REVIEW #21: Cream Ale (Mikkeller / Revelation Cat)

This is a first for me, a cream ale! Pours an attractive tangerine with impressive pure white head. Citrus, orange juice and pine on the nose. To the taste, immediate floral  notes, orange and elderflower. It has a malty undercurrent but the hops really stand to the fore, revealing their citrus and herbal characteristics. I would guess this to be an all-malt version (i.e. no corn, wheat, etc). Its quite light, well-carbonated and refreshing. Its a joy to drink, although I'm not sure a traditional cream ale should be quite so hoppy.

This 'Cream Ale' is a joint effort from Denmark's 'phantom' brewer Mikkeller and Revelation Cat, an Italian microbrewery opened 2009 in Rome. The beer itself was brewed at brewery-for-hire De Poefbrouwerij, in East Flanders, Belgium (the previous Mikkeller beer I reviewed was brewed at De Molens of Holland and Mikel even has a beer brewed by Jennings Brewery in the North of England - this guy travels!). This cream ale is inspired by pre-prohibition era beers in America, hence the Tommy guns pointing at hops on the label. The cream ale style, according to beeradvocate, derives from US light lagers. Cream ales are indeed ales so use Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (ale yeast cf. lager yeast) although may be finished with lager yeast or even have lager mixed in with the ale.

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 5%

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