Corolla Gold Helles Lager
Weeping Radish Bavarian Restaurant

The menu describes their Fest Beer as "A Pale Golden Lager in the Munich Helles Style." I didn't actually order a serving of this brew; the waitress supplied a small sample on her recommendation. It came in a two-ounce plastic cup, filled to the rim. The color was dark gold with a foamy, one-finger, ecru head. I found the flavor to be clean and lightly citrusy, with a bready, hoppy finish. Definitely reminiscent of pilsner-style beers, but with a bit more complexity.

This is a 1 L growler served in a seidel. The beer is chilled.

A: The lager is a pale yellow color, a shade or two darker than BMC with a small head that adds a hint of lace.

S: The nose is very grainy and biscuity.

T: The flavor is somewhat weak, having a grainy malt body but lacking any substantial flavor. The malts are biscuity and control the entire flavor of the beer. What little hops are present are bittering only, adding no appreciable taste.

M: The mouthfeel is good, with the malts adding hints of flavor throughout.

D: Very drinkable and a long-time favorite of mine. It's funny how tastes change and evolve. This beer was my best-in-show following the first brew fest that I ever attended (the first State College MicroBrewers Expo). That was 8 years ago, now I find that the beer is not as complex as I once thought.

12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Best by January 2006? Uh, maybe I should've looked more closely at the bottle. Oh well, now that it's open, here goes.

Appearance: Very much looking like a light brew. Pale yellow, a few chunky bubbles floating to the top. Quickly disappearing head. Slight watery and spotty lacing.

Smell: Faint hops and sweet malt, but nothing really Czech Pils about the hops, which I was hoping for. Balanced enough I suppose, but kind of uninteresting overall.

Taste: Watery, with some malt and hops. As it warms some more discernible hops come to the forefront, but nothing really to speak of. Again, pretty uninteresting, and not a lot going on.

Mouthfeel: A bit astringent and watery, as the carbonation's kind of odd in a way, sprawling maybe, or not contained as much as I'd like it to be. The lack of flavor isn't helping, though.

Drinkability: I don't know if the 5 months past freshness date would do a lot as far as my review, because nothing seems to outta whack, it just seems pretty bland. Maybe this is a style I just don't dig, I don't know, but I don't know if I'll be trying more. However, I haven't given up on Weeping Radish, so we'll see what happens with more of their stuff in the future.

Picked this one up on a recent visit to NC.

Pours out a clear straw-colored golden yellow with a thin white head. Looks pretty standard for the style, holds its head fairly nicely.

Aroma is European hops: a tad grassy, just a little on the skunky side (weird with a brown bottle, but it's there), and clean grain aromas.

Flavor isn't anything too complicated, but it's a fairly obvious Euro hop bite on top of a clean toastiness. Again, the slightly skunky and metallic flavors come through a bit more than would be ideal.

Overall: Eh. Very average-to-below-average. Not recommended.

Brought back a 6-pack of each of the four beers on sale at the Weeping Radish store in Manteo. The Helles Lager has a nice golden color with an initial good white head that disappears fast. I didn't detect any kind of smell. The taste was good for a lager, with not of the vegetable/skunky tastes of the usual macro brews. The taste is slightly sweet, leaning more towards bready/malt than hops. I noticed a slight metallic aftertaste that did not last. This is not a memorable or exceptional beer, however I would not have any problem with this as a sessions beer or to drink with a meal.

12 oz. bottle, best before Nov. '05 - served chilled in a Weeping Radish pilsner glass. Pours a golden/honey color with a 1/2 inch white head that leaves no lacing. There are floral and spicy hops in the nose with a touch of metal. It is relatively flavorless, but I can pick out some spicy hops that leave a mild bitterness, caramel, a hint of biscuity/toasty malts, and metal. As it warms the flavor comes through more. It has medium carbonation and a medium to light body. Nothing too special but it beats a macro any day.

