Hofbräu Original
Hofbräuhaus München

HanktheTank94

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Pretty much average across the board for me. Nose is a bit bready but largely apple juice.

Golden color, clear, very little head.

Taste is nice and refreshing.

It’s a nice beer for a day outside, but I prefer something less sweet and hoppier with a little more complexity.

Saturday at 08:53 PM

BerkeleyBeerSleuth from California

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A crisp refreshing german lager. Typical lager appearance with creamy head. Herbal and earthy hops with a bready malt backdrop. Smooth, well balanced, and easily drinkable. I could easily drink this all night.

Apr 29, 2021

Antg8989 from New Jersey

4.34/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours light gold. Brilliant clarity. Foamy white head.
Aroma is fresh bread with floral hops - similar to a pilsner.
Taste falls right in line with the nose.
Medium high carbonation - medium bodied leaning toward fuller. Semi-dry almost apple juice feel.
Overall - the bitterness lasts a bit longer on the tongue than I would have imagined in a good way.

Mar 29, 2021

barneyrubble from Colorado

3.91/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Beautiful 1F white head, trace of lac. Color is jewel like crystal clear yellow

On the nose- Yeast, clove, malt, fresh baked rye bread.

T- Initial tip of tongue gets tingly spice with a bit of clove and yeast. Slightly fruity malt hints of apple. Hops emerge and a dry note on the finish. Notes of rye bread with caraway.

M- Creamy and a bit slick with slight dry finish. Crisp carbonation with fine bubbles.

Really nice beer from the color to the balance and clean feel. Just a hint of malt sweetness for a Helles and is fine by me. My appreciation for German beers is growing with Helles & Pilsner styles.

Mar 11, 2021

jonphisher from New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Crystal clear, white fluffy fluffy head leaves some lacing as it settles. Has a beautiful gold color to it when held up to light.

Smells faintly of grains, cracker, some sweetness that reminds me of honey. I’m not sure if I’d say it smells like honey but I reminds me of it. Maybe lightly floral or grassy it’s hard for me to put a word to this one.

Taste same as the nose, light crackers but also something reminiscent of lemon in it’s refreshingness.

Mouthfeel is light but with a nice backbone full feeling to it. To top that off it goes down like water. I’m not intentionally drinking this one fast but I’d say I’m halfway done as I type this. It also has a nice little light touch of bitter.

A really good beer I feel like I need to drink more than one to get to know this beer better. What I like about this one is that it has the little bitter touch that other helles don’t.

Mar 11, 2021

UristMcBrewer from Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The beer is a pale straw with a big fluffy white head with good head retention. On the nose it is a good level of sweet with musty herbal notes as well. On the palate, the rich but dry malt notes really are satisfying. Underneath the malttiness is a spicy and earthy/herbal hop profile. The hops are subtle though. The body is thick, but not very full. The carbonation is alright. the swallow is a bit hard. Overall, I like helles.

Feb 15, 2021

IPAs_for_days_13 from Texas

3.84/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

L: Pours a very light yellow/gold, with tall white head with good retention.
S: Grainy-sweet malt aroma, bready, faint amount of hops.
T:Very much follows the nose, sweet from the malts, but also ends with a subtle bitterness fro the light amount of hops.
F: Full-bodied, medium carbonation, dry, smooth, ultra clean.
O: Very good for it's style in my opinion, simple, super clean & easy drinking beer.

Feb 14, 2021

Sigmund from Norway

3.54/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

(Sampled 500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). Golden colour, white head. A decent Helles with a pleasant aroma. The flavour and aftertaste are OK-ish, but far from exceptional.

Jan 25, 2021

mikeinportc from New York

3.84/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear gold, with half-finger of quickly-dissipating white head.

Smell is slightly sweet, biscuity grain, with light aromas of honey, floral hops (goldenrod+bedstraw), sweet apples,pear, and melon.

Taste is honey-on-biscuit, slight fruity tang (dried sour apple), with some floral+spicy hops showing up late, and lingering awhile.Light bitterness.

Feel is light, slightly slick, with very fine, light carbonation tingle on the latter half.

Overall , while not at the top of my (mental ;) )list, a good basic beer, and enjoyable .

