Sudwerk Lager Münchener Helles

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Davis, California USA

Serve in Lager glass

Not one of my favorite styles but this one was really well done. +++ Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy apricot color with a medium sized foamy yellow-white head that left good lacing. The aroma was tangy and citric and a touch sour. The flavor was tangy and sweetish with notes of citrus, grass and a hint of perfume with a light bready undertone. the finish was long, tangy, sweetish and nicely hoppy. Medium body and smooth. Pretty good for what it is.

Bottle 12fl.oz.

Clear medium orange yellow colour with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to white head. Aroma is moderate malty, white bread, grain, hay, cereal, toasted, dusty, vegetables, sour malt notes. Flavour is moderate sweet and light moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20111211]

12oz bottle, purchased at Sudwerk. One of the very few domestic Helles renditions I can think of that really nails the style. Pours a deep golden color, crystal clear, with a fine-bubbled white head (nicely retained, good lacing). A modestly rounded Pils malt character in the aroma; very clean; a quiet noble spicy and mineral hop character. Perfect mouthfeel: medium-light body, a pillowy carbonation that’s lively but not sharp; toasty Pils malt, possibly a light DMS character (I’m not particularly sensitive to it), but mostly assertive, delicious Pils malt, clean fermentation, and just enough noble hop character to balance things; beautifully done. Really impressed by pretty much everything I’ve had from Sudwerk’s core line. Medium-length, toasty finish: Pils malt, with a light mineral bitterness.

12oz. Bottle: Aroma of malt, slight hops, and vegetables. Poured amber in color with a small, white head, that diminished but lasted throughout. Lightly hazy. Sparkling. A few small particles throughout. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of malt, hops, and vegetables. Light body. Lightly dry texture. Average carbonation. Lightly sweet, slightly bitter, hop, malt, and vegetable finish is dry.

355ml bottle. Pours golden to orange with very gentle bubbles and some head, a very small amount of which hangs around. The nose is not what I expected - sultanas and bran, rather than a crisp lemon note. The taste is more of the bran, some grapes and then the bran returns. The palate starts fairly big but it falls off a cliff a bit too early and if this is a helles, it still cloys a bit if I’m being honest. Overall, more interesting than good, I’m afraid!

Looks like pale lager. First I thought it had a tad of skunk in the aroma but in the glass it just smells a little sweet. Fairly mild on the taste buds at first but there is this small amount of unidentified bitterness inthe background. It never goes over the top, its just hidden in there. Yes, almost like a premium lager at times. That lingering mild bitterness goes medium on the finish. Almost comes across like a few decent tasting ’ice beer’ lagers I’ve had. Must be over 5 or 6%.

Pours a rich gold with active carbonation. Scent is earthy and a bit fermented. Nicely malt forward with a spicy bitterness in the finish that lingers a bit. Crisp in the finish as well. Very nice.

Pours dark yellow to orange. not much in the aroma category but a nice little pillow of foam. first flavor i get is minerality. which isn’t bad. bitterness is indistinct and the malt is medium. A really nice session lager.