Il était une fois : Sécheresse
Messorem Bracitorium

 

Serving: Can
Canned: Sep-9-2023
Consumed: Oct-1-2023

Pours a beautiful, crystal clear light brass with a short-lived, but rousable, airy, dirty white head. Nose is crusty white bread, faint floral hops and a light doughiness. The flavor follows with rich but light-handed baguette malt character, faint cereal sweetness, a light mineral bite and just enough hops to know they're there if you concentrate. It is a very dry, very drinkable beer that is quite to style. A suggestion of sweetness with no sweet character, a bite with no bitterness, rich but quenching. Very good helles, but a little lacking in some of the character that some of the best examples have that make those beers pop while remaining unassuming. This one is just unassuming. I am definitely not complaining though.

3.75...4...4...4...3.75

From a 16oz can, dated 07/15/22. Served in a Messorem-branded stange because utterly proper glassware.

Pours a pale, sunshiney yellow with a two-plus finger crown of whipped egg white-like foam. Retention is middlin’ OK, leaving a wispy cap and a solid blanket of sudsy lacing.

Nose is clean and mildly malty-sweet.

Taste is in total agreement with the aroma: clean, malty and mildly sweet. Tasting sweet hay, peach flesh and white cake.

Feel is smooth as glass, medium bodied with fine, zingy carbonation. Super easy to drink and, in fact, I sucked down the entire glass before I could finish the review.

I have a confession. I’m kind of a slut for helles and, maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I’m not sure I’ve ever given one a bad review. That said, I enjoyed the bejeesus out of this. Although it was gone all too quickly. I’m not sure but I think there was some freewheeling North American interpretation going on here - the bitterness was more peachy-floral somehow and less spicy and apple-y than I expect from a European hopping scheme.