BREWERY REVIEW: Mikkeller Brewing NYC

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

SADLY, MIKKELLER BREWING NYC IS NOW CLOSED.

Just like the two opposing baseball teams, we will soon have two local breweries that have a competitive edge cut from the same place. The Mets and Yankees, no matter who you route for, are both New York through and through. The breweries however come from Denmark.

The first of these to open an official brewery in the city is Mikkeller and interestingly enough, it opened inside Citi Field, the home of the Mets. It’s owned by Mikkel Borg-Bjergsø who has a successful craft beer business with brewery locations in Copenhagen, San Diego, and now Queens.

Mikkel’s twin brother and supposed arch-nemesis Jeppe also has a hugely popular beer company called Evil Twin. Just like a heated subway series, Evil Twin will also open a massive brewery in the borough of Queens later this year. Let the beer fight begin!

While I’ve seen both Mikkeller and Evil Twin on plenty of beer shelves, I’ve mostly reserved tasting the liquid until they brew them within the five boroughs. So Mikkeller was up first. I bravely trekked through the rain on a random weekday afternoon to find my way to the home of the Mets. The brewery entrance is outside the stadium entrance and you can imagine it is mobbed on game days.

This was off season so the giant space was practically asleep. A few beer drinkers lingered at the bar. Nobody spent much time at the little merchandise shop (I did grab a few cans to go) and no tours or private parties were present. It was kind of sad given the huge space.

But it meant I had some peace and quiet to hunker down and do some tasting. Wish it was that easy.

My biggest problem with Mikkeller is that they are too big and have too many choices. Their tap wall listed about 60 beers to choose from. And the majority of them are actually made on premises. That is leagues more ambitious than any of the other local breweries.

I also found it difficult to decide what to taste since I was only doing a handful of small pours (flights were not available) and the bartender wasn’t much help. And unless you are a full-on beer genius, it’s probably difficult to discern the difference in flavor between an IPA with Hallertau Blanc hops and one with Hull Melon hops. It’s cool to list the hop varieties and showcase the difference between the strains but some flavor profiles would also help.

Another idea I had was to try some of their flagship beers or ones that might be available year-round. Again, the bartender didn’t help but instead informed me that most rotate and there really aren’t any staples. Ok.

Well, I eventually narrowed my tasting down to five beers and bought another one to try at home later.

I started with a reference to the neighborhood nearby, Willets Point. The Willets Wit is a yeasty Belgian wheat beer that had a chewy texture with a clean bitter taste. It was pretty easy drinking but I didn’t find it terribly complex. Kind of bummed I used one of my tastes on it.

For the second beer, I located a familiar ingredient that excites me and went for it. The Sizzling Sesh is Session IPA with Szechuan peppercorns. I’ve had these floral numbing peppercorns in beers before and found them terribly exciting. Not as much here. The flavors were more juicy with a subtle bite and a beautiful aroma of mango. Again, drinkable, but not as exciting as I expected.

Hop A Cab was one of those IPAs that was described here mostly just by the two hop varieties: Hull Melon and Mandarina Bavaria. Neither were ones I was familiar with but I thought it would be a good way to learn more about them. This beer had an orange candy (think Tic Tac) quality both on the nose and the mouth. It was quite sweet with a bitter creamy finish. I’m not generally a fan of the creamy sweet orange flavor so if it had been listed in the description, I probably would have skipped it.

This one, Henry Heater, had the same color and cloudiness as the previous IPA but according to the menu it was made with the more familiar hop combination (to me) of Simcoe, Mosaic, and Citra. It also had some wheat and oats. It was very interesting to try these IPAs side by side because this one had a much bolder boozier experience. Piney and tropical fruits were apparent along with a rich earthiness that didn’t overwhelm.

Since there we too many beers to choose from, I felt compelled to buy another beer by the can to drink later at home and get another peek at their repertoire. I think the name Spriten Duyvil is part of what sold me on this one. Not only is it a reference to a riverside neighborhood in the Bronx (Spriten Duyvil) but it promises to be as refreshing and citrusy as that famous lemon-lime soda.

I’m actually amazed that this was one of my favorites I tried. Generally I’m not a huge fan of lemony drinks (I can’t palate lemonade) but this was a nice balance of lemon and lime. The completely clear ale was as refreshing as a Sprite but without any cloying aftertaste. It was super clean with fresh citrus aromas and a smooth light finish.

I also got a taste of their excellent Angels in the Stoutfield, which I already wrote about here.

All in all, I can’t say Mikkeller hit multiple home runs. But how could you when there are so many beers up to bat? One or two would have to be a strike. Sorry for all the baseball puns. It was great to get a taste of Mikkeller. It will be interesting to see how they compare when their rival team (Evil Twin) steps up to the plate.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC the best brewery in NY? They have a beautiful space and I applaud their prolific beer offerings, but I found the point of entry to be a bit intimidating and the selection overwhelming. They get a 7 out of 10 since there are currently no tours, flights, or helpful bartenders on my particular visit.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Willets Wit the best beer in NY? 7 out of10 for being an unoffensive, yeasty wheat beer. Easy drinking, sure, but nothing too special.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Sizzling Sesh the best beer in NY? I was hoping for a little more brightness or surprise from the Szechuan peppercorns but the beer still gets a 7 out of 10 for its pleasant juiciness.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Hop A Cab the best beer in NY? Definitely more unique with a strong orange candy flavor and a bitter creamy finish. Since it gave me more to chew on, it gets an8 out of 10.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Henry Heater the best beer in NY? Super interesting but I found the addition of both wheat and oats to be a bit overly rich, although it still gets a 7 out of 10 because I enjoyed the creamy melon flavors.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Spriten Duyvil the best beer in NY? The ultra-refreshing lemon-lime combo made a beer that was a bit dangerously easy to drink. I surprisingly loved it and give it a 9 out of 10.

Is Mikkeller Brewing NYC’s Angels in the Stoutfield he best beer in NY? My favorite of the batch can’t get below a 9 out of 10 because who doesn’t love a rich boozy chocolate milk?