Columbus Single Hop IPA - Mikkeller ApS

benfons

Belgium

3.55/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

A: Dark amber colour, nice cm-thick dense head

S: caramel, malts, hint of chocolate, but all very subdued

T: the caramel and malts are there together with the hops giving this a bittersweet taste. Very slight hint of citrus.

M: a bit thin, very dry finish, medium carbonation.

O: Not a bad beer, but not my cup of tea, too thin, no complexity.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 14:09:44 | More by benfons

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

2.94/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had on tap at Buddha bar- pours a murky orange/wooden color with almost no head, retains a ring around the edge and modest rings of lacing.

Smell is certainly hoppy but also has a malt sweetness and resin that I find present in all mikkeller ipas. The hops smell a little like a forest.

Taste is also similar to other mikkeller ipas that I've had- a similar maltiness that almost taste of menthol. moderately bitter, forest-y hops. Nothing memorable about this one except that I don't like it.

Mouthfeel is fine- medium body, a good dose of resin, and finishes slightly sweet. Not a fan of this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2013 20:56:10 | More by Hopdaemon39

joecast

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Quite cloudy but without the hefty sediment. Nice copper color. Thin white frothy head, good lacing.

Light earthy, fruity aroma.

Hop flavor seems to last a bit longer than the Sorachi Ace version. Bitterness is also even and smooth. Doesn't have the interesting character of SA, but a good standard multipurpose hop.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 09:42:36 | More by joecast

dgilks

Australia

3.48/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy amber colour with a foamy off-white head. Fair head retention.

Citrussy and a little tannic tea. Not bad at all but not all that exciting either.

Sweet malt with some citrus. Lots of co-humulone and bitterness. A little earthy. Quite nice on the whole.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. A simple mouthfeel.

A straightforward and somewhat uninteresting IPA. The hop just isn't that good by itself.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 08:36:50 | More by dgilks

TheBeerCarl

Idaho

3.3/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Dark Brown-orange opaque and hazy body. The beer pours with a yellowish-white head, tiny bubbles and decent head retention. Should be less hazy with better retention.

S: Extremely faint nose with some discernible caramel and citrus notes.

F: A nice amount of bittery hoppiness hits the palette first with some nice pine and citrus notes backed up by light malt and alcohol.

M: The beer rolls on the palette with medium body and a carbonation that compliments the hoppy character

Overall this is a good IPA but nothing too amazing.

Serving type: on-tap

11-24-2012 08:23:10 | More by TheBeerCarl

DAllspaw

Indiana

4.35/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap at Cask and Kitchen in London. I was very intrigued by the idea of single hop IPAs, since still a hop variety novice and just learning some of the nuances, so I jumped on the chance to try a fresh one, just tapped that afternoon.

Pours a dark amber/apricot in color, fairly clean and not very much head. The smell is heavy on the bitter citrus side for me, a bit of pine as well and you certainly get some biscuity malts in the nose and taste.

All in all a very pleasing beer, and with a very pleasant aftertaste and aroma memory that leaves me wanting to search it out.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2012 16:36:23 | More by DAllspaw

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pint at Beer Revolution 24/9/12

A Keg bottom here with a murky brownish orange with some sediment, just a thin film for foam but it leaves lots of polka dot lace

S some herbal and citric notes but its mostly toffee with faint rind and just a little pine hiding in there

T more citric rind on top of what I smell, still loads of toffee, tastes a little old and faded but I don’t think that’s the case

M has some body and leaves a little grit behind and its pretty sticky on the lips with just a mild bitter bite

O its OK beer but tastes a little faded, no mention of the 6.9% but not as nice as many I’ve had from this series

Perhaps I’ll give a bottle a go and re-rate if there’s a noticeable difference, it was the very last glass off the keg so maybe it deserves a second look

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2012 03:28:12 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle. What new worlds will I discover herein?

This beer pours a slightly hazy, dark golden amber hue, with three fingers of shiny dense puffy pale beige head, which leaves a nice stratus cloud layer of lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of citrus rind, soft pine resin, caramel cream, and a mild herbal tincture. The taste is bitter citrus pith, bready, somewhat biscuity malt, a touch of caramel taffee, some further perfumed, floral hoppiness, and a soft bit of alcohol warming.

The carbonation is a tad frothy, but generally behaves, the body a decent medium weight, and just a bit inelegant in its smoothness. It finishes off-dry, the bread-biscuit malt holding fast in the face of the slowly waning bitter, floral hop offset.

