Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh Brews Up A Distinctively Hoppy HefeWeisse

Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh’s Hopfen Weizen Abv 5.4%

This week our featured post talks about the wave of German breweries who are jumping on the hop wagon to produce American style pale ales and IPAs. Dozens and probably hundreds of established German breweries are hopping the hades out of their beers in an attempt to ward off the tidal wave of imports and perhaps to set up some export sales as well.

hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh logo sign

Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh isn’t worried about import competition …oh wait, that would be from the parent company. And they’re certainly not planning on exporting the beer they brew exclusively for their Pittsburgh beer hall. But theirs is a big hall and they clearly hope to attract a range of beer fanatics and beer tourists.

Their standard lagers are echt and can transport you to Germany if you give them just a hint of license. The Hopfen-Weizen is either a new wave German or a very American take on the style. Normally available in June at the brewery, they made it available in January of 2017 as well.

> It was interesting. Citrusy hops seem to harness the clove and pepper of their regular hefeweien and allow the banana to edge its way to the front. There’s an ending bitterness that’s not at all typical of weizen biers. We think we can figure out why the style has never caught on, but in the odd world of soaring sours, maybe this will be the next big style.