Fest Helles
Uinta Brewing Company

 

 

For a 12 fl oz CAN canned 10 days ago:

Has the breadiness of a festbier but not the drinkability of a good one...this isn't a beer I could quaff by the litre at a festival by any stretch. I get no Noble hop character (i.e. grassiness Saaz spiciness) nor any crisp pilsner malt. Munich malt, sure, but no Vienna/amber malt toastiness.

Smooth, bready, filling, wet, somewhat refreshing albeit a bit too heavy on the palate.

A drinkable forgettable brew...more festbier than helles by my estimation, but not a great expression of either style nor a best of both worlds hybrid. Not Uinta's finest work, but it's fairly priced and I'll enjoy finishing off my sixer even if it doesn't dazzle.

C / AVERAGE

***
08/28/20 can:

A sad stab at a German lager, helles or fest...

C- / BELOW AVERAGE

Seeing the approved pic makes me smile since, thanks to my infinite patience, I was able to score a CAN of this for The CANQuest (tm)! I am also celebrating tonight's wire-to-wire win at bar trivia, so it's a double-plus bonus.

From the CAN: "German-Style Lager";"Brewed with Renewable power - Wind & Solar"; "Pack It In - Pack It Out"; "Stalk us?"; "Raised by Uinta Brewing Co Salt Lake City Utah USA"; "Goes well with Anywhere."; "Forget the Map, Pack the Uinta".

I was very excited to Crack! open the vent & fill my glass stein by way of a slow, gentle C-Line Glug. I was further heartened by the quick formation of just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, soapy, bone-white head with limited retention. Color was Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5) with NE-quality clarity, summoning forth The Gelt Gang of Midas, Mammon & Croesus to have a taste. Nose had the grassy sweetness of an Oktoberfest & I think that it would be better served when thinking of it as such. I raised a toast to my old Navy shipmate & had my first sip. Mouthfeel was medium, solid for a Lager. The taste was very much of an Oktoberfest/Marzen with a pleasant grassy, biscuity, bready quality. It was not as sweet as many Oktoberfests, making it that much more approachable. This was a very pleasant Lager or any stripe. Finish was semi-sweet, but less sweet than other Oktoberfests. Time for me to do some homework.

Clear golden colored beer with a puffy white head. Looks like something the would sell in one liter mugs in Munich.

Smells strongly of toasted grain and soda crackers. Mildly sweet smelling. The hops are decidedly grassy.

Starts out mild and slightly fruity. Soda crackers and faint caramel taste. Mild hops, decidedly grassy. Soft yeast flavor, reminds me of a fresh yeast roll.

Mouthfeel is good.

Mild and easy to drink. Nothing at all overpowering about it.

Love this beer. Found it at world market in 12 ounce cans!

Pours a clear honey gold with a thick white long lasting head. Good lacing. Aroma is biscuits and sweet corn. Flavor is sweet with only a faint hop bite on the finish. Feel is light and crisp. Overall a nice beer.

appearance: a nice clear golden color. pours with a fairly bubbly head that devolves into a fuzzy cap. leaves nice lacing; not the best i've ever seen but very noticeable.

smell: very bready and sweet. strong malt and hints of wheat and a little bit dank.

taste: begins almost honey-like with a healthy dose of delicious doughy malt. some herbal hoppiness shows up as it sits in the mouth, finishing off clean and malty. very well balanced.

feel: very smooth and crisp. classic lager feel, but with less of a bite than one might expect. fairly medium bodied, although leaning more towards light.

overall: it was a tossup between this and pilsner urquell and i had to go with this because it's a bit sweeter than most lagers and it's just a super satisfying and crisp lager. i'll definitely pick this up when i can find it.

12 ounce can into lager glass, best before 12/9/2018. Pours slightly hazy medium golden yellow color with a 1 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of cracker, white bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, light honey/pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. A bit fruity aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice aromas with good balance of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of cracker, white bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, light honey/pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of cracker, white bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, light honey, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness and balance of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors, with minimal fruity/yeasty notes present. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly crisp/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.5%. Overall this is a very good Munich Helles. All around nice robustness and balance of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/refreshing to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Nicely clean and rich Pils/Munich malt showcase, and great noble hop presence/balance. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example.

 

 

 

12 ounce can - $1.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

BEST BEFORE 12/09/18M.

Appearance: Pours a lightly hazed, deep yellow body with just under an inch of white foam.

Smell: A scent of mealy, moist grains with a sweetish cereal quality to it. Very low, very light hint of spicy, herbal hops. Some fruitiness, though modest, shows with some slight warmth.

Taste: Lightly bready, a bit grainy (minutely husky) with a soft sweetness about it. The moderate albeit sustained flavor of grain holds until some lightly herbal, faintly spiced hops kick in with a tiny dose of cleansing bitterness, which, matched up with the perky suds, lends itself a reasonably dry finish. Sees a bit of orchard fruit and even citrus as it warms somewhat.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-plus carbonation.

Overall: Sufficient. Easy-drinking and fairly clean, though not the most scintillating or venerable festbier to be had.

I’m a big fan of this style, and this is a somewhat disappointing beer. Appearance is nice; clean, straw copper with good lacing. Smell is simple sweet malt with a hint of bread. Taste is somewhat flat and muted Pilsner malt flavor. Body is sweet malt and not much else but balanced appropriately for this style. My biggest issue is that it lacks solid German Pilsner malt flavor. This is a mix of American macro lager, with a touch of German Helles and Festbier.

[Original rating 2016-10-21] Bomber. Pours clear gold with a thin white head. Aroma of bread, spicy hops, malt. Taste is the same, great balance.