Helles Ale Helles Style Ale
Alaskan Brewing Co.

 

This is the first German helles that I've reviewed. Tastes like a pilsner. Light hops with floral undertones. I've never been crazy about pilsners so take my review with a grain of salt. It's okay.

Aroma is a mix of earthy and very grainy malts. The flavor is slightly husky grains/malts, mild fruit, slightly slick texture and a smooth/beery finish.

 

Poured from bottle into a pint glass
Appearance- The beer pour a clear golden amber color with a moderately foamy white head. The head fades slowly over time to leave a light leave of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell- The aroma of the brew is strongest of a somewhat bready and doughy smell mixed with some sweeter aromas of caramel and a little bit of orange. There is a hint of an herbal and grassy hop as well.
Taste – The taste begins with a bready and light grain taste that contains some sweeter tastes of honey and caramel. The caramel is the predominant sweet with it getting a little bit stronger as the taste moves forward. Some light hop of an herbal nature as well as some toasted flavors coming to the tongue more toward the middle of the taste, and a hint of yeast at the end of the flavor profile, one is left with a rather easy going bready flavor on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is average in terms of thickness and carbonation. For the mix of easy drinking tastes, light toast and hop, and moderate abv. the feel is quite nice and makes this super easy drinking.
Overall – A fairly decent brew overall. While nothing out of this world, this is a very flavorful and easy to drink brew.

Poured from a bottle into a tap glass.

Pours crystal clear with a decent head and good "bubbling" incessant throughout the drink.

Sweet doughy and bready malts dominate the aromas, with a touch of caramel. Only a hint of hops in the background.

The flavors follow the nose, with caramel and bready malts. There is even a bit of toasted presence. Very strange for the style in that respect. There are touches of spicy hops in the background, but the brew is a bit unbalanced.

Nearly medium bodied but the excellent carbonation provides a nice crisp finish to an otherwise sweet.

So after I bought this, I did a fair amount of internet research to see if it was on the "up and up." It was weird seeing a Helles described as an "ale" for starters. This almost tastes like a mashup of Alaskan's Amber and a regular Helles lager. Tough to grade because it isn't true to the stated style, at least not really, but not a terrible brew in its own right. It looks great and has a good feel and finish. But the flavors are just too off. I can't recommend as a Helles.