Especially created and brewed in 1981, for the celebration of the 3 yearly hops festivities in Poperinge, our hoppy, golden-bronze, ale Hommelbier is worldwide considered to be a tribute to the art of beer craftsmanship.
Hommel is the local abbreviation of humulus, the botanical name for the hop plant. Poperings Hommelbier is made from a blend of winter, summer and aromatic pale malts, soft water, from our brewery’s own well; Brewers’ Gold and Challenger hops, both grown in Poperinge; and top-fermented with a very attenuative own grown yeast that precipitates quickly. It is primed with white sugar, and re-yeasted for bottle-conditioning.
This ale pours a cloudy straw yellow, with a tight and fleeting white head that left decent lacing. There’s a light but inviting green hop, yeast and pale malt aroma.
Palate entry is full-bodied, but refreshingly spicy and thirst quenching at colder temperatures. Mid-palate reveals citrus orange rind and grapefruit notes along with a honeysuckle sweetness that is nicely balanced by a solid Hallertau hop bill. It also has a late, spicy, cumin-seed, dryness, again from the hops.
The carbonation is light, small fresh bubbles Dough and yeast in the finish.
John Warner –
Well I’m working my way through the Book 1001 beers before you die and this is included.
I love Belgian beers always a good bet for me. Generally I prefer darker beers to blonde, but this is certainly a rich full of flavour beer. I would say a longer more complex flavour than Leffe blonde which I love.
Would like to think my grandfather enjoyed a glass or two of something similar when he was down the road at Passchendaele
Nick Bremner –
Brewed by Van Eecke, this beer gets its name from local slang in the Poperinge area for hops – apparently they use 4 varieties in brewing this beer. Poperinge is on the route allied troops took from the east to Ypres (now Ieper in Flemish) during the Great War and is well worth a visit in its own right. Slightly cloudy in the glass even if you take care pouring this beer; there is no mention in English on the bottle label of secondary fermentation in the bottle. This beer is well worth a try and the town of Poperinge is well worth a visit – I believe draught Hommel Bier is available in the town’s many excellent bars.
Geoff Innell –
The Godfather of hoppy Belgian Beers, a real classic. It’s made with traditional Belgian hop varieties from the surounding area and showcases then to a tee, they combine gorgously with the 7.5% alcohol to produce a simply pefect beer – no wonder the brewery doesn’t produce any others. It’s been a favourite of mine for the last 30 years, I can’t recommend it enough.