BREWERY: Boston Beer Company
STYLE: Munich Helles Lager
ABV: 5.4%
PURCHASE: Draft (pint), $5.50
SERVING: Chilled pint glass. Not the "headiest" beer on tap; not even half an inch, which quickly left the building.
APPEARANCE: Golden and transparent. Standard white/off-white crown. Faint bubbling. Lacing is scattered at it's most prominent, but mostly nonexistent.
BOUQUET: Orangey above all else. Malty as well. Not much of a hop note. Rounded out mainly by orange zest and coriander. Smells like a witbier crossed with an orange scone.
PALATE: Again, it's citrusy--mainly in the form of orange--above all else. This isn't the norm for a helles, at least in my experience. Minimal hops. Malty through-line. Slightly heavy body on the whole, with the usual degree of carbonation. Slightly spicy finish--again, like a witbier, with orange zest and coriander most noticeable. A hint of pepper and of all things, honey--although this could be a placebo effect on my part. Aftertaste carries on these same traits, but becomes somewhat lemony at the very end.
MUSINGS AND METAPHORS: "Helles" is a German word. It means "bright." Visually, this was indeed that.
Helles lagers were originally developed in Munich--hence the term, "Munich helles lager"--as a response to the increasing popularity of Czech- and Bohemian-style pilsners amongst German beer consumers. This is the trend we have to thank for brews like Höfbrau and Löwenbrau.
Sam's version, however, could almost pass for Blue Moon. It's got more depth, though, so I can forgive the identity crisis.
GRADE: B
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