2 Franconian-American collaboration brews, one common thought. Beer friendship beyond the borders. This is what makes up the collaboration between Weiherer Bier and Fat Head's Brewery from Ohio. And the result of this friendship, the two joint beers Imperial IPA and Hopferla, were awarded two times this year. Both received gold medals at the International Craft Beer Award, the Imperial IPA even became Imperial IPA of the Year.
In 2018, the American master brewer Matt Cole from Fat Head's Brewery in Cleveland, Ohio brewed the Imperial IPA and Hopferla for the first time together with his Franconian colleagues and friends Roland and Oswald Kundmüller. They had previously discussed the recipe in detail via email. After Matt won a gold medal at the world's toughest beer competition, the World Beer Cup, with his 'Hop Juju', he suggested brewing a Franconian version of it. We thought the idea was great, of course, because despite the same recipe, it's exciting to see how much the beers are ultimately the same or different, explains Roland Kundmülller. Cole brought some of the hops for this directly from America. The result was so convincing that both beers are now brewed several times a year.
With the Imperial IPA, the hops show what they can do in terms of their smell: grapefruit, passion fruit, pine - aromas that continue on the palate and are complemented by caramel notes. Surprisingly slim for a beer specialty with 9 percent alcohol, the Weiherer / Fat Head's Imperial IPA impresses with its gentle carbonation and harmoniously strong bitterness.
The Hopferla is a West Coast Style India Pale Ale with the seven hop varieties Simcoe, Warrior, Centennial, Mosaic, Equinox, Citra and Chinook as well as classic and caramel malts. Fruity, resinous, hoppy and one of the bitterest beers in Germany.
