Tuatara Helles

Brewed by Tuatara Brewing Company
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Paraparaumu, New Zealand

Serve in Lager glass

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With thanks to my kiwi buddy Mark for bringing this home from NZ to Ireland for me. Appearance: quite a light yellow, good visible carbonation with a small snow white head. Aroma: Deep malty grassiness, a little fruity, yeasty too. Flavour: great fresh grass flavour, nicely balanced with the malt, some citrus and fruit in the finish. Simple, refreshing.

Poured out a faint gold beer with almost no head. Light aroma. Faint grains, my floor, small fruity things. Tastes a but more interesting than it smells. Grainy, a touch sweet but mainly malts. Wisps of fruit but they fade. Mellow mellow spice. If you like boring as shit this is for you.

OK, I get it, now. When I had my first bottle of this a couple of months ago, I would have rated it very low. Way too sweet. But today I had a Peroni and then this. They are the same beer, same aroma, same basic taste, it’s just that tuatara did it a lot better than Peroni Naturo Azzuro. But in the end, this style of beer is still not my cup of, er, beer, but I can tell you that if you are choosing between the two lagers, go for the Tuatara.

A tasty, refreshing, easy to drink lager that has hints of banana and leaves a pleasant, mildly dry palate. The hops are not overpowering and enhances the flavour. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

(330ml bottle) Part of the Tuatara 6-pack. Somewhat bready and thin. Very grainy. Average.

Pours a straw-yellow with quickly disappearing small white head. Aromas are light of pale malt and faint noble hops. Flavour is sweet pale malt with a light noble hop bitterness on the finish. Not my beer of choice but in the category it is decent beer, very session-able.

Low carbonation, soft head and a floury feel. Lager taste and abit watery. A little on the dullish side.

Very light and clear with a very large deep rocky head that shows good carbonation. Crisp zesty citrus aroma with a flavour that is light on the palate with a slightly tart finish and long aftertaste. Some yeast in the end pour that clouds up the glass.

Sunny gold and bright as bright. Well fuelled, persistent fluffy white head drabs a cloud of foam down the glass. Aroma a blend of peppery, herbal hops, lemon zest and toasted grains. Soft, foamy mouthfeel and very light bodied. Fresh chilled it was dry, dusty and dominated by a New Zealand hop back end that is fruity, citric and herbaceous – low bitterness, also peppery especially after the swallow. Malt sweetens as it warms. Very easy drinking, balanced and quaffable. Don’t quite get that they grasped a Deutsches Helles but a tasty lager none the less! (33cL, BB 29/09/12, Freo Doctor)

A finely crafted German light lager can be just as good as a Belgian ale, but what makes them great is the freshness. This was too heavy to be like that, it was nice very cold but after half an hour seemed almost off, the malt was too sour. I do really like this style though and that’s why it’s getting a higher than average rating from me.