My dad lives in St. Louis, so we get back there often. I remember stopping by the brewery to buy a couple of beers (including this one), but I honestly can’t remember when, and the bottle doesn’t have a date on it. The bottle says, “ In the hop capital of Belgium, Hommell is the word for Cumulus, the plant genus where Hoppes resides. Our Hommel Bier defies tradition by combining North American malts, Pacific Northwest hops, and a Belgian yeast strain. The result is a beer that combines earthy and spicy tones from the yeast with a slight orange note contributed by the hops. We think it’s buzzworthy.”
Location: Poured into a snifter glass from the 750ml bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 5.9% ABV, ~ 175 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s crystal clear and copper-amber in color. It’s got a lot of carbonation in it, giving it a huge, fluffy white head. It’s got an earthy-spicy hop aroma with a spicy Belgian character.
Taste & Feel: The body is light and the mouthfeel is crisp from the carbonation and hoppiness. There’s a spicy-bready malt and hop flavor up front, which continues through the middle. These flavors are joined by even more earthy, Belgian-like spicy bitterness and some citrusy hop flavors which grows from the middle through the dry finish. The earthy-spicy bitterness sticks around for a minute or two in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: This beer has a mix of flavors, from earthy-spicy belgian flavors to a bit of citrusy hoppiness. A perfect pairing for me would be a mushroom and swiss burger, because the earthy spicyness mixes well with the mushrooms and onion, which the cheese matches up to the citrusy characteristics.
Overall Impression: I enjoyed the mix of flavors in this beer, from the hoppiness to the spicy Belgian character. I really enjoy the Belgian style IPA category, which seems to find this nice mix of hop flavor, bitterness, and spiciness. While I enjoyed the mix of flavors, I wanted a bit more hop flavor to accompany the bitterness. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good beer, and I can’t wait to try more of their beers (and hopefully get my hands on more of their Abraxas).
My Rating: 
Reader Ratings[five-star-rating]
