Mikkeller It's Alive! (White Wine Barrel Lychee Edition)
Belgian ale brewed with lychee fruit and aged in white wine barrels
3.7
201 reviews
Copenhagen, Denmark
Community reviews
WOW - brilliant from go to whoa - so easy to smash - impeccable balance - get cherries more than lychees - oh yeah.
Medium pale beige head. Hazy brownish red body with strong carbonation. Tropical fruit, strawberry and barnyard aroma with salty cow dung notes. Dry-sweet and faintly acidic barnyard, lychee, and strawberry taste with salty wooden notes. Mid-bodied. Mild, flattish mouthfeel. Dry-salty wooden barnyard and fruit aftertaste with wooden spicy notes. A bit harsh at first, but fantastic when you get further. (0.375l bottle at Øl & Brød, Copenhagen.)
Bottle from 2012. Pours a deep golden amber brown with two inches of bubbly supportive head. The head never faded completely, just stayed at about a centimeter. Great lacing and legs. Aroma is of white wine funkiness, white oak, vegetal earthiness and a floral fruitiness. Taste is dry fruity oak, light grassy funk, and a hint of black pepper. Nice body but it’s light on the tongue. Tons of carbonation but it doesn’t dance on the tongue. This might be my favorite beer from Mikkeller. I’m not picking up on the lychee much, but that grassy fruitiness is probably just the lychee playing in the background; but i’l liken the fruitiness more to a pear or Ranier cherry than lychee.
375ml bottle pours a hazy dark orange with an off white head. slight tart fruit with a bit of a oak taste
14.01.2015, 0,375l bottle sampled @ BBGTC tasting:
Nice creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly rich and sour-ish fruity, whitewine barrel, overripe mountain cranberries, sorrel, berry skin, mild tropical fruits, oak, mild vinegar. Taste is slightly dry, whitewine barrel, berry skin, heather, overripe mountain cranberries, hay, grass, old rope, mild brett. Medium bitterness, slightly dry mouthfeel. Nice one.
Bottle shared with BBGTC. Pours a orange color with a small white head. Aroma is tropical fruits, tangerine, lychee and a light acidic touch. Taste is lightly sweet with hints of wood, tangerine and grapes. Fairly mellow and pleasant taste. Not too ’bretty’ in my opinion. Medium dry with a medium body. Co2 levels are avg.
Bottle, shared with BBGTC. Pours a clear orange-amber body with a medium white head. Nose is bretty stable notes, grape peel, cranberries, wood, barnyard funk, mild tropical sweet fruits, straw and hints of citric peel and white wine. Taste is straw, nuts, bretty tobacco-like burnt rubber-like tones (although very nice tasting!), red berries, wood, vanilla, hints of grape peel and white fruit syrup. Medium body and carbonation, dry finish. Sometimes, a beer is both dry and a bit sweet, and funky yet fruity. This is one of them. Complex and original, with the lichi undoubtedly playing a subtle part in the sweet/dry composition. Highly likeable.
From notes. Tasted some time near the fall of 2012 from a corked and caged 375mL bottle. Pours hazy orange with an average white head that leaves average lace. The nose is sour with lychee, some bread malt, vinous oak, and a perfumed aroma that reminds me of scented soap. The flavor is a bit sweeter up front, not sour at all, but super funky and vinous, lots of lychee. The body is medium with average carbonation and a long funky and vinous lychee finish.
375 ml bottle. Murky orange brown, mostly lasting off-white foam. Aroma is tart, fruity, white wine, faint brett. Taste is lightly tart, green fruit, vinous, mild brett. Well carbonated, lighter bodied, low hopped. Nice quencher. NFL (Not For Lagerboys)
Green bottle (375ml). Appears hazy amber-brown with a medium sized off-white head. Nose offers syrupy sweet lychees, light barnyard and vague woody vinous notes. Taste is initially very sweet with the mild funky notes and dryness coming through on the mid palate and finish. Lightly carbonated and medium bodied. A bit too sweet for me.
Pours a lightly hazy copper with a small white head that leaves some lacing. Nose is of perfumey fruits, sweat and light vinegar. Taste is of an exotic fruit, must be the lychee. It is dry but maybe not as dry as I’d wish. Not quite tart but there is a slight juicy green grapes impression. Body is medium, carbonation moderate and mouthfeel is vinous. Overall a fair wild ale, I thought it would be better and more winey.
from Erzbierschof - hazy ruby-brown beer under a creamy long lasting beige foam; woody nose with notes of grapes and apples; some sweetness and a fair sourness; full-bodied, long woody finish of grapes, almonds and pears with lingering woody tones and notes of litchies
Ambré. Beau collet blanc. Sûrette. Fruité. Fruit exotique. Épicé. Poivré. Bonne amertume. Tabac. Boisé. Finale sèche et astringente. Ne goûte pas assez le lychee et le vin blanc mais bien.
