Review: Half Pints' Hoppen Heimer Wheat Ale (2013)

One from the ol' hoard. Tonight's review is Half Pints' Hoppenheimer Wheat Ale. Hoppenheimer is a hoppier sister of the ever popular summertime hefeweizen treat, Weizen Heimer, a bananay, yeasty and sweet wheat ale. Hoppenheimer, like Weizen Heimer, is a yeasty, thick German style hefe, but Hoppen has much of a bitter hoppy kick to it, making it a beer that's a combination of an India Pale Ale meets Hefeweizen.

Appearance: It's a very cloudy orange peel orange in appearance, lots of carbonation, thick amount of lightly beige head, looks like a hefeweizen.

Aroma: Sweet.. yet hoppy. Notes of alfalfa-esque floral bitter hops, yeast, a bit of banana, fresh cut wheat, lightly sweet and citrusy.

Taste: The aroma is spot on for flavour as well, it's a floral bitter wheat ale with notes of Belgianesque yeast, citrus notes, lots of hops to give it a moderate amount of bitterness to the tongue, bit of banana and lemon. This is reminiscent to a lighter Belgian India Pale Ale in ways.

Overall Thoughts: Not as yeasty and jam-packed-full-of-citrus like the sister beer Weizen Heimer, Hoppenheimer is more of a hop forward wheat ale, reminiscent of Belgian IPAs with a bit of a zest of yeast yet some liberal amounts of hops to it. Very interesting notes. Hope to see this brewed again for this upcoming summer.. if it ever happens. It's a surprisingly 4.8% ABV... very flavourful for under 5% and an IBU rating of 73.

www.halfpintsbrewing.com/