Brighten the Corners
Otherlands Beer

The bright gold body is mostly clear, shaded with the merest suggestion of haze. A snow white head recedes slowly and leaves odd scraps of lace. The nose is just about perfect, offering clean, bready malt that's slightly toasty and more dry than sweet. There's also a delicate undertow of floral/herbal hops with a subliminal hint of sulfur. The flavor is softly malty, with excellent depth. Not too sweet! It goes dry through the middle and into the clean, satisfying finish. The aftertaste is toasted malt with mild hop spice. It has a light body with frankly gorgeous carbonation. Sensational drinkability. Overall, a wonderful example of a helles lager, malt-forward yet beautifully balanced by noble hops. Delightful.

 

 

Orange-tinged blonde in color with adequate foam in the Brigand chalice. The taste, and aroma, is rather perfumey, like some in the Kölsch style, plus some cucumber. Rather malty flavors with popcorn and green tea. There's a lemony note in the aftertaste with a Prickly and light mouthfeel. An interesting oddity but not as pleasing as many other Helles brews. From the 500 ml bottle. Hand-numbered "Batch No. 25."

Had on tap. Beautiful plump white foam head atop a clear golden body. Aromas of bready yeast and big lager malts. Malts run the show in the taste, very one dimensional, but it is a tasty one with notes of butter to go with the light bready yeast and hints of lemon. Feel is smooth and soft with decent carbonation, crushable. Solid helles

Served in .5l mug. Poured a lightly hazy yellow color with an inch and three-quarters of white head that had very good retention and light lacing.

The aroma had a good grain base, some light malt sweetness, and some floral hops.

The flavor was similar, just better expressed.

The body was fuller than is typical for the style, smooth, and had a semi-sweet finish.

Drinkability was good, although I doubt I'd have two-in-a-row.

Overall, a nice, solid, and enjoyable brew. worth a shot if you see it.

 

I've been craving a good Helles for about a week and damn does this one blow past almost every benchmark. The body is the color of pale straw and has lovely lacing. The nose is yeasty and with notes of fruitiness. The taste is where this shines: breadiness, delicate fruit, and a dry finish. My favorite lagers feel like drinking silk, and this one has that mouthfeel. Glad I have a growler of this and that the wife doesn't like lagers.

Shoutout to the one-half of the 2 owners of this brewery. She was so kind during my brief visit to the brewery to pick up growlers that I couldn't have been more impressed. Can't wait for Covid to end so I can enjoy these beers in person.