Hopfenreiter (2020)
Maisel & Friends

Pours a slightly cloudy, deep amber coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of bready, caramel malt and tropical/citrus/berry hops, with notes of pineapple, gooseberry and grapefruit, as well as some floral, herbal accents. Taste is a great balance of sweet'ish bready, caramel malt and bitter, resinous, herbal, slightly floral hops, with tropical, berry and citrus notes of pineapple, mango, gooseberry, redcurrant, grapefruit and tangerine, as well as some pine. Finishes with a medium/strong bitterness and some caramel malt and fruity, resinous hops lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This year's Hopfenreiter may well be my favorite yet. It's got a very definitive old school, East Coast vibe to it, with a solid malt backbone and good balance of fruity and herbal and resinous, almost earthy hop notes, as well as a great, piney bitterness in the finish. While it's quite sweet, it's also quite bitter, so that balances itself out nicely and while all the different hops may seem just a little muddled up, there's still a great overall balance to broad spectrum here. Also never feels too boozy for the ABV, despite a mild warming presence in the finish.