Another agreeable single-hop IPA experiment from Mikkeller - the bitter florals and minor citrus are well on display here.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 19:08:16 | More by biboergosum

metter98

New York

3.88/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is very hazy copper in color and has a light to moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high beige head that has excellent retention properties and consistently left a sizeable head covering the surface along with lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of citrusy hops in the nose—grapefruit seems to stand out in particular.
T: The taste is similar to the smell, but the hop flavors are a bit more complex with additional flavors of earthiness and spiciness. There is a moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and rather crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: Although the hop aromas and flavors aren’t quite strong as some other IPAs, this is a very well balanced beer considering it is just made with a single variety of hops.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 22:38:56 | More by metter98

beerdrifter

Germany

3.35/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Picked this up at my favorite beer store in Belgium, Dranken Geers. Copper-amber pour with a two finger off-white head with great retention and lacing. Surprisingly subdued, earthy nose with hints of pine and caramel but not much else. Overall a little on the musty side. Thankfully the taste was a bit of an improvement. Tangy, bitter hops up front along with hints of pine and grass, all nicely complemented by a solid caramel malt base, with just a touch of orange peel. Medium carbonation on the mouthfeel and just a bit syrupy with a subtle bitter hop finish. Columbus are some of my favorite hops so I was a bit disappointed with this one. Pretty run-of-the-mill for me...

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 16:05:57 | More by beerdrifter

SLeffler27

New York

3.65/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours cloudy, honey gold on the brownish side with a slight head that leaves a fine coat of lacing.

Overall less aroma than expected. What there is consists primarily of pine and a background of orange.

Sharply acidic and bitter, with pineapple flavors. The malt background is more apparent than in others of this series. The finish is long, moderate and bitter.

This is a full-bodied beer with some alcohol, a wooly texture, and ample carbonation. It is cleansing.

Columbus was enjoyed as part of a self-training exercise to distinguish between nuances of hop varieties. This would nevertheless be a fine component to a meal.

This was sampled from a pint glass alongside the Cluster Single Hop IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 21:21:01 | More by SLeffler27

jbphoto88

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I can't tell you how happy I am that Mikkeller has done this series of brews. The columbus is a dull hazed orange beer with a by aggressive head right off the pour. The foam cap is three inches tall and a solid khaki mix of big and little bubbles. It fades slowly leaving peaks and valleys that look like a delicious cloudscape from above.

Those giant gobs of foam give the scent of earthy yet tropical fruit like pineapple and sweet juicy fruit gum. Distant is a malt backbone combined with a hint of pine resin.

One can only learn from the various flavors of these single hopped recipes. The taste as expected is simple and very one sided, in a good way. There are no conflicting flavors of hops to distract and the malt balance is a subtle but nice touch. The Columbus version is sweet and like the nose tropical yet earthy. Not very citrus oriented but leaning more towards pineapple with a breath of pine. The aftertaste is a roller coaster drop into an ever building bitterness that is both bitter and slightly sour. A caramelized malt is sweetly ever present and rebounds the finish.

Mouthfeel is a heavy dose of hop acid which isn't surprising given the high alphas associated with this hop. The beer seems to strip a few layers of enamel off your teeth but never gets too aggressive on the tongue. Aside from the pow of hop this beer is under carbonated for my taste but let's you really get a feel for this hop. I like the aggressive background of the Columbus and can see it used as a bittering hop in darker beers. The overall flavor is good but not as tasty and succulent on its own. This beer is a must try for any self respecting hop head.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2011 20:04:00 | More by jbphoto88

oberon

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a standard pint a deep rich burnt orange with a tight formed one finger white head that left multiple broken rings of lace behind as it settled into a frothy mass,great rich color.Wow caramel malt plays a big role in the nose (on the palate as well),to me its bigger than the tropical fruit hop profile,its not bad it just seems a bit out of whack.Caramel/biscuit malt mixed with that tropical fuit hop flavor,not bitter but more rounded hop flavors.Its not a bad beer but it seems the Columbus hops are a little under utilized,in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2011 21:28:57 | More by oberon

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

So, I’ve decided this is my last Mikkeller single hop for a long while. They are no longer interesting to me and frankly, I think they are getting a little long in the tooth. Bottle code 8181103

Yep, looks like all the others. Nice foamy/creamy head tops a dull amber/orange colored beer. Excellent lacing.

Aroma is very earthy and somewhat musty. A bit of sweet fruit and some classic Mikkeller malt notes. The finish is pine and perfume like.

Initial bitterness that gives way to some pine notes and some fruit. Lot’s of toffee mid palate. Late there is some pine resin and earthy flavors as well.

Body just felt thinner than some of the others. I realize it probably wasn’t, but just seemed that way. Maybe the finish wasn’t as full as the others..

Yeah, I am done with this series. Nelson is the big winner of the series.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 19:22:11 | More by Reagan1984

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle. The beer pours an orange color with a white head. The aroma is full of orange and biscuit malt, like I expect from an American IPA. The flavor is also very nice. I get a lot of orange citrus from the hops, as well as a little bit of grass and some resinous pine. Biscuit malt is also present and keeps the bitterness low even though the hop flavor is high. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 20:09:20 | More by Mora2000

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured in to founder's tulip.

