Hopf Spezial Weisse
Weissbierbrauerei Hopf

 

 

Poured from 500mL bottle into a weizen glass.

Appearance: rich golden hue with a moderate haze and effervescence. Head poured a couple fingers of frothy ivory foam but didn't have much staying power.

Smell: rich and wheaty, with just a hint of sweetness and banana. Simple, but quite nice.

Taste: wheaty and refreshing; a nice malty base that is not too sweet. The banana flavors are mild but play a good supporting role; I think this is a very good hefeweizen indeed.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body but with a great carbonation and really big creaminess. Very good.

Overall: this is by far the best of the beers I've tried from Hopf. The texture on this is great, and the flavor, while mild, is balanced and refreshing.

Pours a murky dark orange-brown with a foamy tan head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of wheat, caramel, banana, and spice aromas. Taste is much the same with caramel and banana bread flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with solid banana and caramel qualities all around.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

 

 

Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

Finally getting down to trying this stuff after much vacillation. It pours a slightly hazy golden-orange topped by a finger of lightly cream-white foam. The nose is dominated by a strange, almost-but-not-really-but-still-sorta/kinda off-ish tangelo, with a pinch o what may or may not be black pepper in there as well. In the background hangs a pall of something akin to oxidation-derived cardboard, only milder, less obvious. Hm, is it old? No idea, as the printed code on the back label is faded and apparently in some kind of unintelligible code regardless. The taste comes back a bit, with notes of bland orange zest, vague black pepper-style spice, and light wheat. It's a pretty mediocre flavor combination, but one that shines compared to the limp smell. The body is a light medium, with a moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, a mildly sad hefe, but one that somehow keeps itself from completely descending into the abyss. All I know is that I won't likely be grabbing another bottle any time soon...

 

A: a pale, murky gold with a thick white head. Minimal to no lacing.
S: wonderful combination of clove, banana and bubblegum aromas. Slight lemon notes are there as well.
T: the wheat really jumps out at the start and is melded nicely with notes of bananas and all kinds of clove. Not getting much lemon here. Good flavor, good balance, maybe a tad muted.
M: higher carbonation than i am used to with this style. A nice and slightly thick body. Pleasantly tart aftertaste.
O: a solid Hefe here. A steal for the price and one worth picking up.

 

Not sure if this bottle is new or old, one of the ones I missed getting fresh while I was living in Bavaria.

It pours a darker color than most hefeweizens with a big foamy but fizzy white head that leaves some decent lacing.

The smell has a lot of clove in it, and also a lot of caramel, not too much lemon or banana.

The flavor is probably not what it is fresh but it is good. It is caramally, clovey, with a nice bit of wheat and lemon. Banana is also in the flavor. The tartness in the finish is real nice. The mouthfeel is good.

I have to lean on the side that this one is older, but it is still somehow good and I suspect a fresh bottle would be pretty amazing.

Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Ayinger weissbier glass. Produced on "11027011"

Thickly cloudy saffron to mikado yellow gradient with a thin off white creamy head. Little dark tadpoles of yeast dart up and down the middle column of liquid. Sandy lacing, superior retention.

Sweet aromatics suggestive of bubble gum, vanilla, red banana, and caramel.

Tart lemony palate entry with wheat and rye elements. Crackery notes arrive next arrive with an almost savory (not quite vegetal) flavor that is subtle yet difficult to describe. Vague lingonberry in the finish.

Effervescent, soft, soapy mouth-feel.

Flavorful full-bodied example of the style, though maybe lacking the purity of the best versions.

A - Pours with a massive, three finger head of white foam on top of a hazy, golden-brown body. The foam settles slowly and leaves nice, thick lace on the glass.

S - A strong, smoky yeast aroma of bubblegum and cloves. Some spicy yeast in the background with a little caramel.

T - Smoky clove notes up front with some spicy wheat and vanilla. A bit of banana comes out in the middle and fades to a yeasty finish with more clove and smoky character.

M - Medium-thick body, moderately high carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Very nice, yeast weisse beer. The smoky character and clove that the yeast produces is very nicely done; strong enough to give the beer character but not overwhelming.

A: The beer pours a hazed orange color with a massive white head that settles down to a thin layer.

S: Very spicy with a heavy clove aroma. Sweet bready malts with a nice wheat character as well as some sweetness from the banana. Just a hint of bubblegum to it as it warms up.

T: Like with the nose, big time spice aroma. Banana sweetness and the bready nature of the malt and wheat, this is a bit like a spicy banana bread. A really pleasant flavor.

M: Medium in body with a medium level of carbonation.

O: Just a solid hefeweizen. Perhaps I should have bought another.

Picked up a 500ml bottle at Good Beer in NYC. The label was in German and said very little, but I'd hoped there would be something hoppy about this beer. I was mistaken.

It's not a bad beer, in fact it's quite a tasty hefeweizen. Overall, there's a smooth and subtle character with a touch more body than your average hefe (hence the "Spezial" name). The aroma is a touch muted by comparison the flavors, but there's a blend of clove, bready, doughy wheat malt, with a hint of fruit punch. So no hops, but a lovely, balanced mix of malt, spice and fruit.

Appearance: Cloudy bronze color with one-half finger of foam. Steady carbonation.

Smell: Nice presence of fresh lemon and cut grass. The addition, of wonderful esters makes this beer memorable.

Taste: Nice malty flavors up front, which are followed clove and citrus flavors. The hops balance the beer out as it slides past the tounge.

Mouth: Thin.

Drinkability: In all a good beer; find it if you can.

Bottle from Gourmet Haus Staudt.

Yeasty opaque brownish-amber, a couple shades darker than the average hefe, rather Schneider-esque. It initially pours with a large frothy white head, but that quickly settles to a thin cap that shows good retention.

The nose is sharply spicy, signature weizen yeast clove character is plenty present, but it has a fairly unique sweet-tart apple fruitiness alongside it. I also pick up doughy bread and a bit of bubblegum, sans sweetness.

It's nuanced and balanced on the tongue, pear and apple esters appearing up front. It doesn't taste as spicy as it smells, the fruit character being much more prominent, though there is a touch of clove in the mid-palate. The finish has a lingering tart green apple character, something about it reminds me of oatmeal with apples and cinnamon.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium, it's just dry and light enough to be quaffable without feeling insubstantial.

A very good seasonal hefe overall, I'm glad I picked up a bottle.

Newish import to the Midwest it looks like, haven't seen this particular Hopf label around before.

Into a weizen glass, this pours a murky orange, and it just glows. With the stubborn yeast poured in, it gives it a more muddy look, but still with golden orange traces at the edges. A finger of foam recedes to a skim fairly quickly, but it seems to stick around.

Minerally, spicy, clove and wheat, smoky apples.

Rich hefe flavor, definitely spicy, almost a lighter Weizenbock. Light and easy drinking, long banana & clove aftertaste. Getting some nutmeg, clove, spiced apple, and banana in the finish. Smooth, wheaty hefe feel, imminently drinkable.

Overall nice, maybe not at it's freshest, but it has plenty of potential. Get it if you see it.