-tap

01-13-2013 17:52:16 | More by SamJory

thierrynantes

France

4.23/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (33 cl.) purchased from Bière & Chopes, and tasted 2013.

Appearance : amber color, with white foamy head (w lacing).
Smell : hops, malty and caramel aromas
Taste & mouthfeel : malty and dry hoppy flavors, nice bitter finish with long duration.
Drinkability : a nice beer in the style India Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 18:15:55 | More by thierrynantes

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle.

This beer pours a somewhat hazy, medium golden amber colour, with three bulbous fingers of rocky, foamy eggshell white head, which leaves some chunky swaths of lace around the glass as it lazily ebbs away.

It smells of sweet, sugary caramel/toffee malt, orange cream, bitter pine resin, and a whiff of edgy, though short of harsh, warming alcohol. The taste is pungent leafy, piney hops, some acrid citrus pith, lemon cleanser, mild tropical fruit notes, and a bit of further herbal, grassy hops.

The carbonation is fairly sedate, the body an adequate medium weight, and more or less smooth, what with the somewhat overbearing hop influence. It finishes off-dry, the bitter hoppiness setting the tone over the waning bready malt.

An agreeable enough single hop IPA, the Bravo varietal capable of holding the fort, as the bitter and sweet qualities pair off quite well.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 00:25:30 | More by biboergosum

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Deep bengal orange with apple highlights for color. A dense showering of effervesce fills the inner vessel while a 3 finger buff tinted head is rocky and sturdy atop. The lacing shellacks the glass with a meaty coverage. Rocky barges of foam sit atop like an ice cream float.

S: The aroma is floral with a strong minty scent. Apple peel fruitiness with a light touch of herbal hoppiness.Things are rounded out by soft toasty cereal grains but defined by the minty hopping.

T: Apple cinnamon crunch cereal, strong minty and floral hops meet you up front with a lingering minty flowery bitterness that soon follows. Herbal hints of dill, spearamint and alcohol soon close out.

M: Minty mouthful, frothy texture that was edgy, creamy and dry fading with a bitterness.

O: Overall the bravo hops highlight a minty-floral flavor that is definitly unique from most other hop experiences and begs a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 19:02:51 | More by beerthulhu

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours dark amber with a lasting head.
Nose shows piny and grapefruit hops, along with a resinous note. Also a fair whack of rich sweet caramel.
Flavours follow along those lines; lots of sweet, syrupy crystal malt, resinous hops and soft grapefruit/pine. Finishes with an assertive bitterness, but the malt wins out in the end.
Body feels a bit too syrupy.
Too much malt in my opinion, almost cloying.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 04:11:32 | More by CrazyDavros

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured an amber color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of earthy hops with light citrus undertones and dry caramel malt notes. Taste is also dominated by a nice dose of earthy hops with some citrus undertones and a light bitter finish. Body is full with good carbonation. Not my favourite hops varietal but still very enjoyable nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 13:43:32 | More by Phyl21ca

danieelol

Australia

4.03/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from Leura Cellars. Old-style label.

Pours a classic IPA-colour. Malty red. Great head/lacing.

Smell is leafy hops and orangey malt.

Taste is the same and excellently balanced if not mind-blowingly pungent.

Mouthfeel is crisp, decent body with subtle bitterness.

An unambitious textbook IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 08:02:36 | More by danieelol

mrfrancis

Kentucky

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a clear, ruddy amber with a huge, pillowy whitish head.

S: Very straight-forward aromas of biscuits, caramel, grass, herbs, bitter orange, and lemon are present on the nose.

T: Notes of caramel, biscuits, lemon, grapefruit pith, bitter orange, kumquat, fresh herbs, grass, and juniper berry wash across the palate. The finish is bitter and long with notes of citrus, herbs, and juniper very pronounced.

M: Medium-bodied, chalky, filmy, and very dry. Carbonation is fairly firm. Alcohol presence is virtually nonexistent. This beer will dry your mouth out very quickly, making it somewhat difficult to drink.

