Sylter Hopfen

Sylter Hopfen
Ernte 2012
750 ml
7,1%

To celebrate my back to work I decided to open something very special. This rare, numbered bottle was given to me by my awesome boss (She is reading this but she is awesome in any case :) ) as a birthday present. I have been treasuring it ever since but as beer is meant to be drunk I decided to open it today... though it almost breaks my heart to open a beauty like this.

The hops for it have been grown on Sylt and it's been bottle fermented with champagne yeast strains.

Even opening the bottle is a special joy as it is stylishly closed with cork.

It pours light orange with mediocre foam that dissipates quickly. Colorwise it reminds me of a Cola - Fanta mix. As it is unfiltered, it is naturally cloudy and the champagne yeast clouds the hoppy goodness in the best way possible.From the looks it seems not to be too heavily carbonated but that can't be judged till I try.

I chose a classical Pils tulip glass for it...even toyed with the idea of using a champagne flute but went with the more standard version.

It smells very fruity with fine apple tones that wrap around the yeast aroma. Light Marzipan hues can be distinguished. Now I _REALLY_ wanna try whether this German Beauty can top the Scottish ones I have had the last days.

The mild carbonation is perfect and the sweetness surprised me a lot. The light apple aroma is present and its a perfect balance of apple and malt. The hops are decent and there is not a lot of bitterness involved here. The sweetness is a true surprise as it is brewed according to the German beer purity law and there is no added sugar.  It is not too sweet but indeed perfectly balanced with the tartness, forming a delicate composition. Absolutely amazing.

This is easily taken into my top drink list and a rare gem that I would prolly never have heard about if it weren't for my boss. Thanks again Nathalie!

DMW