Crystal clear yellow in color. Thick 3" head from slight overcarbonation. Mild lacing develops through the drink. The aroma is sweet malts and some grassiness. The flavor is quite sweet. Mild bitterness, malt, corn, and granny smith apples are all that is detected.

Mouthfeel is crisp at the start. Finish is crisp and mildly dry. Not an overly exciting brew, pretty average overall. Not worth seeking out.

This beer pours the typical gold with a small frothy head on top. The smell is malty and slightly nutty. The flavor is full bodied German malt and a hint of hops. The malt has a nice bready, sweet grain flavor with subtle hop flavor. It all goes down with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel and sharp minerally aftertaste. Very refreshing and flavorful, this is a tasty version of a classic style.

Clear pale yellow, under a blooming milky white head.
Aroma: corny-sweet, but overall dull. Clean.
Smooth, and sweet entry on the palate, slips easily past the lips. Pleasant, but lacking flavor. A tiny bit buttery and sweet, and more often than not, forgettable, nothing really remains, finish is limpid and wan.
Turns sourish on the tongue halfway through, an attribute I rarely admire.
Two words sum it best, really:ho hum.

Appearance-into the pint glass we go, the beer pours a gorgeous orange golden color with exceptional lace. The clarity of the color is quite exceptional. A really good looking beer,

Smell-a lot of sweet malt, hints of orange, grain, agressive hop nuances on top, almost smells like fresh champagne

Taste-the hints the smell provided are fulfilled in the taste, the sweet malt overpowers everything else, taste is quite crisp with fruity undertones.

Mouthfeel-light and refreshing, mouthfeel is nicely proportioned, it goes down very smooth and the aftertaste leaves you wanting more.

Drinkability-near perfect, really flavorful while still crisp and refreshing, I would definitetely grab another.

Overall-a damn fine lager if I ever saw one. Flavorful, refreshing, nice to look at, not any gaping flaws. A top-notch lager that should definitely be on your list to try, nuff said.

Nice golden color...relatively clear....nose is cooked veggies..perhaps some german hops....mouthfeel is pretty charged up....taste is bitter on the palate...some cooked veggies...Tastes a little more like a German Pilsner than anything but not a good one at that.

Not a favorite of mine. I won't drink it again....Give me an MGD or any macro over this any day

The beer pours a nice gold color with a thick frothy white head that quickly fades to lacing. The aroma is average. It has a weak and watery pale malt scent with a bit of adjuncts and dry lager yeast. The taste is average also. It has a light and weaak pale malt flavor with little hops and a crisp lager yeast finish. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a low bodied beer with good carbonation. This is an average lager. It has nothing special to offer. It's on and done for me.

Appearance: Clear, golden body with a decent head; some lacing

Smell: Smells a bit skunky to me; radish :-) on the nose, maybe?

Taste: Very light taste up front, almost watery; followed by metallic bitterness from the hops

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery, with a lot of carbonation

Drinkability: Way too metallic to be very drinkable.

Note: I'm wondering what's gone wrong here? I note all the reviews in the past year have panned this beer, but the earlier ones were almost uniform in praise. Is it the brewery, the distributor, or the retailer? I bought my bottle at Holiday Trav-L-Park in Emerald Isle.

Typical lager golden body with lots of carbonation and a rocky slightly off-white head, a little lace and decent head retention.
Smells like a typical lager too, no complexity or mysterious aromas here. Smells a little sour.
Strong citric flavors dominate this brew, after taste is close to non-existant.
This lager has a prickling on the tongue probably from the strong citric taste which is ok but nothing to write home about.
I'd imagine this would be a good "sitting in the sun sweating" beer but other than that it's too boring for anything else.

-Oelergud

Hazy piss yellow. Big half a glass head forms on pour. White and rocky. Good retention. Too good as I wait for it to diminish so I can get to the nectar. Wait a sec. This isn't nectar. As I sip, I find that this is one off beer. The mouthfeel is way too charged up. Too gaseous. And the taste is no better. Sour and stale. And some remnants of cooked veggies. Yes, this one is bad. I may not finish it.

