I have one problem with this little bottle of beer.
Don’t get me wrong, this is by no means a bad beer.
Far from it.
Brewed in collaboration with Rick Gordon Lindqvist (Swedish Homebrew Champion) and Omnipollo, Näcken is a massive hop bomb.
It smells floral and herbal, and it pours with a deliciously fat cloud of foam for a head with hops that are bitter lemons and hedgerow and fresh herbs.
The problem is that they’re so enormous they drown out any trace of the malts.
This is a Weizen with none of the Weizen characteristics.
No banana, no toffee, no spicy honey, just cuttingly sharp citrus hops.
And that in itself is fine, but when I pour a beer of this style I pour it because I want to taste the flavours that this style of beer is known for.
Instead Näcken was a super blast of lip smacking hoppiness that could have done with a bit more body, a bit more balance.

Source: Cotteridge Wines