Hoepfner Goldköpfle
Privatbrauerei Hoepfner

 

This is definitely the “session bier” from Hoepfner. I’ve enjoyed it a number of times in good quantity at parties or at a fest. The key word here is “enjoyed”. This bier starts with a deep yellow, heading toward gold, color. It builds a very fast lively champagne like head filled with very fine bubbles that settle back into the bier quickly leaving thin white head. The aroma is dominated by a beautiful crisp malt aroma and includes the Hoepfner malt tones of a biscuit-like sweetness. On a tour recently at Hoepfner I learned that they actually only use about 10% of their malt production for their own use and the rest is distributed all over the world. The yeast provides a mellow sulfur aroma. The brewer also told me they use the Weihenstephan yeast bank and re-order after every 5th generation. This beer is very mildly hopped and as the brewer put it, with what I detected as slight frown, “Some like it mild!..?” I guess that’s why the logo on the bottle is “Heavenly Mild!!!” Diving into this beer you’ll find a very nicely carbonated beverage that has a medium to light mouth feel. Although the beer finishes a little bit watery on the end it’s actually refreshingly not overly dry. A very smooth drinking bier that features a nice combination of a quick sweetness that blends into mellow hop bitterness that lingers very nicely. Goldköpfle does however exhibit more yeast influence in the flavor profile. Their yeast defiantly accents the hops giving it a mile herbal/spicy note. Hints of sulfur come through to give a very lager-like character. Very drinkable…Very drinkable!! I used the word mild a lot in my review but that is what this bier is, and is suppose to be. Great job Hoepfner…Noch eins Goldköpfle bitte!!! Himmlisch Mild!!! Zum Wohl!!!

Slightly bronzed golden yellow with a bright white head that fades away quickly to a barely bubbling surface. Grainy, doughy, sweet bread aroma -- just the tiniest bit of hop crispness. Not terribly complex, of course, but pretty dead on stylistically speaking -- and lots of depth for a light lager. Mild lemongrass characteristic and small, acidic, hoppy bite in the finish. Astringent aftertaste/feel. Very refreshing and great for a summer evening meal. Just bitter enough to counter the shocking sweetness up front.

It took a bit of Googling to find the style for this beer, one of the selections in a beer of the month club. I'm going with the style it won the 2002 World Beer Cup with.

It's a nice yellow color with a foamy white head that settles down to about a quarter inch. It smells of European hops and a bit of malt. Similar to Czech lagers so I'm guessing Saaz hops?

The taste is crisp with notes of spice, apples and grain. This is another subtle German beer that you don't see brewed much in the United States. Its aftertaste is more bitter than the beer itself. The mouthfeel is light and good.

This is a good beer, especially for the summer months. Its spicy flavors make it quite interesting and a bit complex. It's another good beer from Privatbrauerei Hoepfner. I hope they export more of their extensive line to the United States.