As part of its summer beer release, the LCBO has brought Mikkeller’s American Dream to Ontario. The Danish brewer of this beer was good enough to rebrand the hoppy lager as “Canadian Dream” for us, though the recipe is the same.
American Dream (also known as “Danish Dream” in Denmark) is one of the world’s top-rated beers and was designed to showcase the sought-after qualities of American hops.
It pours an orange-gold with a moderately fluffy, off-white head. The anticipated grapefruit, lemon and floral aromas are backed by a hint of caramel and biscuit. The flavour is more austerely bitter and is dominated by grapefruit zest. This beer balances hot-weather refreshment with lots of hoppy-citrus character.
I usually try to pay a bit of attention each week to the question of which glass goes best with the beer I’m writing about. Brewers often want their beer to be poured out of the bottle to release some of its carbonation and aroma. Not so this time. Perhaps sensing that there is no point fighting the from-the-bottle current in North America, Mikkeller says: “This beer is meant to be drunk directly out of the bottle, on a hot summer day.”
Most brewers advise us to drink their hoppiest beers right away — some imply that it should be the first thing we do on arriving safely home from buying it. But Mikkeller did some wonderfully geeky tasting experiments which demonstrated that American Dream, if properly stored, tastes quite alright even after six months.
Mikkeller Canadian Dream, $3.30 for a 330 mL bottle, LCBO #320697