Cowboys from Helles
Independence Brewing Co.

RB transfer

L: Pours a clear gold color with a tall white head.
S: Smells rich of malts, yeast, floral hops.
T: Follows the nose, has a nice floral-like hops bitter finish.
F: Light-bodied, high carbonation, smooth, crisp, crushable.
O: Very good beer for the style!

 

 

A: Crystal clear, very bubbly at first and dies down quite a bit, the head starts off thick and airy and thins out into a few random island of bubbles. There's a nice ring around the glass formed by the bubbles.

S: Malty, semi sweet and remind me of something I would drink on a cool day in the ranch.

T:malty and light, the grains come through after a few milliseconds; lemon grass and wheat bread come through after a while.

M: Light and crisp, very carbonated and clean and semi-dry.

O: Light and semi-dry but very drinkable, not much going on with the flavor but not bad either.

A: crystal clear; medium gold in color; 1 finger white head that receded to a thick collar; no lacing;

S: apple, lemon, grain, and grass;

T: lemon and light grain from start to finish; mild bitterness at the end;

M: light bodied; moderate carbonation - a little prickly; dry finish;

O: refreshing; easy drinking; really liked the dry finish;

 

Poured from a can into a tulip glass. Clear yellow color with brief white head and lacing. Grassy smell and taste with a bit of lemon. Was not bad with pizza but probably won’t buy again.

 

To be honest, I’m not real familiar with the Helles style. Looks rather weak, very pale straw colored. Smells like an adjunct lager. I would expect a German style lager to be made with Pilsner malts but this does not have any Pilsner qualities, no honey aroma. It has less hop presence than a Pils but the malts are too weak. It finish on the dry side but it has a fairly strong sour aftertaste. Like I said I’m not real familiar with style so maybe it’s supposed to be like this. I’ll use it to make micheladas with, to sour on the back end for me.

12oz canned on 1-7-19 (opened 2-23-19).
Pale gold, clear and clean. 1 1/4" foamy head with great retention down to a sudsy cap.
Grain, bread dough, hint of sulphur. Spicy hops balance out a good nose.
Clean and slightly sweet malt followed by a quick, spicy blast of hops to balance the beer out.
Clean finish and just semi-sweet. Hits all the right notes.
Drinkability is high here - very good Helles.

 

not quite sure how this doesnt have better ratings, i think a lot of the independence beers might be a little underrated here, or else they have gotten a lot better recently all of a sudden, something is up. i liked all the beer here, especially the lagers they have going, and while this tastes a little american to me (not in the hoppy sense, in the dumbed down or oversimplified sense), its pretty darn tasty and mighty drinkable. the water seems like not exactly traditional, i narrow it down to the water because all of the ingredients seem really authentic from the light golden biscuity malt to the german lager yeast and the light floral european hop complexion at the end, this has all the right flavors and is really well balanced. its off dry in the finish, lingering longer than some classic examples of the style, but still on the crisp side, and with the nice light body its perfect for sessioning. crystal clear golden with a short white head, pale malty aroma, some straw and honey too, and a little bitter hop thing too. its well refined, and overall a very fine glass of helles. i dont understand the low ratings on this one...

Sour malt aroma and a short bubbled head. The color is a very pale straw with a touch of haze. Sharp carbination and a fair bit of bitterness. An curious flavor palate with tangy, tart and sour notes. There is just a touch of sweetness. A crisp, medium bodied brew, simple, but peaks the interest.

 

 

 

 

 

12 fl oz can nabbed at a beer store in Austin, TX.

Pours a clean yellow body and a white head. Half body half head in my weizenglas. Looks appropriate for the style.

Aroma isn't great. Pilsner malt, staleness, metallic off-notes, generic grassy hop aromatics.

Taste is shallow. Pilsner malt, faint muted grassy hop flavour, hints of stale malt. Simple and pedestrian. Finishes grainy.

Texture is smooth, wet, highly carbonated, of moderate thickness, and slightly refreshing. Feels stale and a little weak.

Overall, it's not a great attempt at a helles lager. Drinkable but subpar work from one of Austin's most underwhelming breweries.

C- (2.59) / BELOW AVERAGE

***
04/28/18 Coworker nabbed me a sixer as a thank-you for working on his film - thanks, Mike!

A bit buttery, but otherwise clean drinking. Pilsner & Munich malt lend this beer its primary flavour, but it's not well-balanced or built for a helles lager. It's drinkable and I'll easily finish the sixer, but I can't see anyone craving this on a regular basis or buying it over traditional German expressions of the style.

Hum-ho forgettable fare from one of Austin's worst breweries.

C- / BELOW AVERAGE