By Iron Chef Leftovers
Belma hops are fairly obscure around the beer world and a good number of beer drinkers probably have never heard of them. Belma brings strawberry quality to the party, but they aren’t available in huge quantities, which is why you see them more in experimental or one off beers. The guys down at Reuben’s had some Belma hops and happened to have their Roggenbier, which, in case you are unaware is a rye based hefeweisen beer, so it has a good deal of banana qualities to it. Bananas and strawberries in a cask beer? Are we about to have a chocolate and peanut butter moment?
The beer pours the color of cloudy tea with light notes of rye and strawberry on the nose. The beer starts out with a nice yeast component and a mild sweetness before bringing strawberry and rye into the picture. Those flavors linger all the way to the finish with a light breadyness and sweetness joining the party with some banana notes also. The finish is surprisingly long for a cask and the beer is layered and complex with none of the flavors dominating the beer. They all play well together, feeding off each other and making the transition from one flavor to another smooth, producing something very different and delicious. At only 5.3% ABV this one is also very easy to put back a few of.
Reuben’s Roggenbier Dry Hopped with Belma Cask produces a sweet 4 fruit bowls out of 5.
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