Jan 10, 2021

Spike from England

3.94/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle.
L: Clear, pale golden colour with three fingers of white, fluffy head and rings of lacing.
S: Clean, grainy, rich & sweet.
T: Semi-sweet & malty. Lemony aftertaste.
F: Soft mouthfeel, low carbonation, medium body.
O: Lovely, super smooth, high quality, pale lager.

Oct 18, 2020

gyorgymarlowe from Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L: Pale Yellow
S: Cereal, flowers
T: light sweetness, earthy and botanical,
F: Light and clean

Bottled June 29th. Having had recently luck with Hofbrau Maibock and Oktoberfest, I went for an Original, and I'm glad I did. This is an fantastic, anytime quaffer. Love the classic German taste.

Oct 18, 2020

DFred from California

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light, crisp, refreshing--everything you would want in a lager--head dissipates quickly, but good active carbonation--great German Helles lager--highly recommended!

Oct 12, 2020

shambeano from Australia

3.63/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

330ml bottle, best before 18/06/2021. Poured into a tulip.
Look: Very clear pale gold, about 2 cm of fluffy white head, tight little bubbles mostly, pretty good retention, hangs around for a little while. Looks good.
Smell: honey sweetness, a bit of bready malt and a little grassiness as well. Not a whole heap going on, but pleasant.
Taste: much like the small, honey, a bit malty, there is a little grassy hop as well but its a bit more reserved than on the nose.
Feel: a nice body without being heavy, between light and mid bodied probably, tingly carbonation at the front of the tongue, and a full feel.
Overall: Solid well made lager. Very drinkable.

Sep 22, 2020

jwp777 from Oklahoma

3.98/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle:

Pours a light gold color. Head is white and bubbly. Retains around the circumference of the glass, but mostly it is gone within 30 seconds of pouring.

The nose is bready and malty but there’s a grassy or hoppy (not sure) bitterness that shows itself somewhere in there. It smells like the forests of Bavaria.

Taste is almost of exactly like the nose. Malty and on the bold side up front, fresh floral hops come to balance in the middle, and the finish is dry and, as another comment said, woody.

Feel is on the full bodied side of the lager spectrum, perhaps medium overall. Carbonation is high but not excessively. Very smooth and the yeast hangs out on the tongue for just a little while. You could safely chug this beer if you wanted, but it’s so good that I wouldn’t do that.

Overall - really great beer here. I do prefer the dunkel, but this is head and shoulders over pretty much any other lager/helles that I have had, not to mention it is readily available in the states and the price point isn’t outrageous.

Aug 04, 2020

DrBeergood from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L: Clear golden with lively bubbles rising from the bottom

S: Lovely nose. Crackery with a hint of woodiness. Inviting.

T: Cracker malt with a wet buttery start and a dry woody finish.

F: Buttery and mellow.

O: Good beer. Bang up job. Would recommend. Very approachable Helles style.

Jul 31, 2020

eazchong11 from Mexico

3.86/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Golden yellow, low-medium carbonation. White head, short retention.
Smells bready, and floral. Once I read other comments (cheater!), the pretzel smell was revealed in my nose... A very thin layer of grassy-spicy smells.
Tastes to the malts, and goes with the nose, miedium carbonation in mouth, feels smooth, short to medium ending, very balanced bitterness from hops. Again a thin layer of floral and grassy tastes ( not a problem!)
A very balanced beer, representing “less is more” but with good quality.

Jul 30, 2020

realJohnnyHobo from Maryland

3.83/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Will Hofbräu München hold up to other well known Hell lagers? If you're looking at the sales data from the 2019 most popular beer brands drank by Germany, then no. Beck's, Tucher, Krombacher, and Warstiener top the list, and this doesn't even hit the list. So how does this niche brand imported by the American german theme restaurant hold up? Fairly well.

Keeping up with the Germany Purity law this beer is flavor-packed, less hoppy, and more about the malt taste. For me, this beer reminds me of a pretzel dough taste with an ultra-smooth mouthfeel. A bit of grassy earthy flavor in the backend hop notes, but the yeast tends to stick around work on the tongue. I was very shocked drinking this after working in the summer heat at how smooth the mouthfeel is.

Jul 14, 2020

Steve555 from Wales

4.72/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Two finger head that stays a while leaving plenty of lacing throughout. Yellow gold body.

