Ettaler Kloster-Hell
Klosterbrauerei Ettal

L:
-pours a clear straw golden with a small-to-medium,frothy,white head
-high carbonation visible
S:
red apple,grainy,cracker-y malt,herbal
T:
-grainy,malty,herbal,apple
-low-to-medium bitterniss
F:
-medium carbonation
-light-to-medium body
O:
Fairly average Helles on the Market.

 

Can from John’s poured into stein. This absolutely nails helles - head, bright, drinkable.

Poured from a pint bottle with no date.

Look: Classic light yellow with a foamy white head that quickly dissipates with no lacing.

Smell: Mild grain, a tinge of noble hops and some cracker mixed with a bit of honey.

Taste: Follows the nose to a T. Starts doughy and light with a very mild sweetness. Quickly followed up by some nice grassy hops and an almost mineral aftertaste. Some hop spice lingers after giving some time between sips. Finishes nice and dry like you'd expect for the style.

Feel: Light body with a nice crispness when drank around 55°F. Moderate-high carbonation that gives that hop spice some lasting power.

Overall: A good helles that's not a dazzler in the styler but still a step above some of the Munich-based brewers.

This one pours a clean and clear golden yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like honey, biscuits, and lightly spicy and floral hop character.

This is incredibly refreshing, with an herbal and almost mineral like hop bitterness on the back end, with a nicely doughy, and not too sweet malt character.

This is light bodied, very crisp, with a nice little bite on the finish that keeps you coming back for more.

This is exactly what I’m looking for when I drink a helles – easy, crisp, and well brewed.

Poured from a 500 ml bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden color with a small head of pure white foam. The head fades rather fast leaving a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is heavy of a caramel malt mixed with a grainy bread and doughy smell. Along with these aromas comes notes of toffee and some fruit smells of apple and pear.
Taste – The taste begins with a crisp cracker and grainy malt flavor with a bit of caramel sweetness. As the taste advances the graininess gets a bit more intense. Other flavors of earth and toffee join in toward the end, bringing a touch of bitter and more sweet. With a little a touch of yeast, a rather crisp and clean, slightly grainy taste is left with linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is on the higher side. For the style and the tastes the feel is great and makes for a nice easy sipper.
Overall -A rather flavorful and very approachable and refreshing brew. Quite nice.

 

 

 

Single 500ml bottle from Jungle Jim's
Crystal clear golden color with a nice fluffy head, good retention.
Fine floral hop aroma as well as taste. Moderately sweet finish.
Light body with a pleasant mouthfeel.
Very enjoyable.

Pours out a clear gold color with a dense, lasting head. Clean, sweet malt nose with some faint hoppiness. Flavor is typical for the style: perhaps slightly on the sweet side, with very low hop presence. Not grainy: just clean sweet malt. Excellent mouthfeel, light but not thin. Pretty good helles, a styles that's not particular popular in the US, but it reminds me of meals in central Europe.

 

Poured this beer from a bottle into a tulip glass. Bright clear yellow color with nice initial white head and good curtain lacing. Clean, grassy smell and taste. Crisp and floral. Dry finish. A beer to have again.

Pours a light crystal clear gold, perfectly white dense compact large head, some great retention and beautiful full glass lacing.

The nose is fresh baked light bread and some subtle fresh malt notes. It is a very simple and yet very pleasant smell.

The taste gives much of the same impression being soft simple and light bready malt. There is hops showing in the taste more so than the nose; in a very low spice way.

The mouthfeel is what gets me most in this beer…it is incredibly bright and refreshing; so much so that it is hard to stop drinking, this beer quenches thirst. It is light in body but full in feel, amazingly clean finish. The carbonation is noticeably smooth and almost creamy in sensation.

This beer is one incredibly easy drinking and refreshing beer. A beer you could drink and drink without thinking twice, very glad to have tried. I would love to try more from this brewery someday, or even better go to Germany!

 

500ml bottle. No dating information found. ABV% listing on label is 5%.
Clear, straw colored body. Thin finger of white head quickly turns to an interrupted cap, with islands. Leaves little strings of lacing.
Aroma of sweet barley bread.
Taste is crisp barley bread and some floral and spicy hops.
Slightly thinner than medium mouth feel. Very good carbonation.
Provides a crisp and dry, and very refreshing beer drinking experience.

My wife and I sampled draft Etaller kloster-hell at dinner at the Kloster Hotel in Ettal on a snowy May evening a decade ago. From memory, the beer was typical of the Helles beers we sampled in and near Bavaria at the time. (We did not seek out particular special beers). It was adequate in all respects but not exciting.

From a 500 ml bottle with a best by date of 04/22/21. So not the freshest.

It looks like a helles with pretty good head retention leaving a good amount of ringed and webbed lacing as I drain the beer. Faint grainy malt character on the nose with a hint of grassy hops and a touch of skunk. On the palate I get a bready sweetness with honey character along with grassy and spicy hop notes. Medium body with medium to medium-high carbonation. Clean drinking with a light drying on the finish. This one suffers from freshness issues methinks. I like the substantial body (which is a bit much for the style but it works) and mouthfeel, but the nose and palate seem to have faded a bit. Overall it's a decent enough helles, but I would like to try a fresh bottle.