O: This is a decent single hop IPA, but it is nothing really special. I'm not that familiar with Bravo hops, and I doubt many other people are, so getting to experience some of the flavors they produce is enlightening. Still, this is not the best of Mikkeller's single hop experiments.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 12:44:30 | More by mrfrancis

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

2.7/5  rDev -26%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle into a Victory tulip

A- pours a very cloudy shade of orange with a two finger slightly offwhite head. Clarity on Mikkeller's IPAs remains awful

S- very nice citrus aroma...pungent, and lovely

T- starts off with come nice citrus, the finish is extremely bitter, and almost tastes soapy. Uh....ew

M- medium bodied

O- you know, I love the idea of these single hops....but the execution is awful. This is my last one, at least

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 21:50:42 | More by bigfnjoe

metter98

New York

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is relatively clear amber orange in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high off white head that never completely faded away and left a thick coating of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light to moderately strong aromas of citrus and tropical fruits in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of citrus and tropical fruits along with some hints of pine resin. The hops also contribute a moderate amount of bitterness, which isn’t overpowering but lingers through the finish. Similar to the beers in the single hop series, the taste has notes of caramel from the underlying malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer doesn’t deliver a strong punch of hops as do other American IPAs, but I enjoyed the taste of the hops because they offered a few different flavors even though one variety was used.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 01:16:21 | More by metter98

dansmcd

Australia

3.68/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - A finger of creamy white head which gives way to creamy sheet lacing. Pours a mid to dark amber colour.

S - Mostly pine in the nostrils, some tart lemon and caramel malt.

T - Pine again, some citrus peel, slightly peppery and resinous.

M - Medium body and carbonation, nice solid bitterness coming through.

O - Probably my least favourite of the single hops I've tried (Simcoe, Nelson Sauvin, Citra) but a good IPA by comparison to the norm.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 04:29:55 | More by dansmcd

oline73

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I had this on-tap at Mikkeller bar in Copenhagen. Served in a Mikkeller snifter.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber with a half finger of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Sweet and malty with some fruity notes. I'm getting some berries. A mild hop bitterness shows up as well.

Taste: More hops than the smell. Some fruity and bready notes from the malt. Bitter citrus peel hops show up, mostly in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with fluffy carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: This wasn't a bad beer, but I thought it was too malt forward. The fruity notes were a little bit weird.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2012 02:27:46 | More by oline73

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Decent for an IPA, though at first it seemed oddly hot. Another detractor is the higher carbonation. But the spices and hop tones come through "okay" here. Like all of the others from this series, things seem clogged and meshed together and there is no real strong defining characteristics that severely separate it from the rest. An expensive "okay" beer at best.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 04:46:48 | More by RblWthACoz

SLeffler27

New York

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours cloudy, honey gold on the brownish side with a one-inch foam that lasts a long time and leaves a fine coat of lacing.

Subdued and a bit fruity, perhaps pears. The background has grapefruit and grass.

Very bitter, this one is all hops with some pine and a long, sharp finish that is as powerful as the entry.

Medium body. Fizzy, almost overly carbonated. Some alcohol. High astringency and palate-coating.

This was enjoyed as part of a self training exercise to distinguish hop varieties, but it would still make a fine component to a meal.

Sampled from a pint glass alongside the Centennial Single Hop IPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 21:36:35 | More by SLeffler27

dpasotti

Indiana

2.83/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Hazy, dead-on copper color with solid head and good thick lace. Promising aroma of red apple, pear, grape, and some sweet caramel malt. Very similar to El Dorado hop character.

Similar flavor. Pear, apple, and other non-citrus fruit with caramel malt in back and a hint of perfume. Not all that great. Usually Mikkel finds a way to make these single-hop beers surprisingly complex, but this is an exception. The bitterness seems a bit harsh too. Balance leans toward the sweeter side, which works fine.

Carbonation is at least medium, with medium-light body. Seems a little spritzy. Well, this kinda kills my plan of brewing a single-hop Bravo beer, but I'm glad I spent $5 here instead of $30 for 5gal that would surely turn out worse than this. The best aspect of the beer is the super-fresh, clean hop aroma, but it lacks the punch of a typical IPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 00:37:18 | More by dpasotti

Beerenauslese

California

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Body is amber orange with a decent head that lasts.

Nose is earthy and floral with a touch of mint.

Tastes earthy and floral at first, then with a little tangerine/grapefruit fruit and a spicy tingle on the tongue. Finishes bitter.

Body is typical of the single hop series, medium with a good level of carbonation to produce a slightly creamy mouthfeel.

This showcases a pleasant bittering hop variety with earthy, floral, and fruity components.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 03:37:54 | More by Beerenauslese

jsh420

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

pours a very cloudy amber orange with a big 2 finger off white head that left spotted lacing

smell is funny and there is some off notes here - and those off notes overpower everything else here - yes there are bready malt and citrus hops but the take a backseat to that funkiness

taste - the off notes present in the nose are not here in the flavor - yes there is some tang but maybe that is just the bravo hops? good balance of bitter and sweet - hops are juicy and fruity

mouthfeel is a medium body with good carbonation - smooth and creamy

overall - while i love the idea of a single hop series they have not produced a mindblowing beer or really given me an idea of what each hop bring to the table - the more i drink mikkeller beers the more overrated they get (for the price)

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 06:06:28 | More by jsh420

rarbring

Sweden

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A clouded amber brew, a warm off-white head with little lacing and small curtains.