Thanks for the effort though AKP. What's in the bottle isn't your fault.

Appears crystal clear gold with a nice fluffy white head with what seems to be some decent retention going on, and leaves trickled lace with each sip not to bad in this category. Aroma well the hops peek through but that's about it grainy in aroma with a malt profile producing that straw tone in there, not bad just middle of the road so far. Doesn't compare to any Helles lagers I have had but it is crisp and refreshing in my book not a bad no brainer beer, however I may go for something cheaper if I feel like just pounding some brews. I can see why this is brewed at Weeping Radish not a bad cross over very unintimidating, c'mon it's gold. Mild sweetness grassy tones and a touch of bittering hops very smooth once again just lacking any creaminess or robust flavors I would rather enjoy then a blander micro. Mouthfeel has a lighter body with no cloying textures very drinkable probably meant to be drank in quantity, all with a decent amount of carbonation. Drinkability is okay not dying for another one but could I of course, it's one of those beers.

The Weeping Radish is a pretty good German restaurant on North Carolina's Outer Banks in my book, and the fact that they brew their own German style beer is a plus. Their Corolla Gold seems like it was brewed as a beer that's "safe" for macro drinkers who visit the restaurant, as it is kind of light in most categories. This is a non-spectacular beer, but it is a good thirst quencher and goes pretty well with food.

Corolla Gold pours a nice golden color, but the head is thinner than it should be and it disappears in under 30 seconds. The smell was disappointingly light. Kind of husky in a way, with some very light hop aroma underneath it. The mouthfeel is crisp and kind of fizzy. There is somewhat of a soapiness about it too. As mentioned, the flavor is kind of light, but what's present seems to be pretty good. Light malt flavor with some moderate citric/perfumey/spicy hop presence. Not bitter by any means. The aftertaste has a nice bready quality to it, but is otherwise quite clean. Corolla Gold finishes with no alcoholic warmth.

This is a pretty drinkable brew. If visiting the Outer Banks, I would recommend visiting one of the Weeping Radish restaurants at least once. I've only been to the one in Manteo, which I've heard is the most atmospheric of the bunch (it has a nice beer garden). The beer is available bottled pretty much throughout all of the OBX, so it isn't hard to find down there. I'd recommend giving it a shot even though it probably won't amaze anyone.

This beer poured a yellow gold color and formed a bubbly white head that left little lace as it subsided. Some carbonation is present. An aroma of hops, malt and grain. The flavor was of hops, some malt and bread. The finish was light and had some metalic bitterness to it. Okay as a session beer, but nothing special.

Pours a deep yellow with a decent head and lacing. The aroma a bit weak, it is malt and hops. The flavor matches the aroma, malt and a hint of hops, nothing overpowering. It is hard for me to rate this brew. It is a decent brew but nothing to rave about. It is very drinkable and went well with the few burgers I had with the second one. This could be the beer to use to slowly change the Macro drinker. It is better than any Macro out there but close to average for the Micros.

Pours a deep golden color topped by a white head. the head shows good retention and produces a nice lacing. There is moderate levels of carbonation trailing up from the bottom of the glass. The aroma is pretty much a typical "beer" smell. Well balanced traces of amtl and hops, with a slight graininess. The taste is again very average, actually reminding me of a stronger Rolling Rock or a lighter version of Stroh's. Does not compare to the German or better American Helles offerings. This is actually one of the more disappointing beers I've had lately, due to it's sheer mediocrity. The mouthfeel is light, the drinkability is OK. This beer doesn't call to you to have another of it specifically. It's more like a "Grab any old beer, cause they all taste the same" mentality, as this seems like it was surely aimed at the American macro drinker. That being said, I would still chose this over most macros. Most, but not all. As much as I hate to say it, I'd drink Stroh's before this (are you happy, proc and VENOM?)