Helles
Bierstadt Lagerhaus

With a helles, there’s nowhere to hide. Served in a mug with a thick cap of foam. Amazing clarity. Bierstadt hits the appearance and experience on the head. Crisp, clear, with just a whisper of a hoppy kiss on the finish.

 

Crystal clear with a straw color. I could easily read a book through the thickest portion of my glass. Small head which settles quickly to rim bubbles and leaves no lace.

The smell is half grainy and half (very pale) malty. It would be very easy for flaws to show up here, but none do. Pretty much spot on for a Helles.

Light in the body as would be expected. Extensive carbonation with is a bit high for the style, The flavor more dry malty than grainy, but both are present. There's some stone fruit notes like peach or apricot. The finish, though, remains dry with a touch of hop bitterness. Short aftertaste overall, appropriate for the style.

Had on tap at the brewery

On arrival a beautiful fine 2 finger of head with very nice retention was present. A brilliant straw yellow body with plenty of super fine carbonation was present. Over a coupleinutes the head loses 1cm and becomes rocky. Lacing forms. This is a great looking beer that just shines in the light.

Smell is a pale German lager that flat and crispy lager fermentation note is present with a sweet bready malt note held up by a light herbal citrusy hop note.

Taste follows the aroma but is very very clean with a bready malt that builds after a light noble hop bitterness fades from first impressions. The hop bitterness rebuilds on the finish for a balanced beer. Not very sweet, but rather quite bready.

Feel is drinkable like any good pale lager should be, but this is full yet maintains a certain dryness on the finish. Not a light lager by any means but just as crispy as one.

Overall, if this beer was cheap it would be the best of all time, but for a helles this is pretty damn good. Carries everything a German lager should but is just that much maltier and more drinkable than a pils.

 

 

 

It's not the most well-known of their beers, but this one is very good too, and you should make it a point to try it if you like the light lager style, or if it's 100 degrees outside. This is a nicely crafted beer and light enough to go for the big boot size if you really want to do it German-style.

 

L-Clean, clear golden color...perfect head

S-Grain with a light spiciness.

T-A lot of grainy malt along with a more pronounced spicy hoppiness than expect.

F-Clean, crisp, firm carbonation...a touch dry on the finish.

O-Hits the mark as a quality German Helles although it has a bit more of a spicy hop impression than most in this style.

 

 

Had on tap. Crystal clear golden body with two fingers of white foam and thick lacing. Smell has a considerable hop bite with grassy tones, lager yeast and malts support. Taste features biscuit malt with grainy yet elevated yeast, grassy and again surprisingly bitter hops finish with accents of grass and herbs. Feel is crisp, clean, again leans hoppier and paler on the spectrum, goes down easy with a spot on carbonation level.

 

The beer is a clear gold color with a white head that fades rapidly. A little bit of lace.
Aroma is grassy and floral.
Taste follows the nose. There is a late hop presence.
Light-bodied, crisp.
Very drinkable.

16oz. Can served in a willibecker. Pours a lovely straw gold with a loose, 1/8th inch, off-white head that gradually dissipates. Clarity is crystal clear. Nose is bright and clean - grassy notes and hints of noble hops. Taste follows nose with some fruity esters coming out at the finish. Mouthfeel is light in body with a sharp carbonation. Overall, drinkable and well-crafted.

 

Bought from Beer Drop. A decent Helles and shows all its simple qualities and traditions.
But I drink so few Helles (my 39th) lately and my short-term memory fails so often that I can't get to this Helles average rating. Three words for Bierstadt's Helles: golden, malty, crisp.

I do give lots of Overall Hugs to the proprietors. Tradition is important, especially in the German styles. And varying from the tradition requires more care than, say, varying from the Brits and Belgians. Finding Lagerhaus makes me guess that the dozen major U.S. beer cities (of which Denver is certainly near the top), each has a micro that specializes almost exclusively in lagers. That's kind of cool how that market segmentation has emerged. (But it was only natural also, given how the number of micros exploded and can still grow through a pandemic that undermines their taproom business model.)

Anyway, Bierstadt gets lot of Overall Hugs for being Denver's lager specialist and for having a cool Bierhalle. Prost !

4/22/22 Drank the second can with a Thai meal, thinking this Helles softness would calm the spice... and it did. But the dish was so awful that I have to give more Overall Hugs for Helles being so subtle to fix the wrong. Counting over @ UnTappd.

 

 

 

Thanks to Jeff for this. 16oz. can into a Founders snifter.

Pours a crystal clear goldenrod. Sparse lace and a 1 finger foamy white head with little retention. Nose is actually kind of funky. Metallic, foamy, sharp bitterness, with a light, fresh lemon zest. Beer opens crisp and clean. I get metallic funk, lemon zest, farmhouse hay, and a wet wood. Never had a Helles Lager like this for sure. FInishes foamy with a biting bitterness. Body is light with moderate to ample carbonation. Slightly prickly on the palate and goes down crisp, clean, and dry with a lightly lingering finish. Super drinkable as the style should be.

This beer is fantastic and I'd love to try other styles in this brewer's portfolio.

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours straw yellow with a small white head. Smells of cereal grain, crisp and refreshing. Tastes of sweet grain, but not overly so. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a good beer.

 

Pours a moderately cloudy golden color. Thin one to two finger head forms on the beer but quickly dissipates leaving no residual head. The beer clears up as it sits, but the weirdest thing is the presence of yeasty floaters that look like pulp floating in the beer. Really note sure what that is.

Aroma is absolutely lovely - notes of rich, sweet, doughy, bready malts waft across the nose. Honey, white bread, dough, all are there giving way to a light herbal, spicy hop note on the back end. Its incredible.

Taste has notes of white bread, doughy malts, with a lightly toasted character to it. A touch of honey sweetness comes through. There are also light lemon and lemongrass notes with a slight herbal, spicy bitterness on the back end.

Feel is light, crisp, and easy drinking. Bright carbonation. A bit thinner than I might want, missing that chewiness I like from this style, but its a relatively minor quibble.

This is fantastic and instantly one of the best American brewed helles I have ever had. Its not often you come into a beer with high expectations and they are somehow exceeded. A must try if you get the chance.

poured from a 16oz can into a half pint glass. pours a clear gold with a finger of fluffy white head. clean, bready lager yeast on the nose and tongue. this is easy drinking with a great, full and carbonated mouthfeel. absolutely delicious!

 

Can from Wildwood Taphouse.

A clear golden orange with a dense white head with good retention and lacing this looks great. The nose is soft, doughy, delicately, with mild but firmly lime like hops. There's a faint, almost sulfury, fruity smell that seems out of place. The palate opens crisp, and bready, with a blend of straw, hay, a little fruity (again, unexpected). Dry, crisp, a little acidic from the high carbonation in a way that detracts from how refreshing it could be. Decent.

 

 

 

I asked for this on tap at Zig Zag Smokin Burger and it was straw clear with a millimeter head. The taste was crisper akin to a pilsner and not very malty or bready at all. They also had the Slow Pour Pils so maybe I was given that on accident? idk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear and bright light gold body; plenty of lively carbonation; nice thick head, fluffy. Bready malts and herbal hops comprise the smell. Mildly toasted grain base taste with a moderate presence of earthy, herbal hops. Medium body; slightly sweet on the palate; crisp; gentle warmth.

The beer drinks well and pretty much nails the traditional helles beer style. It is clean and refreshing.