5.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Hefiger, mild herber Beginn. Spritzig ohne besonders zu sein, geringfügig würzig. Gut trinkbar. 10/8/9/9//8

6

Sampled @ Braukunst Live 2020. A hazy yellow golden beer with a white head. Aroma of sweet banana, yeast, dough. Taste of sweet yeasty yellow fruits, ba, dough.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Hoppy German Lager from Bamberg, by a young local brewery that grows its own hops (the old Perle in this case). Encountering one of these new 'craft'-oriented German breweries has proven to be an interesting and, more often than not, rewarding thing in the past years, so I have all the confidence in this one. Pale greyish-tinged off-white, mousy, dense, medium thick, shred-lacing head, slowly thinning here and there but generally very stable, over an initially crystal clear, beautifully deep copper-tinged glowing amber beer with whirls of minute, but lively bubbles; slightly misty with sediment. Aroma of freshly cut grass, dry toast, crunched peanuts, sweetclover flowers, white pepper, straw, minerals, hot limestone rocks, touch of brown soap. Clean, crisp but 'full' onset, lovely minerality paired with a tiny-bubbled, but lively carbonation, soft and structurally vital here, vague hints of dried apricot and apple peel but very restrained in sweetness, vague sourish edge somewhere, in a slick, smooth, slightly oily environment. Rounded dry-peanutty and hard-caramelly malt body with a very soft toasty-bitterish edge, the bitterness in the end accentuated by a floral, slightly soapy, leafy and mildly peppery hoppiness, providing a nice spicy and drying finish to a generally well-made beer. The Perle hops provide a crisp, dry, 'grass green' bitterness and match very well with the lively minerally flavour running through this beer. I wish I bought more from this Hopfengarten when I had the chance, this is focused, sleek, to the point and refreshing, with a very pleasant balance of malts and hops. I would not, however, categorize this as a Pilsener of any kind: the 19th-century German Lager categories probably fall short in scope to properly classify a - to German standards - idiosyncratic beer like this, but if anything, this is much more a Märzen turned hop-forward, in a noble, Old World way. Whatever it is, it is a very solid, well-made and inviting German Lager, 21st-century style.

6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle 330ml. @ home. [ As Hopfengarten Hopfen Dolde ]. ABV: 4.8%. Clear medium yellow colour with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to white head. Aroma is moderate malty, pale malt, sweet malt, moderate hoppy, grass, light herbs. Flavor is moderate sweet and bitter with a average to long duration, grass, herbs, pale malt, sweet malt, malty, middle finish is light metallic. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20190915] 6-3-6-3-12

5.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle 330ml. @ home on the terrace. [ As Brewed with Chili. ]. ABV: 5.0%. Clear medium amber colour with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, sweet malt, light nutty, light sour berry notes, light milk sour notes. Flavor is moderate sweet with a average to long duration, caramel, sweet malt, dusty, light nutty, light earthy, light fruity chili fruit. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20190903] 5-3-5-3-11

6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle 330ml. @ home on the terrace. [ As Hopfengarten Rauschkönig ]. ABV: 5.0%. Clear medium amber orange colour with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, white to off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, sweet malt, caramel, straw, dusty, light wood - smoked notes. Flavor is moderate sweet with a average duration, caramel, sweet malt, straw, medium dry, light wood - oak smoke notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20190903] 7-3-7-3-14