Brewdog: Weihenstephan: India Pale Weizen (Scotland: Wheat Ale: 6.2% ABV)
Visual: Cloudy lemon juice. Large white bubbled head. Low carbonation.
Nose: Pepper. Crisp. Wheat. Mild kumquat. Some bitterness. Dried apricot. Coriander.
Body: Crisp and bitter. Wheaty. Milky biscuits. Dried apricot. Paprika. Soft lemon sherbet. Medium bitterness. Hop oils. Fruity yeast esters. Coriander.
Finish: Clean. Wheat. light bitterness. Milky biscuits. Soft lemon. Palma violets. Kumquat. Hop oils. Watermelon hard boiled sweets.
Conclusion: Hmm, ok, I’m creating a new rule one: Lets not compare this to Weihenstephaner hefeweizen. Not just because of how much I love that beer, but also because style wise they are not as close match as you may expect. The more traditional elements of this actually remind me more of Czech lagers than the German hefeweizens – possibly due to the beer being more clear than your average hefeweizen. Anyway, the beer itself is an interesting one- the base it works from is solid, but almost milky at times – there is this kind of crushed milk biscuits taste and texture to it.
The Czech lager impression comes from an attached softness to the feel, and the soft lime and palma violets flavor. Even without looking at any other elements the quality lager like elements give me a feeling that this is what Weihenstephan brought to the table as it really is their strong point. The wheat adds to the feel, mixing with that almost milky style to create a taste not entirely unlike the fruity Belgian esters, making for subtle extra complexity to the beer.
The IPA elements, such as they are, are actually quite restrained compared to the hoppier hefeweizens that have come out recently. It adds extra dried fruit flavor and solid bitterness without going overboard. It shows an unexpected level of hop restraint from Brewdog and is very well done.
The base of the beer, that slightly milky thing, is the only real bone of contention – The rest is spot on with class and style – the milkyness is interesting, but, depending on temperature, can seem a bit heavy compared to the other elements. This becomes less of a problem as it warms, and as the other flavours build up – but early on it seems slightly out of place. This is a beer where the more you drink, the better it gets.
And not just because you are drunk.
A very well done mix up of styles, with some flaws, but even with that a classy brew.
Background: Hmm, style pick out time again. IPA or Wheat Ale? Hmm, Wheat Ale seems fair, it is a looser category and this does have a wheat beer base, though I’m unsure if it is ale or lager based. Anyway, a team up between Weihenstephan who make my all time favorite hefeweizen, and Brewdog, who my lack of objectivity and love of is well known here. So I was excited. Drunk while listening to some spektrmodule as it helps me chill out after a hard day’s work.