A - Medium orange/amber colour with one finger of thick, foamy off-white head.

S - Pine with some subdued floral and citrus notes.

T - A sharp and dry initial bitterness with pine, grass and floral notes and a very mild sweetness from the malts.

M - Medium body; light to moderate carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 02:42:36 | More by TheSevenDuffs

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a Dogfish snifter

A- pours a very cloudy, dark shade of amber with a three finger offwhite head. The head sticks around for awhile, and the lacing is very solid and puffy

S- piney aroma coming out of this one....pretty mild, not that appealing actually

T- pine, and citrus, but the flavors are very weak and not meshing very well. The aftertaste is very grassy. Eh

M- pretty thick....almost syrupy. Disappointing

O- typical Mikkeller single hop. Not great, not awful...just there.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 00:54:44 | More by bigfnjoe

codsmith

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours dark golden with a thick white foam head that takes a while to dissipate

S: Fairly clean hop aroma that allows for a slight bit of malt character come through

T: Clean malt flavor that ends in a earthy bitterness that is very pronounced

M: Very light bodied, smooth and maybe a touch over carbonated

O:Interesting amount of bitterness with no aroma offered

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 00:37:27 | More by codsmith

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cap numbered 8181103! Served from bottle into Stone nonic. Poured yellow-orange with a two finger off-white head that subsided to half a finger slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, fruit, citrus, citrus hop, and grapefruit hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, grapefruit, citrus hop, and grapefruit hop. It had a light feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. I went into this one not really expecting too much as most of the others I had prior were not so good. However, this one surprised me and was pretty tasty. The grapefruit character in this one definitely saved it for me for sure. Glad this showed up in both the flavor and aroma on this one. Definitely one of the better offerings in the series for sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2011 16:32:16 | More by thagr81us

avalon07

South Carolina

3.73/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a coppery color and a mostly clear consistency. There was an inch and a half of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Pretty good lacing.

S: A nice aroma of hops, citrus, and some malt.

T: Tasted of some citrus (grapefruit), hops, grain, and a bit of malt. The hops (and grain for that matter) content was somewhat harsh, but still allowed for a decent flavor.

M: A well-carbonated beer with a grainy finish. Medium-bodied.

O: in spite of some deficiencies, this beer is still a solid piece of brewing.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 12:03:45 | More by avalon07

lanbewardin

Belgium

4.2/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into duvel chalice.

Amber color, same color as the warrior and simcoe ones but this had quite a bit more head ( 1 inch ), could have been in the pour I guess.

Smell - I get a lot of citrus, the citrus dominates, grapefruit & orange, most aroma of the 3 that I tasted

Taste - bitter hops, piney bitterness.

Overall - great taste, not very complex, but I enjoyed it

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2011 16:18:17 | More by lanbewardin

drabmuh

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Beer served on draft at Churchkey with 18 others. This one was a middle of the road IPA.

Beer is red to orange and clear with low carbonation, a thin white head, some lacing on the glass. Looks good.

Aroma is sweet with only minor hop influence, floral, a little piny. Mostly alcohol and malt.

The beer has a medium body, dry finish, surprisingly dryer than the others, the dryness helps to pick out the bitterness, moderately bitter. Difficult to dissect out the hops from all the sweetness but it is there. Eh.

Serving type: on-tap

06-20-2011 13:30:38 | More by drabmuh

vandemonian

Maryland

3.78/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I had this at ChurchKey where they had 10+ Mikkeller single hop IPAs. It was interesting to taste the characteristics of this hop without interference from other hop types. This hop had awesome floral aroma with a light citric acid flavour.

A: Orange color and 3 mm head that fades to good lacing. 4

S Flowery; hoppy; sweet. 4.5

T: Acidic citric flavour. I can imagine this being nice when combined with other hops, but was a little too strong by itself. 3.5

M: Pretty thick and reasonably carbonated. 4

O: Lovely smell and a decent flavour. 3.5

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2011 03:59:36 | More by vandemonian

gford217

Georgia

3.95/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

11.2oz bottle alongside Magnum and Mt. Hood.

Pours a deep clear amber with a huge fluffy beige head that recedes quickly to a soapy collar and leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is mostly citrus though it's not overpowering. There are some oranges and a bit of pine. The caramel malts are evident as well. This is probably my favorite nose of the three I've got in front of me.

The taste is sweet, pleasantly so with a combination of orange rinds and pineapples as well as the biscuity malts. Light bitterness in the finish.

Te mouthfeel is medium bodied with lots of carbonation, maybe a tad too much, but still a solid body.

This is one of the better hop series beers for me as the citrus is well represented. The best part is the smoothness and drinkability as the hops are flavorful but not overly bitter. Goes down very easily.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2011 03:37:23 | More by gford217