Münchner Hell
Giesinger Bräu

Poured from 500mL bottle into a glass tumbler. Best by 3/4/26.

Appearance: pale golden hue with a clear body and a thin layer of ivory foam atop.

Smell: somewhat dry-ish malt aroma with a good barley-malt character to it. It’s a bit light, but still not bad.

Taste: much like the aroma, there’s a rather dry, simple malt character, with a moderate bitterness that overall doesn’t quite balance out. The hop character itself is good, though — some lovely noble hops here.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: this beer’s formulation isn’t 100% my cup of tea, but it feels like a well-crafted beer. It’s definitely drinkable and refreshing, but there are many other helles lagers out there I’d rather drink.

500ml bottle on the train in Germany. This beer is clear, golden yellow, nicely carbonated, and has a reasonably stable head. It has a malty, spicy aroma, which is always a good sign. It is pleasantly malty on the palate, carried by a slightly tangy effervescence, and then the spiciness comes through. It has a pleasantly bitter finish, making it a great after-work beer. Now all that's missing is a pretzel...

 

Had on tap. Clear golden body with a large white head, spotted lacing. Smells of honeycomb, white bread, lemon esters, sunny malt and gentle grass. Taste is a touch paler than the nose, but still bready and malty too. Feel is medium-light bodied, moderately crisp, decently clean. Classic helles

 

 

 

De Hipercor. En copa de hefe de Bavaria. Jugando a Hogwarts Legacy con Asun. Cuerpo ligero en el.que se echa en falta algo más de malta pero que compensa con una muy buena sensación en boca gracias a un amargor muy bien ajustado que junto a un bajo abv resulta en una cerveza ultrabebible.

Half liter at the brewpub in Munich. Clear, crisp, delicious. Wow. Rumor is that they’re hoping to be the next entry into Oktoberfest. I’m sure there’s a lot of paperwork but from what I can tell, it’s on point and ready for Fest. Super fresh, grainy, barny. A superb Helles. As good as any other in Munich. Let them into Fest!

Update: found bottles/cases of this at the massive getrankemarkt in Stuttgart. As good as I remember, a slightly sweet and very tasty Helles. Classic Munich version. Bottle dated best by 20.06.24 so plenty fresh.

 

Clean golden color. Smell of cookies, white bread. Taste is hoppy, not too sweet, dry for a helles. Medium carbonation. Medium body. A good helles. Not too easy to drink for a go-to beer, yet not complex (did not expect it from helles). Stuck in the middle.