Backlog rating. Bottle at CBC Clerkenwell, Gunnar tasting. Thanks to Josh for this one. It pours a clean golden-reddish color with a small white head. Aroma is acidic and funky with notes of wild tangy berries, lemon juice, vinegar, ripe peaches and Nordic salty berries. Taste is again acidic, funky with notes of wine, citrus peel, basement dust, wet soil, red berries and ripe apricots. Nice vinous woody quality to it. Finishes tart and dry. Medium bodied with lively carbonation. Overall, exceptionally tasty, great beer
Bottle. Pours deep golden with an off-white head. Aroma of malt, funk, pine, sour berries and herbs. Flavor is sweet and funky with some sour notes, malt, herbs and berries. Medium body, average carbonation.
Bottle, 375ml. A dense, finger-thick, light beige head forms over a hazy, dark golden body. Lacings. The aroma is lightly vinous, with some citrusy fruityness and oak. Citrusy, lightly sourish and citrusy flavor with white wine and an oak touch. Full body, dry and nicely carbonated. Lasting citrusy, lighlty vinous finish. Perhaps lacking a bit on complexity this one, but it’s quite tasteful and pleasant anyway. 141108
Bottle 375ml @ Geokkjer
Pours slightly hazy deep golden with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, brett, white wine and some sourness. Taste is light to medium sweet and light sour with a long white wine and slightly dry finish. Body is medium, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft.
Smells funky but not unpleasantly so. Taste is a little astringent at first, then thick syrupy fruit, and a little medicinal. Hard beer to describe but really enjoyed it.
duft: fersken. æble. lidt funk. citrus
smag: karamel. citrus. lime, svag funk
Nice reddish pour with a slightly pink head. Nice berry flavor with a tart finish. Very refreshing.
bottle. Pours clear and amber.
Fresh, and with a very complex white wine nose to it. Absolutely amazing smell!
Slightly sour, crisp white wine feel to it and a smooth, soothing hoppy finish.
Very nice food beer!
Pours dark amber with a big, white head. Aroma has lots of ripe, fruity notes. Very crisp fruits, with citrus, something bitter that is most likely this lychee. This was head to head with the original, and this has much less spices. A dry wooden oak here as well. Taste has acidic, citrussy fruits and ripe fruit’s peel. Much more funky than the regular one. Medium carb and very well hidden alcohol.
Bottle. Pours clear orange and sparkling with regular tan head. Aroma has some funk, fruity, almost conserves-like sweet fruits. Also citrusy. Some grapes. Taste medium sweet and fruity, slight sour and some dry mouthfeel from the barrel.
Bottle. Clear amber, small tan head. Aroma is funky with a fruity mix of citrus, wet grass, pepper, a light oaky texture, raisins, some funky lacto-stuff, a darker berry-like substance, peach and a strange dry pineapple. Taste is more funky with a leathery base beneath a more dusty body of berry- and fruits. Also some cherry-like sweetness and a somewhat dry finish, where the white wine plays its primary role. Delicious.
"the better of the 2 versions of IA we had last night. Still not a huge fan of the white wine barreling (scored a 3.6 as opposed to a 4.1 for the base beer), but this is a step back in the right direction. the lychee doesn’t really add any tartness due to the beer already being more tart/sour than the fruit added, but the extra complexity and slight sweetness is a nice touch, and actually mellows the wine character a bit."
Aroma: peach, white wine and lychee.
Appearance: nice hazy amber color, white head.
Taste: low bitterness, peach, white wine, slightly sour, vanilla, nice fresh lychee notes, fruity, balanced.
Palate: medium body and medium carbonation, fresh fruity finish.
Overall: Interesting combination of tastes, I think that a barrel after a high quality white wine delivers a lot of good things.
Bottle from Premier Gourmet. Pours a clear, bright, orange/amber with with an active, off-white head that leaves mild lacing. Aroma is mildly tart with noticeable wine barrel notes, vanilla, and some soft, tropical/floral fruit. Taste starts of semi sweet but tart. Fruity tartness, almost a caramel sweetness, a bit of barrel notes, and a touch of a warm alcohol. Almost a touch of whiskey. Really very unique. I?ve never had a beer like it. Medium-full body with a medium-high carbonation. Pretty clean in the mouth with a lively carbonation. Overall one of the most unique beers I?ve ever had. Tart, but sweet with great, toasted barrel notes, and a great mouth feel.
An excellent beer than manages to hide its strength behind an unusual/unique flavour profile. A delicious accompaniment to any fine meal.
375ml bottle from Appellation Wines.
Appearance - dark amber in fact honey like with some red chinks.
Nose - firstly apple vinegar then a big savoury almost soy sauce note.
Taste - expected sour dominant note, the caramel before finishing in butter.
Palate - medium bodied with a tight tangy texture that leads into the finish which keeps going for ages. The fact that there are some sweet notes sitting on top of the basically very sour palate is interesting.
Overall - I’m guessing that hint of butter at the end is something to do with the Chardonnay barrel. Interesting beer if not all together for me.
375ml bottle, pours golden amber with a bubbly white head. Lychee aroma leaps out, backed with grainy malt, white wine aroma leading to a bubbly dry finish. Really like the dryness and the balance. this is a really well crafted beer. The lychee flavour is unusual and adds something different to a Sour Ale.