2.9 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Pale yellow. Light malt, touch of honey on the aroma. Flavor matches, with hop bitterness onthe finish. Little else.
2.1 AROMA 3/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 7/20
Bottle from Maniac’s Richmond Tenth Gathering. Clear golden pour with wispy white head. Nose is like creamed fresh corn. Flavor is similar. Astringent. Pretty lacking. Extra point for cool brewery name.
2.7 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
12 ounce bottle courtesy of jcwattsrugger. Thanks! Pours a clear golden color with a thin head. Fair head retention and lacing. Aroma is malty and syrupy with some grainy notes. Taste is big grassy hop notes with some graininess and nutty notes. A bit muddled. Medium bodied.
2.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottle I picked up at Julio’s back in October. Never got around to rating the BB stuff figuring it was local enough that I’d get to it all eventually. Then they went out of business, so only managed to get a couple of what was left out there. Pours a clear amber with a medium large white head. A touch of citrus hops, sweet caramel malt, and a bit of grain. Medium bodied, sweet, with a touch of smoked cardboard. Tons of grain on the finish, big bitter cardboard flavors. Not so tasty.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle: Still light golden pour with a white film of head. Biscuity, crackery clean and dry aroma of pale malts and a very mild dough presence. Light crisp body with creamy carbonation. Very clean with a spicy pale Munich malt twang- biscuity body with a late peppery noble presence and dry finish. A very balanced and sessionable lager.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
12oz Bottle - Downtown Liquors, Davis Square, MA. Snappy, wheat crisp aroma. A bit of fresh hops. Pours a brilliant rich sunshine golden, with a frothy well-lacing, ivory head. Flavor is delectable. Satisfying, toothy pils malt holds up to a snappy crisp edge of pils malt and a nice cool lagered quality. Crisp, clean, friendly, and fresh. This is a very well done lager. Some deeper wheat biscuit, honey, and grass notes rise from the bottom. Very enjoyable.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Pours pale gold into a shaker. White head quickly recedes to hug rim leaving spotted sheets. Sour caramel aromas. Malty and crisp with a sour lasting caramel finish.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
My Bottom Line:
This eminently drinkable but uneventful Helles suggests a few blond cereals to go with its leafy, spicy hop subtleties, before moving into a dry and moderately bitter finish.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam covers the clear golden.
-The nose doesn’t offer much more than whispering pale malts.
-The body is healthy and super clean. Flavors are so timid though that watery passages feel too present (even for the style).
-Malts could have been crisper. Nonetheless, this is the kind of product big breweries could (should) easily brew.
Bottle.
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