Weissbierbrauerei Hopf - Hopf Helle Weiss

Given the aroma and flavor of this beer, you might fight it surprising that no fruits or additives were used to impose the banana-like aromas—they're purely a natural result of Hopf's wheat and proprietary yeast strain. Note the characteristically bright white, thick-as-cappuccino-froth head which is retained indefinitely. In addition to the obvious banana aromas, look for notes of lemon meringue with additional clove spiciness. The flavor closely parallels the nose, with big banana and clove notes combining with thirst-quenching wheat flavors, along with orange notes. This beer finishes remarkably clean considering all the banana and fruit notes, and finishes with a fairly stern acidity. In Bavaria, this beer is commonly served as a mid-morning refresher, particularly in warm weather months. We suggest pairing it with veal sausage, or, once you've experienced the beer on its own, adding about 2 oz. of champagne to create a Helle-mosa (Mimosa-inspired beer cocktail). Cheers!

Nestled in the foothills of the Alps in a town called Miesbach, about 30 miles south of Munich, is the Weissbierbrauerei Hopf. Here, as you might have gathered from their name, owner Johann Hopf and his forefathers exclusively produce wheat beers, and have for generations created some of his country's finest. Famed for the distinctive and elegant aroma of its beers, the Weissbierbrauerei Hopf is profoundly aware of the need to reinforce the traditional values and brewing practices that have served their beers so well through their first century of operation. All of the Hopf wheat beer specialties are brewed according to the German Purity law with just five ingredients: wheat malt, barley malt, water (originating from the alps), yeast and hops. The brewery, founded in 1910 and presently run by the third generation of the Hopf family, is currently producing eight different types of wheat beers, each as unique as the picturesque village that the brewery resides in. Recently, the brewery was awarded the most prestigious of German brewing industry awards, the "Prize for the Best of the Best", in recognition of the high-quality, consistently award-winning beers. The prize product of the brewery, Hopf Helle Weisse (featured below), is held in very high regard because of the powerfully fruity, banana-like flavors that predominate the character of the beer. To professional brewers, the exacting task of consistently achieving such poignant character from very subtle manipulation of the fermentation conditions is what is so exceptional about this brew. We invite you now to experience this very distinctive brew for yourself—we're confident you'll have tasted nothing quite like it. For more information about the brewery, check out their web site: http://www.hopfweisse.de