Helles Lager
Otto's Pub and Brewery

On tap at the brewpub. Aroma, what aroma? A plain weak malt falters into the room, barely noticed. Pours a polished bronze, golden in hue, rimmed in white. Flavor is even less descriptive than the aroma, there's a palatable seltzer water quality and a particular derision of light corn, but mostly a bland malt figure, with nips of old lemon, salty grain and sweet honey. Body runs somewhere between thin and full. Maybe satisfying, but somehow not thirst quenching. Finishes dry with maybe a little bit of grain crispness. Totally forgettable. Seems a shame to waste this style as the BMC look a like.

Had on draft at Otto's Pub and Brewery, State College, PA.

A- Light gold, with a thin white head.

S- Slightly malty, subtle hops aroma.

T- Tastes light, not overly sweet, decently well balanced.

M- Well carbonated, thin to medium on the tongue.

D- A reasonably good lager. This is their everyday lager, better than most, but nothing special.

Pours a clear light yellow-amber. Some white head. Small amount of lacing. Aroma is true to style... some pale malt "cereal"/"sweet" notes, some hop notes. Flavor is true to style... relatively clean with some cereal malty/bready notes, some fruity/spicy hops that aren't as much to the fore as the sweet/bready malt notes. Overall impression is pretty much crisp/clean with just a little lingering sweetness of malt. Not too thick, but just a little bit sweet. Good session beer. Stands up well against some of my other favorite domestic & import draft Pils/Helles choices & has the benefit of being VERY local and therefore as fresh as we are likely to ever see.

Pours a clear, light amber with a medium-sized, tight, white, mostly diminishing head. Some stringy lacing. The smell is of mild malts with light, crisp hops. The taste is mild with some lightly sweet malt taking center stage. Some light doughy yeast, bread, light grain, and a short, crisp, clean finish with a touch of citrus and spice. It has a thin body, watery but crisp texture, and lively carbonation. A little bland for my taste, but that’s more my opinion of the style rather than the beer. But still, it is a little mild even for the style. However, it is very refreshing and highly sessionable. Nicely done.

Arrives a nice straw/gold with just a hint of white colored head. (Maybe too cold?) A ring around the glass only. No lacing.

Smells like pilsner malt to me, with a good dose of Noble hop aroma in the background. Spicy and grassy, but only a little bit. On style.

The flavor is fairly sweet pils malt, very clean, lightly bready with maybe a little too much residual sweetness. Hop bitterness is rightly muted, but there. Nice spicy/floral hop presence. This is a good Helles. Burps are malty, aftertaste is a nice long pils malt flavor.

Mouthfeel is maybe a little too sweet with a moderate zing from carbonation. Finish is sweet and malty.

Except for the head, this is a very good Helles. Pretty much on style, nice malt, some hops. Poundable.

Medium straw in color with moderate head, lace, and bubbles. Smooth and crisp. Slightly sweet malt character. Comfortable level of hop bitterness, though not quite enough to be considered comparable to the great Munchner Helles out there. Quite refreshing and drinkable.