Hop Sun
Southern Tier Brewing Company

On tap at Schouskjelleren. Pale golden colour, moderate white head, nice lacing. Very moderate aroma, some fruit, hints of honey. Soft mouthfeel. Pleasant smooth flavour of fruity hops, a moderate grapefruity bitterness in the finish. Easy drinking and refreshing.

 

 

Hop Sun is an extremely refreshing summer wheat beer which is very close to the traditional style. Southern Tier Brewing always puts out quality beers and Hop Sun is no exception.

 

 

The appearance was a nice looking somewhat hazy golden yellow to orange color with one finger white foamy head that quickly dies and leaves a bubbly lacing. The smell had a super nice long inviting refreshing citrus aroma. Sweet fresh cut grass and a nice light bitter pine help to accentuate the "Summer"-Ness of this beer. The taste took all of the previously mentioned flavors and wrapped them up to let a super nice sweet sticky malty lemon flavoring come out. The aftertaste is refreshingly lemon sweet. On the palate, this one sits about a light altogether. I’m pretty sure I could pound this all day on the beach or on the boat. Overall, very nicely done APWA and one of my favorites by this brewery.

 

 

 

From the right side of the label: "DOB 03/14/17 01:35PM"

Appearance: The head is short and fizzy which drops out to a mere ring and substandard for an ale brewed with wheat. The body is a nice light golden yellow color with a bit of haze but no visible particulates.

Aroma: There is a light lemon aroma to the beer. It reminds me of the way lemon head candy smells. Nothing else comes through.

Taste: Lemon flavor comes through right off the bat. It isn't a lemonade flavor as much as it is a lemon-heavy lemon tea. It is more sour than sweet...like regular, plain old lemons. There is a bit of a grassy flavor in the middle and at the end. The beer does say it is "brewed with lemons" and it certainly tastes like lemons.

Mouthfeel: It has a moderate tartness with just a bit of bitterness and not sweetness to cut either. It is rather unbalanced and doesn't feel like a wheat beer at all.

Overall: This beer is a bit of a conundrum. Those who enjoy lemonade will likely be left wanting a sweetness. Those who enjoy wheat beers will be left wondering where the wheat flavor is. The lemon flavor is done very well, to the point where it is just present enough to provide a bit of sourness to the palate and restrained enough that it doesn't feel like you're drinking lemon pledge. Unfortunately there isn't anything left to support the beer. It isn't a beer I would drink again but I would recommend checking it out as a curio. It is palatable enough to drink and it is interesting enough to enjoy at least once.

 

This beer pours a crystal clear, slightly pale golden color with a one finger, fizzy, bright white head that dissipates very quickly and leaves next to no lacing on the glass.

The most noticeable aroma is slightly tart lemon reminiscent of lemon heads, along with a bit of citrus hops and wheat.

Taste is not nearly as good as the smell. It honestly tastes like I am drinking a glass of lemon juice. Overpowering and offensive.

Feel is light and slightly watery, which is not helped out any by the lack of carbonation.

This beer is a miss on so many levels. I was not a fan of Hop Sun, but somehow this manages to be much worse. Not as bad as replacing Where the Helles Summer with the Raspberry Wheat, but yikes! Southern Tier is 0-2 on seasonals in 2017.

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bottle into a goblet glass, almost a transparent golden color. Hoppier than I expected, agreed with other reviews in that it's closer to a weaker American IPA than a wheat. Went down smooth and tasted refreshing after raking leaves on a warm fall afternoon, but the flavor is nothing exceptional. Not bad by any means but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it.