First Bavarian Pale Ale
Apostelbräu

Cloudy, dirty orange color. Medium-sized, white head. Grain, malt, and herbs in the aroma. Moderate bitterness. Drinkable.

 

i like these guys, have not had enough of their offerings, and was excited to see this. it says naturally cloudy on the bottle, but looks downright weirdly dim in the glass, despite an almost belgian looking peaky head, just off white and way above the rim of the glass. no visible particulate, and a ton of carbonation, but a strange almost unfiltered apple cider look. the nose is solid, sweet and a little astringent too, maybe not super fresh, hops dont really seem to be much a part of this despite it being called a pale ale, i get quite a lot from the yeast, almost hefeweizen-esque for a moment, green banana and light bready warmth, good malt backing to this, pretty characteristically german, but also real unique and rustic, never had one quite like this. the flavor has a hard cider vibe, red apples and residual sugars abound, with the yeast making it beery and the malt making it hearty, definitely autumnal, seems right on for thanksgiving week. again really light on the hops for any kind of pale ale, and the fermentation profile is unique for the style. i am sure this is different under conditions of maximum freshness, but i like its quirky weirdness now too. highly effervescent but not all that light for its lower abv. perhaps one of a kind...

 

From the bottle, it pours a hazy light amber with a robust head that lasts and lasts. Grassy and Piney scents in the nose. Lightly bitter in the mouth! Yum!

 

 

 

Man, that's a huge head of foam! I see a cloudy yellow gold liquid underneath.

A mix of hop smells I get. Grass, pine, a bit of citrus and, that smell of spelt malt that I've come across before.

The taste is somewhat hoppy, grass stands out I think, the spelt malt, as usual, adds an almost vegetal character to it. Not much sweetness to this Pale Ale.

Nice mouthfeel, easy to drink.

I like this but it does take some getting used to.

 

Spicy nose with a combination of grain and hop spice
Pours hazy gold under a 2” moussey white head, exceptional lace.
Palate: Has light grain flavors and a spiciness from the Spelt. This has some spiciness and grain character but not the clove and banana of a Bavarian Weizen. Almost a rye spiciness.
Effervescent, creamy, medium body. Refreshing.

 

 

 

Pours a very cloudy and very dark golden orange color with hazy banana yellow edges and a two finger, frothy white head that slowly settles into a lasting ring.  Very good retention with a lasting cap that leaves streaks of soapy lacing behind.  

Floral, slightly earthy aroma with a blend of spicy, gassy hops, pale malt and bready yeast.  The yeast really stands out in the nose with strong spice and wheat-like character.   Lots of bread and banana followed by biscuit and light fruit.  Floral hops stand out after it warms with grass and subtle pine needle.   Interesting take on wheat and pale ale styles.

Like the nose, the flavor is an interesting blend of pale ale and german wheat elements.   Stronger hop presence than expected, and possibly the hoppiest German beer I've ever had.  Dry, earthy and slightly bitter with slight floral and spicy grass notes along with sticky, resinous pine flavor.  There's a pale malt backbone with hits of biscuit and slight fruit but it's mostly counters by wheat, bread and banana flavors.  Well balanced and easy to drink with good flavors overall.  The hops add another dimension that's actually pleasant as opposed to American hoppy whets beers which I usually hate.  

 

 

From: The Andersons, Columbus, OH
Date: None on bottle
Glass: Ayinger willi glass

Apostelbrau's Bavarian Pale Ale isn't a bad beer, it's just weird, not fitting into any particular category, and not particularly amazing in its own. Perhaps a fun experiment in brewing to try, if the bottle weren't $6 for a pint. Definitely one I would not seek out again.

Pours a 2cm-tall head of clean, white foam, made up of very fine bubbles, resulting in a dense mass of froth atop the body of the beer. Retention is very good, the foam fading away in roughly three minutes to a very thick ring around the center of the glass. Lacing is modest, but presentable, slight washes of residual foam clinging to the sides of the glass. Body is a murky, medium-light copper brown color, totally opaque with light bringing out a lighter shade of murky brown-orange pale yellow colors around the edges.

Aroma is surprisingly of lemongrass-like yeast esters and/or hops with a touch of perfume, body odor, coriander, orange rind, and pure brewer's yeast. If the malts exist at all, they are very much in the pale spectrum and the general backdrop among which all other scents show themselves. The combination is very much like a witbier, which is somewhat strange and unexpected.

The flavors are a strange mix of pale malts, bittering hops, and a witbier-like yeast with the expected phenols and esters that usage would produce. Front of palate features sweet pale malts, modest graininess, a touch of caramel, lemongrass, lemon and orange zest, and witbier-like yeast. Mid-palate has continued pale and caramel malt characters and sweetness, lemongrass, lemon and orange zest, strong witbier yeast, modest bitterness. Back of palate features interesting bitterness, pale malt sweetness, lemongrass fruitiness, and modest hop bitterness. Aftertaste of hop bitterness and lemongrass-like esters, slight graininess and sweetness from pale malts.

Beer is medium-bodied with medium-low levels of carbonation, leading to a pleasantly foamy, never fizzy or harsh mouthfeel. Closes dry, with little residual stickiness on the palate.

16.9 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass. I didn't check for any freshness info. I assume the man on the label is in a Bavarian field?

Pours with a quite impressive soapy/sudsy head of white frothiness that my eye is drawn to. The body is not as cloudy as I was led to believe. Smell is mostly floral. The taste is where things get really interesting - if I hadn't poured this myself, I'd swear this was a witbier/pale ale hybrid (like Sam Adams Whitewater). I picked up citrus rind and spices, on top of a suitable EPA malt base. The mouth feel of a standard EPA is affected because of this, but it's OK as the brew is tasty.

Overall, an interesting brew; I'd buy another one.