Andechser Spezial Hell

Brewed by Klosterbrauerei Andechs
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Andechs, Germany

Serve in Lager glass

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UPDATED: DEC 29, 2007 Bottled. A clear golden beer with a medium head and persistent head. Strong aroma of maltwith some flowery hops. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is very malty, but balanced by a good bitterness. Maybe a little too grainy, but one of the best helles I have tried.

Brown 0.5 litre bottle with 4 months life left, poured into a schultheiss 0.5 litre glass. This is the forth and last beer in my German reviewing Evening on 20th Feb 2009. Almost as pale as the normal Andechs Helles and with the same white head. So a golden, bright, straw coloured beer. No aroma at all, gets my standard 3 for lager/pilsner/helles. I do wish I could pontificate about the smell of a light lager style beer one day. A little sweetness hits the palate, the alcohol is also noticeable from the first sip. There is very little else to mention, no hoppy feel, malts and yeast presence is minimal. Clean and refreshing it is, interesting and exciting it isn’t.

This is my everyday beer, I always have some bottle of this in my fridge. Poured into the glass this beer reveals a clean golden colour with a minimal head. The aroma is quite hoppy with a slight malty touch in it: some honey and hay and some citric and herbal notes. light sweetness and some bitterness in the taste, light body and average carbonation. very crisp and clean beer, cheers!

Bottle @ Bierzwerg.de. Pours clear yellow with a white head. Hay and grain. Smooth and dry. Hoppy finish.

I get the Reinheitsgebot. I really do. And this was proof to me that there’s something to it besides economic success for grain growers in 16th Century Germany. 500 ml bottle hand-carried just a day ago from Germany by C,N & E (Thanks!!). Part of a multi-pack souvenir selection. They got to go to the Andechs Monastery, but this was the next best thing for those of us that didn’t go to Germany. The bottle had a May 2012 freshness date. Deep gold in the glass with a nice frothy lemon-tinged head. Taste was rich, slick malt with a hint of fruity hops and a nice, rounded lager flavor that ended with just a touch of bitterness. Exactly the kind of beer you’d expect from a legendary German brewery. That said, there was a hint of residual oxidation (cardboard-like) flavor that surprised me because the bottles are so fresh. A common "off flavor" in bottled Germans, it’s almost unheard-of in kegged beers. But the bottom line was that this one was fantastic; rich mouthfeel (much more so than their regular lager) and my favorite from this multi-pack. Made me wish I could taste it on tap myself someday.

hay, cereal, floral, herbs, golden, clear, minimal head, white foam, light sweetness, medium bitterness, medium sourness, medium body, oily feel, soft carbonation, abrupt finish,

Draught at Beer O’Clock 2, in Bucharest. Long white head. Aroma has notes of fermented bran, bread dough, barrel and liver(?). Colour is pale golden. Not what I expected.

Bottle. Pours clear golden with a medium white head. The aroma is hoppy and fruity with a good amount f caramel. The flavour is clean and hoppy with some caramel and has a earthy hoppy finish.

Poured on-tap at the Kloster Andechs... Appearance: Pours a beautiful light and lively golden hue with a mouth wateringly inviting head. Smell: Fairly middle-ground with a neutral kick of grassy, grainy, hoppy deliciousness. It leaves you to be surprised by it’s delicious taste. Taste: Utter beauty. This is by far the most drinkable and delicious of helles lagers I have tasted. My all-time favorite for this category. Worth a trip back just to get this beer alone. Mouthfeel: Carbonation livens the palate along with the smooth highly drinkable consistency that is this oh so special beer. Overall: A must have with a trip to the Holy Mountain! Alongside the plethora of beer that this monastery pumps out this is a good base for the magnificence that this place will bestow upon your taste buds. Gogogogo!!

Pale yellow clear body with white head. Aromas sweet malts, grains, floral hops. Palate thin with medium carbonation and mouth feel. Aftertaste grassy, malty sweet with medium long herbal hops finish. Drinkable and balanced Helles, but nothing special as is quite typical for the style.

Just a normal lager, with grassy notes, malty-sweet, some hints of corn. Watery but enjoyable.