December 8th and this is what was in my two X-mas calendars:
🎄The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar🎄
Blow Out by Mikkeller – Simcoe, Idaho 7 and Galaxy hops are very evident in the nice aroma of this beer. Taste is nicely hopped and slightly bitter, with citrus and pine at center stage and melon flavors on the side. This is a highly drinkable beer with as much balance as an IPA can muster.
🎄My wife’s homemade X-mas calendar🎄
One Man Wolfpack by Galway Bay Brewery and ToØl – This beer has a huge melon aroma with a bit of pineapple to back it up. Drinking it makes melon even more evident paired with a rather soft malt feeling. Pineapple is nowhere to be found in the taste image. Being a DIPA it could be overly sweet, but it’s not. Alcohol is a tiny bit harsh in the beginning but fades completely when the beers warm up a bit. This is a tasty Irish-Danish collab DIPA.
Before I had these two beers I was not very familiar with Idaho 7 hops, but I now know for a fact that I like them a lot. The melon and pineapple flavors are super nice in these IPAs and make me wanna dive way more into these super tasty hops. Blow Out is very fresh and easy drinking where One Man Wolfpack has to be opened up with a little temperature to be the very tasty beer it actually is. Over the years I have often found DIPAs to be cloyingly sweet and in some cases not very pleasant to drink. One Man Wolfpack is so far from this and is a very nicely balanced DIPA with a subdued bitterness and a highly likeable creamy mouthfeel. Today’s winner is One Man Wolfpack!
All through December, I’m opening my two X-mas beer calendars. The two calendars are The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar and my wife’s homemade X-mas calendar.
See you tomorrow!
A Word On Beers 