Ultramate 1000 - Mikkeller ApS

rarbring

Sweden

2.48/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A hazy amber brew, an off-white head with little lacing and small curtains.

The smell is intense of turpentine, grass, nettles, pine. Promises loads of hops.

The taste has some bread notes, then it is a hop attack, pure almost chemical bitterness. Too much for most, and for me. Very one-dimensional in it's taste.

Little carbonation, a thin body, extremely dry.

This is an excellent example of "more is less". Does not really make a good beer. A good educational point, but not a pleasure.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2012 14:30:04 | More by rarbring

larryi86

Delaware

2.74/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

11.2 oz bottle poured into a DFH IPA glass

A- A very hazy copper/orange color with a massive off white head that became very soapy.

S- Hop bomb, ton of grapefruit, some pine/floral hops, some mint. Big nose for a beer below 5% ABV.

T- Wow, straight hops and nothing else. I love hops and find this a little overwhelming do to the fact it kind of has a burnt hops taste. Getting, citrus hop, piney, some resin and burnt hops in the finish bring this beer down.

M- Crisp, light body.

O- I would love this beer if the finish was not so harsh, really bring down the whole beer. The fact that this was $6 and the beer is tasty before the finish keep me from drain pouring.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 22:48:10 | More by larryi86

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

2.7/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Bottle into tulip.
No visible freshness date on bottle.

A- Slightly hazy dark copper pour. Soapy two finger off white head. Lacing is super sticky sheets on the glass.

S- A huge punch of grapefruit and pine with a sweet malt backing. Slight caramel and strawberry.

T- Super bitter pine and hop oils. Dandelion leaves? Ummm this is kinda awful.

M- Super dry, the top of my mouth feels like sandpaper right now... Carbonation is decent.

O- I really haven't had a lot of bad experiences with Mikkeller, this is borderline dreadful tasting... I'm a hop head but this is almost offensive...

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 00:03:34 | More by korguy123

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

2.6/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle into a tumbler pint, the beer is a slightly hazed, copper-orange coloring with a thick, frothy, off-white head that settles from an inch and a half down to a thin, filmy coating. Aromas of pineapple sweetness, a very subtle and floral hopping, and some peppery spicing. Flavors are tangy and spiced heavily, and the increased carbonation leaves the body too light to properly support anything. The beer ends up fizzing out on the tongue while you drink. Pineapple and toffee sweet blend transitions into a resiny, tangy, cloying aftertaste. The finish is bitter and resiny, and it leaves a distinct linger behind. Completely different than the standard American Pale.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 21:07:20 | More by GarthDanielson

drpimento

Wisconsin

3.1/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Hmm. A real hop bomb. Poured at a good temperature and with a decent, thick, foamy, fluffy, creamy, cream-colored head that lasts quite a while and good lacing. Color is a slightly hazy amber with lots of bubble trails. Aroma is mainly hops, then malt, a little caramel and grass. Flavor's like nose, massively bitter, fairly dry, plenty of carbonic tang. Body is full, but the tang and bitterness together create some sharp points. Finish is like flavor and the bitterness really lingers. Guess this beer does what it says, and is well crafted, but I don't really find it too pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 23:19:47 | More by drpimento

AgentMunky

California

3.73/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 33cL bottle into a recently-washed brandy snifter. Stamped 8571112. Tagline: "We live life to the ultra."

A: Two fingers of pleasant, fluffy head top a murky-translucent, flat light brown beer. Scattered lacing.

S: It smells pretty great. Loads of American hops are full of juicy grapefruit. Very pungent for a pale ale.

T: All bark and no bite? The maintaste is sparse, but quite bitter. QUITE bitter. 1000 IBU got nothing on this, largely because this beer got nothing to support it. Very little body or malt presence, but the dry-hopping shines through, especially on the aftertaste. Astringently hoppy, and not entirely pleasantly bitter. Still, it's to my taste, and reminds of a 'session DIPA' I once tasted.

M: A bit lacking, but not so much for a <%5 pale ale. Good carbonation. Pleasant and refreshing. I enjoy drinking this beer, even considering the drying bitterness.

O: This is an excellently executed pale ale, and I'm surprised it bore the amount of hops Mikkel added, but it works. Might not drink again, but recommended for hopheads.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 06:27:47 | More by AgentMunky

kojevergas

California

1.78/5  rDev -40.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

11.2 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a conical Guinness pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are very high given the brewer, who is my favourite in the world - though his brighter beers tend to pale (excuse the pun) in comparison to his darker beers.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired.

A: Pours a 3.5 finger head of slight cream, quite thin, with poor lacing, and of good retention. Colour is a dull nontransparent non-opaque orange. Not at all vibrant. No floating yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Fresh citrusy hops. Some floral hints. Weak and not particularly appealing. A light strength aroma.

