Fitgers Wheat IPL

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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Growler. Dark amber color with no head. Slightly bready aroma. Bitter malt taste with some more of that bread coming out to say hello. I think it lost a lot in the transfer because it seemed disturbingly bland.

Clear murky brown pour with a big smooth ivory head. Aromas are malt with a light hops; some pineapple. Strong banana wheat flavors at first, but these fade as you drink the beer. This is backed with a creamy smooth alcoholic glow that is refreshing instead of harsh. Raisins and cherries. AMAZING sheeting sticky lacing. Extremely smooth and velvety swallow. Seems like it was mellowed in a Bourbon Barrel, but it wasn’t. Yet, it finishes with a ubiquitous hops polish. A little bit of a dry grassy aftertaste. What a fantastic balance of hops and malt, with some wheat in the background.

Wheat IPL, you say? Yes, IPL..India Pale Lager. With wheat malt. What the hey? Thanks for the headache, Dave Hoops! ....I’m sticking this under "American Double Pilsener", and that’s that...those Hoops boys, I tells ya! But enough about "style"...and to the beer! Orangeish amber coloration, slim, fast fading white head. Aroma is in a class of it’s own: sweet, though mild and muted, with odd properties abounding, bubblegum biggest among them, plenty of fruit, dark ones, cherries, grape, melon, but a plasticine feeling persists. Traces of corn trickle in the nose, and there’s more, too, that I just am not able to finger. But, to taste: Big, gritty, powerful command on the palate, with a peculiar, perplexing flavor. Playful hops, intriquing texture, the taste sticks in the mouth, but is so damned unusual. Definitely feels like a strong pils, but the wheat factor adds a whole new dimension. Feels like they tried to make 3 different beers at once and ended up with a brand new animal, altogether. Seriously, this goes down as one of the most unique beers I’ve ever had, impossible to pigeonhole. I’ve got a full growler before me, and plenty of oppurtunity to contemplate the enigmatic associations that I haven’t nailed yet. The scores I gave reflect how hard it is to come to grips with this anomaly, though I’m liking it more and more as I get into it!

Reddish Brown Coloring. No Head. Fitgers said that they use IPA ingrediants but Brew it as a Lager. Crazy S.O.B.’s... Strong Smells of Wheat and Hops.. On the Tongue...a Veritable Hops Attack.. Wheat There As Well But the Hops Completely Overwhelms.. It Begins Easy but the Aftertaste Knocks you Back. Very Dry on the Tongue. Not My Favorite and Hard to Finish a Glass...but Interesting to Say the Least.