Fort Road Helles
August Schell Brewing Company

Notes from October 2017. On tap in New Ulm, MN and from 12 ounce cans.
It's light in color and is very smooth drinking. It's not really hoppy but is pale and has a kind of light sharpness to it that I just couldn't define until I was told by some former brewery employees and locals that the beer is made with some cilantro and sea salt. I taste it now! It's a curiously good beer and a bit different than most of Schell's year-round beers.

 

Appearance: Pours a completely clear, rich golden color with a soapy and pillowy white head that lingers.
Aroma: Wet grassy noble hops. Wet grass and honey vegetables. Some lemon. There is a strong pale bread and honey, lemon malt profile
Flavor: Flavor follows the nose. Less grassy hops on the tongue. It allows the rich toasted bread, biscuit, and honey malt sweetness to come through. No hop bitterness and thus finishing slightly sweet.
Feel: Medium bodied. Low carbonation. Thicker on the palate, but appropriate. Slight residual sweetness. Very smooth.

Overall: A very par for the course helles. Does the wet, grassy Noble hops well and has a nice malt profile and a rounded finish. Nothing is off and no flavor is standing out. It's just a standard helles. Overall, a very easy and smooth drinking lager. Goes down really nicely and a good helles.

 

12-oz can into Belgian ale glass

A - 3 fingers of white over a transparent body of golden yellow, high visible carbonation

S - grain and spice

T - bready malts, floral, spice, grass

M - smooth and creamy medium/light body with high carbonation

O - refreshing; great for a hot summer day

Initially it became my favorite beer, but the hops and imbalance turned me off. Good for a person who wants something a little edgier than a lager, but not a full fledged IPA.

 

Deep rich gold color with white cap and lacing.

Aroma of bready malt with floral, spicy hops.

Taste is malt forward in a slightly heavy, bready style. I cannot tell if the grain bill is entirely malt as it seems to have some other grain presence as well. The flavors are good yet not quite as complex or sophisticated as the European versions of Helles Lager. Hops do play a role in the flavor profile by adding a bracing sharpness that counter balances the grain.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Overall it's a competent middle of the road take on what I will call American Helles in that even though it may not be an AAL it does seem to have some elements of the better made examples of that style.

Pours a dark bronze tinged gold color. Clear, somewhat effervescent. Two finger white head dissipates steadily leaving just a residual ring of foam along the outside of the beer.

Aroma has notes of light bready malts and floral spicy hops.

Taste follows the nose with a bready malt backbone, light floral spicy hops and a touch of light honey. I’d like the malts to be a bit more pronounced, but at least the hops are well balanced. Initially there is some sweetness but that is overtaken but a spicy semi-dry finish. Light bitterness on the finish.

Feel is vibrant with moderate carbonation. Light bodied and easy drinking.

Overall a very solid American brewed Helles. It’s not going to stand out, but its better than many attempts since it sticks to the traditional profile.

Pours a clear, pale light gold colour. Smells like crisp pale malts, hay field, and a little sweet and bready. Tastes light, slightly sweet, very crisp, nice bitterness, pale and clean earthy malts. Very straightforward and refreshing.

Approx 47ºF, poured from 12oz can into a European Cervoise. Shiny transparent gold, off-white fluffy foam head. Lots of tiny champagne-like bubbles rising in strings from narrow bottom of glass, giving a delicate carbonation. Whiff of baked white bread and a bit of grass. Waterlike mouthfeel, clean, dry pale-malt flavor with just enough of a kiss of noble hop (22 ibu) to tantalize the tongue and beckon for another sip. Good beer with food. This lightest and brightest of traditional Bavarian styles ranks only a notch higher in flavor impact than an American macro lager.

Not as good as I wish it would be. Lacks the sharp grainy taste and crispness of the versions I prefer. Nonetheless, a perfectly adequate light drinking lager. Pretty heavy bite start to finish. Looks great in a pilsner glass, but not brilliant. Seems to have more hop character than other versions. I pick up hops in aroma, taste and bitterness. They are not unpleasant, but not what I prefer. Fully carbonated.

 

Poured from 12oz can into glass. Bottom of can is stamped with '020318'
Hazy, straw colored body. Aggressive pour brought forth a three finger head, which settles to puffy cap. Some layers of lacing.
Aroma of lighter malts, floral hops, and slight yeast.
Taste is crisp, light malts, some sweeter, floral hops in the middle. Finishes malty and a little spicy.
For its style, the body is medium and really sufficient for complete delivery.
Easy drinking beer and full of flavor.

L: pours brilliant straw with rapidly rising bubbles under a lacy 2" white cap with fair retention

S: faint apple aroma with some light sweetness, hints of scrambled egg and moderate light bread dough and fresh flour

T: flavors start mildly sweet with bread dough and a trace of green apple and a moderate noble hop flavor

F: creamy with a medium light body and medium to medium high carbonation

O: This mildly flavorful, easy to drink Helles will have you hunting for a brat, some German potato salad and cooked red cabbage

Fort Road pours a hazy bright straw yellow color, with a small, but long lasting head. Sweet, creamy yet crisp aroma. Flavor is the same, creamy yet very crisp, with a smooth sweet bright malt finish. Very full body. Overall, a very good Helles Lager, full flavors and body.

 

 

12 can labeled 091617

Looks like piss and smells like rubbing alcohol. Thankfully tastes much better: alcohol is noticeable but pleasantly so, some bread, a vague sweetness, slight alcohol burn, hint of clean hops at the end.

What else can I say, it drinks pretty good