There are certain beer styles you'd bump into frequently in the earlier days of the craft beer revolution that hardly ever appear in the current era of hops, bugs, haze and lactose: many of them classic European styles no one gives a hoot about anymore. Then there are some you hardly saw even then: such as classic Bavarian style hefeweizen given a hoppy makeover. Sure, I recall James Squire putting out one under their Mad Brewers' banner, but there haven't been many.
So trainspotters of the obscure, rejoice! For that's where Bad Shepherd and Fat Goat went for the latter's birthday beer, creating a hopped up hefe. The combo of esters and phenolics from the yeast with those fruity hops is an unusual one; lemon citrus aromas of a vaguely soapy sort lead the way, while there's hints of banana bread in its midst too. The hops return as the impact of the yeast fades, contributing a lean and resinous bitterness that builds slowly, as if waiting for the ABAC report after someone complains about the animal cruelty on the label...
James Smith
Published October 24, 2019 2019-10-24 00:00:00