T: Citrusy hop notes, with hints of floral character. Some orange peel. Some staleness, especially of the clean barley foundation. Some honey. All around, it's a pretty bad pale ale. Incredibly simple, with unappealing flavours. Too bitter. Wretchedly imbalanced. Poorly built all around. Wow, this is bad. What the hell what Mikkel thinking with this one?

Mf: Smooth and wet, suiting the style but not the terrible flavours. Adequately thick. Adequate carbonation.

Dr: Difficult to drink because of its low quality. This is maybe the second worst (if not worst) Mikkeller beer I've had (up against Mikkeller Black). I don't know what happened here, but it's pretty damn bad for a pale ale. Stale and just off. Wouldn't get it again. I'd caution anyone from trying it; it's almost as though something went wrong during the brewing process.

D-

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 05:46:58 | More by kojevergas

weeare138

Pennsylvania

2.45/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Looked forward to this. Purchased at Bruery Provisions.
Appears a very hazy amber toned orange with a fluffy white head. Tons of scattered lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is hugely dank rolled doobies up front with a bit of spearmint in the finish.
Taste is of the aromas with a huge amount of dangerously, dank hop resin. Christ of life help me... I've licked a hop extract can lid. :)
Mouthfeel is just way too much, IMO. Medium bodied with a grossly bitter finish.
Mikkel - wtf, bro? I appreciate the new beer but this is hop extract explosion. Wowie, zowie, boom-bowy. Need something to clean the palate.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 05:38:54 | More by weeare138

fmccormi

New York

2.73/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Straight pour from an 11.2oz pry-off bottle to my tall Ommegang tulip. There’s a printed code on the cap, in black ink, and it very well may have something to do with a date or a batch number but it’s hard to say (“8571112”).

Appearance (4.5): Very lively head on this one—actually started to gush when I opened it, but slowly so none was lost. This easily rose to four fingers of off-white head that fades very, very slowly, leaving a thick, rocky cap on top. The body here is a rich honey-orange color, and extremely hazy. Some fat, clumpy gobs of lace hang on the sides.

Smell (4.0): Weedy, very weedy at first. Some grapefruit and citrus in the back mixed with a very strong floral note. Actually, this just smells like orange blossoms and weed, with a honey sweetness backing it up. All of which is pretty great.

Taste (2.0): Astringent grass and herbs compete here, and actually continue to open up in the finish—it’s like new waves of bitter botanicals just keep coming. No malt here, it’s just hop water. It smoothes out a bit as it warms, but not by a ton.

Mouthfeel (3.0): Very dry finish, and light in body. Carbonation is pretty muted.

Overall (2.5): I get the gimmick here, but I’m not sure anyone would actually want to drink 1000 IBUs beyond just saying that they did. I wanted to say it, and now I can, but I almost certainly won’t be doing it again. Definitely a hard one to finish. It WAS an extremely attractive-looking beer, however, I will say that.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 03:22:21 | More by fmccormi

avalon07

South Carolina

2.88/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had an amber color and a hazy texture. There was an inch and a half of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: A very hoppy aroma, with a little hint of citrus, but not much else.

T: Some problems here. The main one is that the hops level is way out of kilter. It's simply too much. It's extremely harsh, especially in the finish. Way too bitter. There's a little citrus, but it can't compare to the bitterness of the hops. Not a great flavor.

M: A good amount of carbonation, but a super-unpleasant, bitter finish does not make for a good mouthfeel. Medium-bodied.

O: This might be my least favorite Mikkeller beer. It's workmanship is surprisingly shoddy. Could have been better.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 13:14:29 | More by avalon07

aasher

Indiana

2.25/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This beer pours a light bodied dirty tangerine orange in color with a one finger soapy white head. The nose is malty with some citrus hop aromas. Dear god this beer is bitter and dry. I mean like Old Milwaukee bitter beer face bitter. It is grassy as hell...and bitter. It is really undrinkably bitter, like chewing on tea leaves for days bitter. And, it dries out your entire palate, making it all so much worse. The novelty is cool, maybe, but this beer is awful. It's a drain pour. Why make a beer like this if it isn't palatable whatsoever? This one is a miss. Avoid!

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 22:13:22 | More by aasher

Brad007

Vermont

4.55/5  rDev +51.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up earlier along with other Mikkeller libations.

Pours a beautiful shade of amber with a very thick head that fades to leave a good shade of lacing.

Authentic APA aroma with piney hops that don't overwhelm and a buttery malt background.

Ditto on the taste. The only difference is that the hops are very forward. Don't be fooled. This isn't a mediocre APA. This is Mikkeller.

To describe the bitterness, imagine a dry heat. That's what my mouth feels like. Buttery malt is there too.

Hot damn diggity dog! This hits the spot. Would be the perfect summer beer!

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 04:51:59 | More by Brad007