Good God!
To me, you are perfect.
That is all.
Especially when fresh, and you are at the hop festival in Popering. That was a long time ago, unfortunately.
I had the pleasure of drinking one of these last year. Wish it was more available here. A friend had brought some back from Belgium.
The Bier Stein here carries it pretty much all the time. Somehow, they manage to get it in perfect condition and keep it that way.
I have never tried it but saw it at my beer store the other day. Will pick it up next time I’m in there.
I had a couple glasses of that at Flying Saucer in Austin a few years ago. It was especially good since they had the proper glass wear. I have been trying to replicate it ever since.
Got any ideas on a recipe?
I used to be in the Beer Hunter (Michael Jackson) Belgian Beer club and remember getting a few of them in the mail several years back. It was in great condition and really good.
Hopleaf in Chicago has it on tap now and then and it’s always fantastic.
There are some ideas on a recipe in this thread at the NB forum
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64525
I still haven’t gotten around to brewing it again.
I tried it for the first time at a Belgian tasting last winter. It was good. Not sure why I haven’t bought it since.
I had it the first night in Brussels on my great beer vacation this past October. Great stuff!
In fact, I enjoyed all of the Belgian blonds that are hard to find in the states fresh. Glad to see Hommel ale getting imported, it doesn’t seem to make it here.
I have to say, though, that my favorite beer of this style, bar none, was drinking fresh Bink at the Brouwerij Kerkom. While Hommel is great, Bink, has that little extra hoppiness that sends it into the stratosphere. My next brewing session is to emmulate Bink.
I had a chance to try Bink many years back and still remember what a great beer it was.
Hommelbier is one of those beers I simply do not get. It’s a boring, middle-of-the-road Belgian attempt at mediocrity, bearing a hop-referencing name without backing it up with anything resembling hoppiness at all.
And then I read comments like these and wonder: “I am really that spoiled?”
Or are you all that easily mislead?
Tell ya what: I’ll grab another bottle of Hommelbier next time I see one (it’s fairly easily acquirable in Belgium) and see if I can change my mind. I’ve tried before though, and was never impressed.
There’s a dry-hopped (or was it fresh-hopped?) edition going around each year, which I found even more underwhelming. Trying to keep an open mind, but really: Hommel is one of those beers that make me bitterly curse for the sorry state of Belgium’s bee reputation.
Traitor.
I thought politics and religion were not allowed on this forum. And now this, coming from an administrator…
Is it mediocre or just balanced? I do not consider it hoppy in the vein of a DIPA but even if the bottles shipped across an ocean and half a continent have an unmistakable hop presence. I have to imagine the bottles available to you are in better quality. Many people here now eschew pale ales because they can get more flavor out of an IPA/DIPA and have the same sense that pale ales are just boring beers. Are they mediocre or just balanced? I guess it is a matter of opinion.
There’s no reason one person;s tastes should be like another’s. I stand by my description of a beer that blows me away every time I drink it. If you don’t get hoppiness out of it, I don’t know what to say.
Sure, it’s a personal thing, and I’m by no means dissing anyone’s opinion of this or any other beer.
I just think it’s remarkable that anyone could describe Hommelbier as “hoppy”. Because really, it isn’t. Even in its own tiny range of what I (for want of a better category description) call “old school Belgian bitters” it stands out solely because of how utterly bland and nondescript it is.
To me 
Picked up a bottle today. May crack it tomorrow.
Here’s some more information from the great Michael Jackson: Home. Apparently, hops are locally-grown Brewer’s Gold and Hallertau.
Unfortunately, as a fellow-Belgian, I have to concur with UncleBrazzie about Hommelbier: I’ve never been impressed with it, it simply does not stand out. Have even been at the famous Hommelhof mentioned in the article. It’s located in a pretty village, far far away from home, in Flanders Fields, and that makes it special. But the #1 brewery of Watou shall remain St Bernardus.
This said, I’ll see whether I can pick up a bottle and try the beer again with more attentive taste buds.
Relaxing and sharing a bottle with my wife. Good stuff Denny, thanks for the recommendation.