Working my way through Sunday's little mix of craft beers, I opened the Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei Grünhopfen today. This is the same brewery who produce the Hopfen-Cuvee which I also drooled over in a previous review.
The Grünhopfen (Greenhop Pils) has had some nice marketing effort thrown in its general direction. Note this rather sexy poster design. The bottle itself has a beautiful monochrome label with an attractive, classic motif.
Sexy marketing like this can sometimes be a bit of a distraction, so I tried not to linger too longingly over the packaging. Here's how the bottle and beer looked when poured into a Somelier glass (courtesy of Bierschau, Landshut) and placed on top of an old wine box next to the dirty window shutters on a winter's eve.
The beer itself is a bright, straw-orange, and the head is clean, bouncy and bold.
The nose.. oh the nose! Hops crushed in the hand! It's unmistakable. This beer smells like the Hallaertau during harvest. I can imagine the citizens of Kent, long since having turned their hop-fields over to strawberries, crying with nostalgia at this aroma.
The flavour itself leaps out instantly. First to break cover is a poignant acidity. The line is quickly broken, to be followed by a smooth butteryness - I can't quite pin it down so I'm going to suggest bananas and peaches. Then the bright hops arrive bringing with them the sweet bitternes of victory only to fade and make way for the light malts and toasts of an enduring peace. From aroma to rest, this beer is a five part journey that I would happily revise on many occasions.
I cannot but give this one a 7 out of 7. Delightful.
The Grünhopfen (Greenhop Pils) has had some nice marketing effort thrown in its general direction. Note this rather sexy poster design. The bottle itself has a beautiful monochrome label with an attractive, classic motif.
Sexy marketing like this can sometimes be a bit of a distraction, so I tried not to linger too longingly over the packaging. Here's how the bottle and beer looked when poured into a Somelier glass (courtesy of Bierschau, Landshut) and placed on top of an old wine box next to the dirty window shutters on a winter's eve.
The beer itself is a bright, straw-orange, and the head is clean, bouncy and bold.
The nose.. oh the nose! Hops crushed in the hand! It's unmistakable. This beer smells like the Hallaertau during harvest. I can imagine the citizens of Kent, long since having turned their hop-fields over to strawberries, crying with nostalgia at this aroma.
The flavour itself leaps out instantly. First to break cover is a poignant acidity. The line is quickly broken, to be followed by a smooth butteryness - I can't quite pin it down so I'm going to suggest bananas and peaches. Then the bright hops arrive bringing with them the sweet bitternes of victory only to fade and make way for the light malts and toasts of an enduring peace. From aroma to rest, this beer is a five part journey that I would happily revise on many occasions.
I cannot but give this one a 7 out of 7. Delightful.
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