Appenzeller Vollmond Bier Spezial
Brauerei Locher AG

 

 

L- Quite a warm golden colour, clear as glass, pours with 3mm snow white head.
S- It seems mild to me, I just get some malts, perhaps a touch of caramel.
T- I haven't read any tasting notes or Description/reviews here on this recently, so it's effectively blind; I don't even know what style this beer is. It tastes like a rather generic lager, except that it has a bit of added richness.
F- ...So it feels a bit meatier, a bit more rewarding than the usual more hoppier/dryer lagers; still rather blah though.
O- It's pleasant and seems well balanced. Interesting to try but I don't discern anything special or different enough to pay to buy this as a specialist import within the UK. - Ok, now I'll read the bottle's back lable! ... Ok, two things, it's brewed only when there is a full moon (dates listed for 2020+2021! => different) and that it's organic.
330ml bottle BB: 19/06/2021 Bought from BeersOfEurope/UK for home delivery.
ps the labelling is completely unchanged today from the 14 year old photo featured^

 

500ml brown bottle, sample from the importer.

Tiny bubbled froth, mild haze on a dull pale golden hue. Smells of fresh hay, apple skin, wild flowers, nutty yeast, and faint hop resin. Just enough crispness to get by, malty medium body. Kiss of sweetness from the malt, herbal earthy hops help to balance with a soft bitterness. Bready grain lingers, lemony hop and apple skin on the palate. Very enjoyable, would have no problem consuming liters of this.

Found this in Basel's central train station.
I gave this an above average for two reasons.
First, it is nice and malty (my bias.)
Second, the beer is reviewed in two of my three books comprising my classical beer education.
First, the "1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die." And because it breaks on the less hoppy side of the mold, it deserves to be on the list.
Second, Michael Jackson's 1999 guide gave it 2.5 stars of 4.
If I find it again, I'll have it.

500ml bottle from Drinks of the World, Basel (3.50 CHF):
Fresh with a nice balance, good citrus flavours & some light malts too but nothing really stood out with it though. A good session pale lager with a clean & crisp feel but it's not one that I'd go out of my way for really.

 

 

500 ml bottle into lager glass, best before 5/27/2015. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy pale golden yellow color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of light lemon, cracker, biscuit, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance of pale malt and earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of light lemon, cracker, biscuit, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of cracker, biscuit, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness and balance of pale malt and earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors with minimal yeast ester notes present. Not much dryness after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and lightly creamy/bready/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice unfiltered pale lager style. All around good robustness and balance of pale malt and earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

330ml twist-off cap bottle served in a Thumbler glass.

A: Pours a pale golden yellow forming a medium fluffy white head which dissipates quickly leaving a thin layer and some lacings around

S: Very grainy in the nose. Lager yeasts and a bit ashy too. Notes of flowery hops

T: As the nose, mild sweet grains upfront, followed by notes of Lager yeasts and citrus hops. A little bit metallic too. In overall, a dry beer with a mild citrus hop bitterness in the end

M: Light watery body and medium carbonation. Watery with a metallic and bitter aftertaste

O: Easy drinking. Simple but very honest. A good session Lager beer

.33cl brown bottle poured into an An Brainblasta goblet in Belfort, France. Reviewed live.

A: Two finger head is devoid of cream, thin, and of poor retention. Clear dark yellow colour.

Sm: Full barley body with some malt and cream. That's all me broken nose picks up. All apologies, lads.

T: The caramelized malt takes a nasty turn by the climax, venturing into San Miguel territory (aka poorly handled malt territory). The cream is stale and the barley isn't as full as expected. Simple build. Poor balance.

Mf: Smooth yet sharp and wet, but not refreshing. Doesn't complement the flavours of the body.

Dr: Average ABV, low quality, and poor drinkability make this a beer to skip. Leave this one be, lads. Fairly low price for a microbrew in France, I guess.

Typical pale lager with typical lager aroma, but untypically nice and stable head. Good, even perfect carbonation.

Taste, like smell, slightly reminds of citrus fruit, but I would have expected more distinctive taste, currently it is too watery, more bitterness would be acceptable, it was too light even for a lager . Not very refreshing, after a short while I had a dry feling in my mouth.

It is not bad, but rather boring and similar to any other average pale lager.