Winnipeg’s Half Pints likes to mix things up. When they do Oktoberfest, they come up with all sorts of ways to spice it up – including smoked malt and, well, spices. So when their summer release of Weizenheimer came out, none were shocked to see a hopped up version, called Hoppenheimer, also appear.

Half Pints aren’t the first to do a weizen with a bitter bite. The most famous might be Brooklyn Brewing’s collaboration with Schneider, but there are many others. Most, however, play around in the weizenbock category when ramping up the hops – adding both to the alcohol and body at the same time. The innovation in Half Pints approach was a bucket load of hops into a standard hefeweizen. They state it has 73 IBUs in it – more than triple what a standard hefeweizen would have, but packed into a 4.8% alcohol beer. Basically a German version of a White IPA…

I opened up a bottle recently to see what the grand effects of the marriage of hops, wheat malt and estery weizen yeast might be.

The beer pours medium gold and surprisingly clear.The head is significant with a soap suds-like consistency. It leaves moderate lacing as it drops. The first surprise for me is how clear the beer is. I wonder if all that hops simply scrubbed some of those extra proteins out of suspension?

The aroma starts with a classic weizen aroma. I get a soft wheat malt that accents with some sharp grainy edginess. Over top lies a floral, aromatic hop character. It reminds me of meadow flowers and the kind of herbs they put into soap. I know that is an odd description, but that is what came up for me. This is a fragrant hop variety.

The first flavour impressin is of soft malt sitting alongside a honey sweetness and a bit of soapiness. The middle dries out and offers a bit of the herbal notes found in the aroma. About 2/3 the way down, the hops really start to kick in. They are sharp, floral and earthy. The bitterness builds slowly until it offers an equal counterpoint to the hop flavour itself. The linger is quite grassy and earthy in its bitter aspects. This is one hell of a hoppy beer. I do note the yeast characteristics seem to get lost among all the hops – or maybe they help transform the hop into the herbal, soapy notes I observe.

The German patriarchs of wheat beer brewing might be rolling in their graves, but I personally find this beer to be an interesting, intriguing and enjoyable demarcation from the standard wheat beer frame. Those seeking the classic refreshing body and banana and clove esters might be disappointed. But if you are looking for a change of pace in your wheat beer, then this most certainly will fit the bill. A worthy and admirable re-imagination of wheat beer can be.