Helga The Hammered
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

 

On draught at Bailey's, Helga the Hammers (2010 vintage) is gold with an off-white collar leaving heavy almost no lace.

Smell is sweet, a little spicy, herbal hops, a touch of honey, a touch of butter (diacetyl), a touch of plastic (phenols).

Taste is pretty well balanced for being a strong, sweet beer. Mis-categorized as far as I'm concerned, it's a mai-bock. The honey, the diacetly, the herbal hops, all provide some depth of texture.

Mouthfeel is a little sticky, more in perception then reality, with a medium body. Perhaps a bit flabby.

Drinkability isn't bad, the herbal snap of the hops balances it out, and by the designated style, there's presumably some hops as well, coriander I'd guess. The honeyed malt is nice, the touch of diacetyl I could do without.

First had: on tap at Cascade, Portland, OR

Poured golden yellow, moderately carbonated, with a fluffy white head. Aroma is floral and vegetal, with notes of coriander and light spice. Light taste, floral, potpourri, yeasty, light spices, with a nice honey sensation coming in mid- to end-palate. Light-medium body, and quite nice overall.

Vintage 2010, on tap at Cascade.

A finger of white head atop a light gold body, good lace.

Belgian yeast in the nose, some wheat.

Light spice, rich, with oak character, and faint tartness to balance. Some sugar. Overall, maginifcent.

Mild, super smooth feel.

A fantastic blonde spicy, complex and brilliant.

 

 

A: Poured a clear goldenish color with good carbonation leaving a small white cap.

S: Nose is fruity. coriander, spice and floral notes

T: Has a nice smooth taste. Sweet, fruity, some spice, lighter malt, good hop crispness. Booze is well hidden.

M: Nice feel, very easy to drink, a lighter body with loads of booze and flavor

O: Very nice

On tap at Cascade Barrel House 3.17.11, $ 5 teardrop glass.

Clear gold amber body no visible carbonation, one finger white head quick dissipation with no lacing. Nose is floral with some spice coriander, more spicy than floral. Taste mirrors nose this does have blonde quad characteristics, I asked if this was one of the base beers for Vlad or Plaque and they said no. Mouthfeel a bit on the thin side of medium, no effervescence to speak of, not sticky. A pleasant non-sour from the fertile mind of Ron Gansburg, but I needed to follow up with a taster of Sang Noir to make sure my palate received the 'right' attention.

I'm not sure what they were aiming for with this one. Served in bubble pint glass. Poured a dark honey gold color with just a thin ring of white head that had low retention and no lacing.

The aroma was very sweet, with just a bit of spice (from the yeast?) in the background. The beer was equally sweet on the tongue, in a thick syrupy way. There was an odd tang on the finish.

The body was full, but way too sticky sweet. Drinkability was OK, but I can't see having 2 in a row. Overall, an OK brew. Worth trying if you see it.

Pours a somewhat hazy golden yellow color with a sizeable foamy head.

It smells slightly spice like. I get a bit of cloves and pepper. I get a bit of a malty sweet flavor and a bit of as grassy earthy smell.

It tastes initially quite sweet. I get the flavor of Belgian candi sugar. There is a bit of a spicy pepper like taste that helps balances out the sweetness. I get a bit of a clove like flavor. I also get a bit of grainy bread like flavor. The beer finishes with a spicy herbal grassy type of a flavor.

The carbonation is medium. There is a crisp mouthfeel to the beer.

The drinkability is not bad. It is a little sweet and spicy to drink a lot of them but it goes down smooth. I and one other finished off the growler without any problems.

Overall a pretty good odd beer. Not one of the best cascade makes but a nicely done beer with a kickass name.

On tap at the Cascade Barrel House the other night. When I asked what style of beer this is, I was informed it's a spiced blond quad. "Ummmm... OK. Not sure I'm going to find that one in the data base." So let's call this a spiced ale.

The beer pours a honey gold color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose I get consdierable honey and butter, though there's some noticeable clove orange, marmelade and light cinnamon present as well. The beer smells as if it will be on the sweet side, something I confirmed with my first sip. This beer really comes across as sweet and rich, and unlike most Cascade beers, I can tell there's some alcohol in this beer. Otherwise, the flavor profile replicates the nose, with the honey, clove and underlying spice the most prominent flavors. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and creamy, yet despite the sweetness, this beer isn't at all cloying, heavy or tiring on the palate. The finish is fairly long, and drinkability is pretty good, though the sweetness and noticeable alcohol start to wear on me after a while.

While not one of my favorites, I thought this still a pretty solid beer from the folks at Cascade. Probably should have given the beer extra points just for the name...