Urban Chestnut Hopfen Bavarian IPA - Beer Review

I was told that Urban Chestnut uses lager yeast to brew Hopfen, so IPA seems like a misnomer. Perhaps IPL is more fitting (I know that Samuel Adams and Great Lakes have both made beers with that classification recently). Also, I think a lot of Brits may have a problem with one of their prized beverage inventions being labeled with a Germanic adjective (they didn't keep calm and carry on for that!). Semantic squabbles aside, Hopfen is original and definitely deserves a taste.

I enjoyed it at Urban Chestnut in St. Louis while having a great conversation about beer styles with the bartender. He really knew his stuff, and passed along some complimentary tastings of a few of their other offerings. They have a gorgeous, hop-laden beer garden, and are a must-visit craft beer destination.

Hopfen was served to me on draught in a fluted goblet. It is 6.1% ABV and has 45 IBUs.

Appearance:

Straw-colored. SRM is slightly darker than a Pilsner, approximately 6 on the scale. Slight haze, but fairly clear. Small bubbles gently waft up and collect in a 1/8" ribbon of close-knit, frothy head. Swirling the goblet brought the head up to 1/4".

Aroma:

Grassy, spicy, herbal, sweet aromatic malt, hay, barnyard, perfumey, soapy, jasmine.

Body and Texture:

Crisp, slightly sweet, thin lager body, very clean.

Aftertaste:

Hop presence is balanced; not too bitter. Flavor hops don't outshine the malt. Notes of lavender, violet candy, and jasmine tea.

Overall:

Fragrant malts and floral essences dominate the aroma; a real IPL star. Quirky with an almost Belgian sensibility, but balanced and fun.

I had a great time in St. Louis during their recent Craft Beer Week. The energy and citywide buy-in, especially on the part of local restaurants, charmed and inspired me. St. Louisans are looking to the horizon of exciting upstarts like Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, Civil Life, and Perennial, while scorning the sun blocker that Anheuser-Busch InBev tried to build over their town.

Milwaukee and Southwestern Michigan are well established hubs of beer tourism for Chicagoans like me; yet for my flatlander countrymen who do not mind driving a little further, I promise that the St. Louis beer scene can hang with the aforementioned destinations in creativity, aesthetics, and taste any day of the week.

Definitely check out Flying Saucer and Bridge next time you're there. They're both hip beer bars with dozens of quality taps (Flying Saucer's wall of draughts was out of sight! The picture below shows about half of them!). The Schlafly Tap Room is amazing too, and their excellent menu dovetails perfectly with their beers.

St. Louis is reinventing itself as a craft beer town right now, and it's making the best out of the energy surrounding the scene. It feels genuine and sustainable.