Faint smell of biscuits, grapefruit.

Taste slighly lemony, gritty. No cloying on the top of the mouth. Really smooth. In fact this is slowly becoming my favourite beer.

Went down easily after a late night workout. Great beer to chug down. Whilst this is categorised as a helles beer, to me it seems like the alchemy of a good pils and a good helles rolled into one.

Jun 10, 2020

BloodSoakedAleMug from New York

4.2/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look: Pours a translucent golden-yellow, with a two finger eggshell white head. Great color for a beer, looks quite appetizing. Head fizzles away after a few seconds, leaving minimal lacing.

Aroma: Very lightly toasted cereal and pretzels with a classic Munich malt grassy undertone.

Taste: Exceptionally good. It's very unassuming, and simple but nearly flawless. This is how beer should taste - like what its made from - water, high quality malted grains and fresh floral hops. While that might not sound like much it's divine.

Flavors of rich white sugar/oatmeal, pretzel and bitter herb with a bit of white grape on the finish.

Feel: Incredibly refreshing, at the same time supple and rich. Light-mid body, mildly creamy feel.

Overall: This is the taste that macro beers desperately try in vain to imitate

Jun 08, 2020

Singlefinpin from North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Drinking this on tap.
Poured into a tall 20 ounce Pilsner glass.
Appears golden yellow with a nice foamy head that lasted.
Smells bready, floral.
Taste follows the nose with a perfect balance of malt and hoppiness for the style.
Mouth feel is medium for the style
Overall on tap this is eminently crushable. I will definitely order again.
Cheers!

May 24, 2020

Hatchjaw from Washington

4.63/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

I remember being in Munich--this must have been around '99?--and getting caught up in the heady fervor of the big local gay pride festival. Not being gay at all, it was a moment of brash and outstanding unity between differing Weltanschauung, and the Hofbrau Original is a good analogy: golden, vivacious and something you want to support without having to put any actual effort into the cause. My favorite philosophy!

May 17, 2020

fumobici from Washington

4.28/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Appearence: pale gold color, medium head quickly receding to a shallow cap, sloppy, ephemeral lacing.

Aroma: Malt! bready and sweet dominates with hops expressing a mix of spice, grass, and rose petals. Wonderful!

Flavor: follows the nose pretty closely, with malt, correctly balanced with subtle noble hops flavors and lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: luxuriously full for the type thanks to the generous malt, just as I prefer for lagers.

Overall: an excellent example of simple, unpretentious Munich beer.

May 17, 2020

misteil from Ireland

3.76/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

look: two finger frothy bubbly head, decent retention and a bit of lacing, golden coloured beer, completely see-through, some bubbles rising through the beer.

smell: pretty big aroma on this beer actually, first smell is the biscuity bready malts, then there’s some sweetness, apples and oranges, then some hoppy metallic bitter notes.

taste: really malty, those malts being biscuity and bready, quite sweet too, those apple notes really shine, just the tiniest bit of hop bitterness on the finish, but the finish is still pleasant.

feel: medium bodied, highly carbonated, really crisp and dry, most refreshing

overall: pretty solid helles right here, just back from a long day at work and it’s the absolute perfect refreshing beer for a time like this

Apr 16, 2020

stortore from Illinois

3.99/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

330 ml bottle into a flute glass. Had 1/22/20.

Pours a bright, clear yellow gold with a two inch creamy foam head with excellent retention and lots of foamy lacing. Active carbonation. Aromas of herbal and lightly floral hops, malt, a wheaty aroma, some yeast, a little earthy aroma. Flavors of herbal hops, also a little bit earthy and floral, malt, wheat, some yeast, a pleasant bitterness midway through the finish. Smooth, crisp, a good light body, well carbonated.

A very good example of the style, pleasing to drink. Well balanced between the hops and malt, an expressive flavor and aroma.

Apr 06, 2020

hottenot from North Carolina

3.89/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

First chance I got to try this one!
Looks like a lager should.
Slightly pale but a touch of gold.
Smells malty, a touch of hops.
Taste follows with an added touch of sweet.
Overall one fine bier for sure.
Very drinkable to the point of being dangerous!

Mar 22, 2020