Mikkeller It's Alive! (Chardonnay Barrel with Mango Edition)

This version of the It’s Alive has the mango to give it that sweet fruity tropical fruit taste, while the Chardonnay barrel aging gives it a vineous character. Brett gives the tartness. Complex beer – it is very much alive!

3.6

189 reviews

Copenhagen, Denmark

Community reviews

3.3 Bottle sample at a tasting at Max’s place. Thanks Stas & Vova. Hazy amber brown with a white ring. Tarty, yogurt, puke and lemon aroma, tarty, citrus and lemonade taste. Medium body, fruity mango finish.

3.7 Couleur jaune doree avec un col blanc resistant. Aromes d’alcool, fruits jaunes, vineux, bois. Interessante et complexe!

3.5 Bottle sample at a tasting at Max’s place. Thanks Stas & Vova. Hazy deep golden to amber. Funky aroma with oak, wine, fruits, and a pickles notes. Flavor is quite dry, with funk, oak, some white wine, nice fruitiness, and light tartness. Medium-bodied. Very nice.

3.8 Bottle at Örebro Ölcafé. Fruity smell with mango, wine and a bretty funk. Similar taste. Light tart.

3.8 Je choisi d’évaluer cette bière fort particulière non pas de manière absolue, mais basée sur le style uniquement. Bière mi-cuivrée mi-brune présentant une agréable densité et un mince anneau blanc en surface. Je m’attendais, par cet après-midi ensoleillé, à une bière relativement forte mais douce et fruitée de par la présence de mangues dans le processus de brassage... Erreur! En approchant le verre du nez, j’ai d’abord ressenti une forte odeur comparable à celle du soda au gingembre! Étonnement de ma part, il va sans dire! Lors d’une seconde tentative (moins téméraire que la première) l’arôme acidulé que j’avais d’abord associé au gingembre me frappe de plein fouet: le bois des barriques de vin blanc. C’est clair: on a affaire à une bière vineuse à souhait d’où émanent quantité d’arômes de fermentation complexes: champignons, levures sauvages, vin, moût de raisin... C’est d’une complexité étonnante et admirable. Ceci dit, les arômes sont dures et peuvent être déplaisantes aux narines non exercées. En bouche, c’est encore une fois très vineux et tout amateur de Chardonnay y retrouvera ce qu’il aime dans ce cépage: le côté ’’buttery’’, le poids du liquide, le bois. Dans un même ordre d’idées, la mangue étant tellement noyée au fond du baril qu’il ne faut pas s’attendre à une fruit beer, quoi qu’on puisse penser en lisant l’étiquette. Bien construite, cette bière s’adresse à un public très précis car elle est sans doute excellente dans un style bien particulier. M’es d’avis qu’il faut être un fan de ce type de bière pour l’apprécier sans quoi on peut facilement ressembler au personnage illustré sur l’étiquette!

3.6 Complex beer. Sour in mouth with woody finish. Fruity aromas are subtle. A little too sour and woody for my taste. Would have preferred a little more fruitiness and a little less woodiness.

3.9 Tap @ Mikkeller. Fruktig och lite syrlig i aromen. Rikigt bra balans i smaken, fyllig kropp.

3.6 Pours a hazy golden with a small head. Aroms is bretty with mango, hay and grass. Taste is light sweet and light sour. Some fruity notes. Moins bonne que l’originale.

2.9 Mango surispastills doft. Gammal kompost. Frisk grön mango med sur & syrlig syra. Relativt Lättdrucken. Fin vit stor krona som dock försvinner snabbt. Tropik & mangosmak. Mattning, god, känner såklart malten & humlen.

3.6 Barwa zlota, piana slaba. Aromat kwaskowy, slodki, winny. W smaku piwo delikatne, owocowo kwaskowe ale bez przesadnej slodkosci. Posmak przyjemny, bardzo subtelny, kwaskowy. Bardzo przyjemne piwo duzo lepsze od lambikow.

3.6 Bottle, shared with BBGTC. Slightly hazy deep amber body with a small white head. Nose is mango, white wine, caramel, stable funk, bretty hay tones and hints of grape peel, mild citrus and wood. Taste is red fruits, raisins, bretty stable notes, caramel, nougat and hints of wood, mango, grape peel and hay. Medium body, medium to full carbonation. Quite nice, though not outstanding.

3.5 Bottle shared with BBTGC. Pours a hazy golden with a small to medium head. Aroms is bretty with mango, hay and grass. Taste is light sweet and light sour. Some fruity notes. Fairly dry, medium body and co2.

3.5 Bottle @ weekly tasting shared with Dutchdrebus. Hazy dark orange to reddish color, average to medium sized off-white to beige head. Aroma is a bit vinous, lightly brett, fruitpeel. Taste also reminds me of wine, brett and again a hint of the tannine bitterness you get from chewing on grape peel. Don’t get any mango. Decent body and carbonation. Quite nice.

3.7 Bottle @ benzai. Mikkeller 150 for me. Slightly hazy dark orange colour with a medium sized off-white head. Smells slightly sourish, wood, slightly leather. Tastes slightly sour, brett. Nothing crazy but quite nice. Medium body, nice crisp carbo.

