Helle
Brasserie Vrooden

Service: Bottle
Best before: Jun-3-2018


A:
Clear anemic straw color with WAY over-active tiny-bubbled white head. A pain to pour, head like meringue. (3.75)

S:
Rich, meaty, doughy and spicy malt-hop character blend. (3.75)

T:
Follows the nose, but a little more muted; doughy malt body with some light nutri-sweet character. (3.5)

M:
Creamy kind of heft to it, medium carbonation (shockingly), pretty clean finish. (3.75)

O:
An all right beer with a clean character and a malt-forward taste.
This one was way too much to pour, though, first of all. I love a good head, but was losing my temper just trying to fill a glass. The aroma is pretty nice, layered malt and some hop bite. The flavor isn't much to write home about. Some doughy character. Neither a particularly bad nor particularly good beer.
Still the best Helles you'll find in a bottle in Quebec though! (3.5)

From a 473ml can, dated 2018-08-14. Tried to serve it in a pilsner glass but couldn't get any actual beer past the fountaining head, so I put it in an imperial pint pub glass instead where it behaved rather well.

Pours a glowing yellow-gold with fair carbonation and a soft and sudsy head of soapy foam. Looks like a 1960's magazine advertisement for Miller High Life. Retention is pretty much OK, leaving a lathery cap and collar with a thin curtain of lacing.

A faint nose of flowery-spicy toasted malt.

Tastes of thick, chewy, doughy toast, with a slightly smoky character. Floral rather than fruity, incense and old spice. Finishes with a tacky-sweet taste which needs another sip to wash away... but what will I do at the end of the glass?

Feel is doughy and substantial, chewy, medium-hefty body with just adequate carbonation.

This was a beer that I enjoyed well enough while I was drinking it but, sure enough, now that I'm done, I have this sort of nagchampa incense paste sealed onto my tongue with some kind of sticky Sweet'n Low shellac-like compound that may require lacquer thinner to get off.

 

Bottle: Poured a slightly hazy golden color with a medium size white foamy head with OK retention with some light lacing. Aroma of cereal notes with light residual sugar with light floral notes. Taste is a mix of cereal notes with some subtle residual sugar notes and light floral notes. Body is full for style with good carbonation. Solid rendition of the style.