Hopfenweizen - Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

DesMoinesMike

Iowa

4.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Lunch break on a Monday, what better time to try a new beer at my favorite restaurant!

I've seen this one on the menu for some time but the higher price and smaller glass (snifter) put me off. Well, since time was short and I didn't feel like quickly going through a full glass enticed me to give this one a try.

The look of it was just amazing. A somewhat light orange color that was opaque, and a finger of dingy white head. The aroma was VERY heavy with hops. The taste was strong but very smooth for it's potency, like a heffeweisen, but stronger, more intense. I was very impressed. I will definately repeat this experience.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 4508 University Ave, West Des Moines

03-30-2009 23:02:50 | More by DesMoinesMike

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.45/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Banana custard topped by a thick slice of French vanilla whipped cream. One doesn't often see such lightly colored beer that's completely opaque. It looked as if a few ounces of heavy cream were added following the pour. Perfection might have been possible if the snifter had been more extensively and more attractively decorated.

Hopfenweizen's chalkboard description was 'wheat bock meets IPA'. And that's exactly what it smelled like (and what it tasted like). Any beer that smells like a combination of banana cream pie, lemon zest and juicy pineapple is all kinds of wonderful in my book. At this point in the glass, the quality meter was on high and the unique meter was past the red line.

If you've ever wondered if combining a weizenbock and an American IPA would result in good beer, the answer is 'no'. In the right hands (wdmrock's hands to be exact) it results in *great* beer. The most amazing thing about hopfenweizen was that both styles were easily appreciated. The sum of its parts was a marriage made in brewing heaven.

The flavor profile was a beautiful melange of banana bread French toast drizzled with golden sugar syrup (not quite dark enough to be caramel), pineapple, lemon zest, white grapefruit zest and a small pinch of ground clove. Like so much else about this quality brew, the sweet-bitter balance was near perfect... if you're a hophead. My tongue is telling me (three hours after the final sip) that humulus lupulus won the battle handily.

Saphir is a recently developed German hop that tastes like Centennial (at least I think so). I'll get a better bead on it in the next few days when I review a pint of Saphir Pale Ale. Simcoe was used as well. On a final note, the aggressive flavors stood up very well to the spicy Cuban sandwich that I had for lunch. Still, this is a beer that is best enjoyed all by its lonesome.

The mouthfeel wasn't quite up to snuff, but that's only because the bar was set so high by the other attributes. It was medium in heft and was lightly creamy. A little too much sparkly carbonation didn't ease up much over time. That may have been because the snifter went from empty to full to empty in no time at all.

Hopfenweizen is easily the equal of its inspiration, Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse. And it's vastly superior to Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse. The bottom line is that this was one of the most most unique (and most delicious) hybrids that I've ever had the pleasure to drink. It's also one of the five best beers that the West Des Moines Rock Bottom has ever released.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 4508 University Ave, West Des Moines

12-02-2008 21:18:19 | More by BuckeyeNation