3.7 pours unclear bright golden orange with a creamy eggshell white head offering good retention and lacing. leathery and peppery bretts-plenty, oranges and borderline rotten fruits (mangoes), cherries, candies, slightly off caramel, grapefruit, some perfumey flowers, spices - some dill. lively to average carbonation, light body, dry bretty and grassy-very spicy finish. overall a slightly off caramel combined with overripened mangoes - remains tasty and enjoyable.

3.6 Bottle shared by czar, thanks a lot LJ! Pours a clear golden with a small white head that leaves good lacing. Nose is of intense leather, fruits, herbs and lightly sour (or vinous maybe?). Taste is of fruits, lightly tart and bitter. Flavors are of fruits (not quite something I’d call mangoes but still fruity), wood and caramel (not too disturbing but a bit of a downer). Pretty dry overall, body and carbonation were medium. Overall a good one but not a great one, I’ve had better Alive! beers.

3.6 Bottle 375ml. Pours dark amber with low beige head. Minimal lacing. Aroma is of wine, acetic, fruits. Taste is of wine, acetic acid, some roasted malt, bitterness, some metal. Oxidyzed. Palate: Light-medium body. Medium carbonation. Overall: OK. But I don’t this the base beer is that awesome. Nice sourness.

3.6 Bottle (375 ml). From kbudd19, thanks! Appearance: Slightly hazy amber/golden with a small white head and little lacing. Aroma: Brettanomyces, peach, mango, sweat, light sweetness and chardonnay. Taste: Light sweetness with leathery brettanomyces, caramel, peach/mango, light tartness and light medicinal notes. Palate: Medium body. Moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is a tad watery unfortunately. A tad winey too. Moderately dry finish with a light warming from the alcohol. Overall: Like most Mikkeller beers, it’s not exceptionnal and it’s not bad either... a "generic" Mikkeller sour. Not much different that other It’s Alive versions I have tried. The fruits are there, but doesn’t change the profile of the beer. It’s quite easy to drink for an 8% abv beer and it’s also tasty enough that I didn’t have a problem finishing the whole bottle by myself. The main flaw is the weak mouthfeel. Decent/good.

4.0 Bottle. Pours in dark amber body, clear, low frosty white head. Aroma is quite malty, caramel with citrusy notes, evident mango sweetness in the background, funky, little bit of wine character. Aroma is pretty gentle for a sour ale. Taste has mild sour bitterness, malty sweetness with light caramel, funky after taste, no mango in the taste at all. Body is medium, soft carbonation. Pretty light sour ale, good for sour beginners.

3.9 The aroma of Belgian lambics, a little mango, slightly sour taste, feel the winebarrel, but the mango did not feel it. Nice drink, but expensive

3.8 Bottle. Poured a hazy copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with very good lacing. Moderate to heavy sour fruit and wood aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sour & tropical fruit flavor with a medium to heavy fruit, wood & sour finish of moderate to long duration. This is a solid beer.

3.7 Det här var en bra och komplex öl med fina toner av syra, tropiska frukter och gräs. Kroppen var stabil och balansen satt där den skulle. Slutsats; riktigt trevlig öl.

3.4 375 ml bottle. BBE 16.01.2019. Pours hazy orange color with a small head. Nice tangy grapefruit aroma with wood and some sweet notes from the mango I presume. Some alcohol comes through on the flavor, dry wooden notes, grass, grapefruits and gooseberries, maybe faint mango too, apricot on the aftertaste, weirdly. Decent but not that special despite the specs. 3334

3.3 375 ml bottle. Pours a copper amber colour with a foamy head. Aroma of citrus, mango jam, white grapes and some urinal cake. Flavour of tart wooden notes, sweet mango jam, white grapes, yeast, some berries, caramel sweetness and alcohol. Medium bodied. Alcohol comes through a lot, thus finishing bone-dry. A bit thin. Gimmicky.

3.9 pris lors d un voyage a nyc pris au bar jeffry biere de couleur orange c est une tres rafraichisssante malgre quelle soit vielli edans du chardonnay c est une de mangue et orange en bouche c est un melange assez vineux je trouve mais legout de la manque persite toujours cest une tres bonne biere

3.7 Quite strong and pale, but also hoppy, a bit too much of alcohol taste. The smell is nice!!

3.2 Fra fat på What’s Brewing smaksfest nov-14 : uklar mørk oransje med tett skum som varer. Aroma minner om solvarme tropiske frukter og sure bær. Mangoen crasher med det vinøse fra chardonnayfatet, og det hele bllir litt ufriskt.

3.2 From tap at What’s Brewing smaksfest 14.11.14. Hazy dark orange. Dense and persistent off-white head and lacing. Aroma of sour berries, tropical fruits and roasted nuts. Similar taste and aftaste with dried fruit.

3.8 At What’s Brewing 2014, Stavanger. Pours hazy dark orange. Aroma of vinegar, wine, fruit, some medicine. Mildly sour taste, fruity. Not a very prominent taste, but very good.

3.8 Bottle. Pours hazy mahogny in color with an off-white head. There’s instantly some part of barnyard and vinegary notes on the nose, which are closely followed by some notes of white wine grapes from the Chardonnay barrel and then there’s also subtle tropical fruityness. Very funky notes indeed. Bit of wooden barrel notes mixed with some funky and citrus notes in taste. There’s also some hints of tropical fruityness with influences of sweet and overcooked carrot in the middle here. Little bit of spices and more of them citrus notes in the end. Quite tasty though.