Mikkeller It's Alive! And It's in Oklahoma!

Oklahoma saw two very exciting and highly respectable brewery additions to its beer lineup this week.

Nogne O hails from Grimstad, Norway, and not only will their beer surely give Oklahoma beer lovers a lot to talk about for months to come, it also promises to produce an abundance of laughable and embarrassing pronunciation gaffs.  I suggest you beef up on your Norwegian, or at least do a quick Google search so you can keep an aura of sophistication and not butcher the name too badly. 

Mikkeller is a one dude peripatetic beer making machine who creates at various breweries in Denmark, Europe and the United States.  This once home brewer turned international beer superstar didn't start producing his beers until the summer of 2007, and now it appears that he is about to take over the world with his genre pushing beer blitzkrieg.

Through trade and travel I've had the pleasure of drinking the Mikkeller Big Worse and Monk's Elixir, as well as the Nogne O #100 and Imperial Stout. I have not been disappointed. Today I am going to review the Mikkeller It's Alive, an American Wild Ale, a style that I haven't always seen eye to eye with.  I will get to some Nogne brews soon.

Sparkling reddish orange in color with a long lasting, thick, off-white head that bursts to the rim of the tulip.  I've witnessed few beers with a residual lacing as big and gnarly.

The aroma puts the "f" in funk; a virtual wild yeast orgy that flows freely and loudly throughout the room.  Notes of dark fruit, grain, straw and herbal mint are later realized.  Sweet and minty to the tongue with a phenomenal funk wrapping that goes on and on.  Lighter fruits, allspice, nougat and caramel eventually orchestrate to provide balance and complexity.

This one is quite easy to drink.  Mouth-feel is medium, and it has a pleasing creamy core.

A fantastic brew that goes a long way in repressing any Wild Ale issues I've had in the past.  

The fact that these two heralded breweries now distribute to our fine state is confirmation that Oklahoma beer lovers are turning some heads.  So keep raising the good pints and keep spreading the word my friends.  

I think I would be terribly remiss if I didn't take this golden opportunity to throw in a little knee spankin', toe tappin', down home Norwegian Black Metal for good measure.