Citric smells, grape-fruit, resin, wet grass.

Tasting of toffee, bitter oranges and a pepper spiciness.

Medium carbonation, small bubbles, oily, a long dry finish.

A nice straight hop character.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 17:15:29 | More by rarbring

ADZA

Australia

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy apricot hue which leaves a three finger creamy head that hangs around and sudsy clingy lacing everywhere,the smell is definately more subdued then the Citra and is more like fresh roses,lavender,peach and bubblegum,the mouthfeel is medium bodied and has tastes of bubblegum,kiwifruit,peaches,a touch of rosewater,german malts with a crisp bitter finish and i know the hop is American but the german malts really dominate this to really give it a German feel but its nice enough and id drink again cheers.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 08:34:17 | More by ADZA

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

As part of my Xmas Hoppy Holidays IPA celebration, this is #2 on the list.

As with others, this pours quite well. A medium caramel/brown color. Foam is great, white, fluffy, sticky. Enduring.

Aroma is more citrus that the Super Galena, but I wouldn't call it citrus-y. It's subtle but not unrecognizable.

Taste has a bit of a grassy-ness to it. Wood, maybe. Again, nothing major, but it's there. The malt is a bit light, almost hollow, but this is an IPA...I'm here for the hop profile. It does a good job of showing off this variety. It's not a strong presence. Citrus and some grass. I want to say it tastes "yellow". Crazy, I am.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 03:38:21 | More by Mebuzzard

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.03/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Mikkeller Single Hop Series strikes again- this time celebrating the extremely bitter, fruity, and floral Bravo hops.

As with all of the Mikkeller Single Hopped beers, Bravo starts with a much better expected pour of hazy deep copper while carrying an ivory foam cap that takes on rocky appearances early and dense creamy structure late. Thick lacing rounds out the nearly ideal appearance. This beer is classy!

Malty-rich aromas are layered upon by a woody, grassy, rooty scent that carries undertow scents of white grapefruit pith and lemon zest. Mint and orange also ride along the caramelly base for a fairly well-rounded balance of malt and hops- at least to the nose.

Flavors start balances as the caramel malt base is met quickly with citrusy grapefruit, orange and lemon zests. But the beer quickly morphs into bitterness that surpasses citrus and grows into the realm of grassy, piney, and woody flavor and extreme resiny bite in finish. Low on fruity esters and phenolic spice, this beer is all about the firm malt base and the aggressive hop showcase as an education about the Bravo hops.

Richly textured to start, the early mouthfeel is creamy and malty with substantial dexrine character and carbonation. But as the carbonation subsides, the crispness of hops set in and usher in a dryish and minty wood-like finish. Lingering bitterness of citrus and woody, grassy flavor allow for an extended finish that lasts well into the next sip.

(Although I'm a big cheerleader for the Mikkeller Single Hopped beers, I'll still contend that a drier, less malty, and cleaner beer would showcase the hop flavor much better.)

Ideal for fatty American foods and spicy Thai cuisine, I can see this beer holding its own and becomming part of the food profile and not simply a thirst quencher or palate neutralizer.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 06:01:08 | More by BEERchitect

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a golden color with a white head. The aroma is full of orange citrus and pine notes, exactly like you expect an American IPA to smell.

The flavor is similar. I get a lot of pine notes, as well as a little bit of grass from the hops. There is also some orange citrus in the flavor, but it is fairly well hidden. The biscuit malt keeps the bitterness fairly low, even though there is a lot of hop flavor.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 19:55:22 | More by Mora2000

Florida9

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Dark colored amber. Forms a large, creamy, light tan colored head that reduces down to a thick, creamy surface coating. Very light lacing.

S: Some caramel malt, but mostly pine and lots of it.

T: Caramel malt. Pine, pine resin, piney bitterness. Dry. With a slight herbal pepperiness.

M: Medium in body with appropriate carbonation. Moderate bitterness.

O: A good IPA. Lots of pine, but not overdone.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2011 01:30:33 | More by Florida9

cdizinno

South Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: Poured into a pint glass.

A: Orange amber color. Clear with a nice off-white head. Moderate lacing.

S: Nice citrus and mild pine/earthy tones.

T&M: Medium bodied. Well balanced. Very smooth and tasty. Orange and lemon citrus notes with a decent hop bitterness.

This is a very good beer. Very similar to the Mt. Hood except more bitter.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 18:47:14 | More by cdizinno