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Bench Creek Brewing Cloud Break Hopfenweizen – Hopfenweisse at 5% ABV | 20 IBU

Bench Creek Brewing Cloud Break Hopfenweizen Hopfenweisse at 5% ABV | 20 IBU (C$6.95 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 946 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Aug-2017, reviewed 4-Aug-2017)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: banana, wheat, clove & white pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

The aroma doesn’t come across as particularly hoppy, but there’s definitely a far more emphatic bitterness on the tongue and in the finish than typical for a Hefe, so I guess the Hopfenweisse characterization is correct. Pleasant enough, if not exactly ground-breaking. Another situation of damning with faint praise perhaps, but one, these guys knocked it out of the park with their Apex Predator, and two, I’ve had some stonking good Canadian-brewed Hopfenweisses, so yeah – the bar is somewhat raised here. Add some dry-hopping to bring up the aroma and you might have a real contender here, but as it stands, it’s definitely good, but very definitely a hair shy of world-class. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com