Mikkeller
Mikkeller DTLA
Today is a rough day to talk about Craft Beer with all that is happening in the World. I sincerely hope that this is a fun and enjoyable read for you.
When I think about Mikkeller.. I think about excitement and rarity.
Back in the day when Craft Beer was still finding its footing… when you encountered international beer… it was generally only Big Beer. Not always a bad thing but… when you are encountering new and different beers in your local area… you start to wonder what else is out there in the world. Mikkeller was and is that first European Craft Beer brand that I really got excited about when finding some out in the wild.
What was even more exciting was knowing that they actually had a bar in the States! They opened up their San Francisco Tenderloin bar back in 2013 but it would take me a couple years before I was able to make it there. To say I was excited… would be an understatement. Craft Beer was at the top of its game and people were STOKED about any and all new things Craft Beer. I remember heading to the bar with a friend from Boston and if you don’t know San Francisco that well… all I have to say is that the Tenderloin can be a bit sketchy from time to time.
Mikkeller SF Tenderloin
My friend and I got to the bar and it was packed. We sat behind the bar against the wall and proceeded to order. The absolute fun part about this bar was this thing called the Flux Capacitor system that Mikkeller had operating all their taps. This thing is still at the top of the game and I have yet to see another place have something like it. The system can manage the temperature and gas type for every single draft line in the bar. Stouts can be at their proper temperature and say… if you want a beer to go on Nitro… you don’t have to switch lines because every line is capable of Nitro. I still think it's one of the best things I’ve seen and this is 7 years later.
Fast forward to the next year and Mikkeller is really pushing hard into the U.S. Craft Beer market. They take possession of the old Alesmith brewery and open up their first brewing facility in the United States in San Diego in April of 2016. To say I was excited… would yet again be an understatement. I went down to the grand opening of the brewery with a couple of my friends and got in line super early so that we could get in right when they opened. This was a clutch move and we didn’t even know it. Because when they did open… since we were first in line… they gave us free swag and upgraded our tickets for the grand opening party. It’s stuff like that that will make you a fan for life.
Fast forward once again and the date is February 10, 2017 and Mikkeller is opening up a MASSIVE downtown Los Angeles location. This place has it all. 52 taps, a cask system, smoked meats, party rooms and a coffee shop! To say I was excited would be to say that yes… yet again I was over the moon. They were even bringing the Flux Capacitor system to this new location for all 52 draft lines. Insanity. The hype was real. The grand opening was jam packed and I even shared a bottle that I had bought at the bar with some random strangers. It was a great time. I would frequent this place quite often and for a year+ I would even go every Tuesday with some friends for trivia! Good times. Sadly… this place would only last for little over three years. February 25, 2020. It was the shittiest way a place could close… with no warning to fans and employees alike. Having the chance to say goodbye to a place that has meant a lot to you really makes all the difference. I was not given that chance like so many Craft Beer fans in SOCAL. The crazy thing is… three weeks later… the whole world would shut down. Crazy times.
Mikkeller… it still has a place in my heart. Whenever I go overseas I am always checking out if there is a bar of theirs in the city that I am visiting. I’ve so far been to Mikkeller Madrid and Mikkeller Barcelona. I can not wait to continue checking out more Mikkeller bars as I continue to travel this beautiful world.
