On Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Single Hop IPA

Mikkeller out of Denmark has been performing a great service to aspiring beer afficianatos for quite some time now with their Single Hop Series.  This will be the first in at least 4 posts on Mikkeller's single hop series.  The idea, for those of you unfamiliar with Mikkeller's devotion to this project, is to brew the same exact beer and only change the hops.  From the label:

"For each version, the single hop  variety was used in the same weight for bittering, aroma, flavor, and for dry hopping.  All 18 varieties of single hop ales in this series were brewed the same week, from the same batches of malt, using the same yeast and fermentation temperatures." 

This differs from the Sam Adams Deconstructed project because the Deconstructed series of IPAs highlights the best of each of the hops in the Latitude 48 beer.  To highlight each beer, they do not necessarily use the same hoping rates for each of the different varieties, but instead make changes to best suit the individual hops.  While this likely creates a more appealing beer as a whole, it somehwhat diminishes the controlled study of a single hop beer series.

With the Single Hop Series we have a great library to evaluate the character of individual hops.  Additionally, the Single Hop Series can be used to evaluate malt character.  By evaluating not what changes, but what stays the same, it is possible to tease out malt qualities.

Nelson Sauvin starts with an unidentifiable berry candy aroma. Apple bars and  bit of funk bring up the rear. Appearance is a cloudy, burnt orange. The dense head recedes quickly. Heavy yeast sediment coats the bottom of the bottle. The flavor brings some caramel malt sweetness which gives way to an odd wine-like character. I like it, but it’s hard to pinpoint. An astringent hop bitterness continues in the long finish. Some alcohol warmth lasts in the back of my throat long after the last sip.

I think this bottle got some age on it from it’s trip from Belgium to Illinois (or I’m late to the party). The code on the top is 5??1010. If fresh, it would no doubt be better. The Nelson Sauvin hops are quite unique and I look forward to seeing them used more widely in the future.




Single hop series reviews:
Sorachi Ace
Simcoe