Mönchsambacher Lager
Zehendner Brauerei

Mönchsambacher LagerMönchsambacher Lager
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From:
Zehendner Brauerei
 
Germany
Style:
Kellerbier / Zwickelbier
Ranked #2
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
94
Ranked #2,732
Avg:
4.26 | pDev: 10.8%
Reviews:
33
Ratings:
59
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 23, 2023
Added:
Jan 18, 2005
Wants:
  121
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by danadeny:
Photo of danadeny
Reviewed by danadeny from Colorado

4.26/5  rDev 0%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Props to BeerPanther for bringing this into the store. Appearance is light cloudy yellow at the bottom of the wizen glass and turns a couple shades more orange as the glass widens at the top. And when the label says natural beer that’s exactly what you see in the body. Lots of particles swirling and swimming around. Respectable head too. For smell I get a good fresh hefe smell. Hints of orange, maybe even a little lemon, but no banana like some hefe's (yeah I know this is not a hefe). But the smell is not distinctly pilsner either. Tasted is nutty, a bit of almond, classic citrus tang on the front of the tongue, mild hops, and great balance. Mouthfeel has got to be one of the best I have ever felt. Like a lot of German fresh beers sometimes I find them over carbonated and burp after every sip. Sure the carbonation adds to the refreshing sensation but this beer does it without the excess foam on the way down. Great balance, great mouthfeel, and a refreshing flavor equals a high drinkability in my book. The one think keeping this beer from a better score is that nothing stands out to grab my attention. Almost as if this beer is lacking a distinction, lacking a character. In the car world this beer would be a Toyota Camery. Solid, reliable, hard to hate, does every technical attribute perfectly, a perfect transportation module. But where is the passion and soul?
Mar 01, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.27 by mltobin from Connecticut

Oct 23, 2023
Photo of Gatch
Reviewed by Gatch from Massachusetts

4.93/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
0,5l on tap at HopDog in Munich. Stellar draft list. So pumped to see this so I ordered it immediately. Clearer than I expected for the style. Absolutely massive flavor with a great body and feel to match. Wow. Drinks well for the full flavor. Has a barny earthy finish with a perfect hop character. Amazing bier.

Update: enjoyed a half liter out of a ceramic mug at the damn brewery! Poured slowly out of a barrel. No words. Insane.

Another update: when I visited the brewery, I bought a case (20 0,5L bottles) for the absurd price of €16 and they mixed up the case for me with their three beers available. This beer is even better than I remember. It’s truly nectar of the monks. This is the beer I’d expect to be handed upon entry to heaven. I can’t believe it’s this good.

A third update: on tap at a craft beer bar in Berlin so I had to drink it again. It’s the cheapest glass of the 20 beers available and likely the most well-crafted. It’s just so good, I can’t believe a beer like this exists.
Mar 25, 2023
 
Rated: 4.1 by HopBelT from Belgium

Jul 03, 2022
 
Rated: 3.53 by stephenlee93 from England

May 24, 2022
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.36/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
#1819 - Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Mid-gold, slightly hazy, pours with a 1mm white foam cap that soon dwindles. 'Not a thing of beauty'.
S- Just some bready notes for me.
T- Quite hoppy dry on the front and into the finish, with bready malts in between. The malts are punchy enough to be satisfying on the palate.
F- As^, bready middle yet quite notable trad hops keep it bright/refreshing.
O- Nothing objectionable but unexciting. I struggle to understand how this is rated as 'Outstanding' here; it seems altogether pedestrian to me. I lived for 3 years in Germany and weekly bought far better beers than this for E1-1.2/500ml. Nothing here (like it's missing detail/unique character) to jade the palate, so in fact this would be sessionable, if it weren't so $ as a foreign import. Shame to sound negative, especially as for a German private brewery trad lager but expectations were much higher.
500ml bottle £3.80 Bought from TremblingMadness, York/UK as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.
May 15, 2021
 
Rated: 4.5 by steverx8 from England

May 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.59 by MrDarcy from Massachusetts

Nov 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by MTKATL from Georgia

Oct 09, 2019
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.59/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
I have found for so many breweries the zwickelbier seems like a throw away part of the portfolio that lacks vision. Not so here! Cloudy golden body that slowly clear up, with two fingers of white foam and tons of lacing on the glass. Aromas of honey, bread, wheat, lemon zest, botanicals, and pale malts. Taste is really nicely balanced, capturing creamy breadiness met with zesty, floral, and wheaty flavors, which together make a highly drinkable but subtly flavorful beer. Honestly the feel is perfect for the style, where so many have jagged edgework with the grains or booze, here it is smooth yet textured, highly drinkable and satisfying.
Jul 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.96 by serapheus from Australia

Jan 27, 2019
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap in Rome. White head. Lace. Pale golden orange.

Great Keller. Fresh and refreshing. Earthy, floral, light fruity zest. Bready malts. Very clean. Light bodied. All around great.
Jan 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.69 by Silke_Neryn from Sweden

Nov 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4.05 by DispyDnb from England

Aug 06, 2017
Photo of DJ-Hophead
Reviewed by DJ-Hophead from England

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Tap @ Moor, Bristol - Pours hazy golden with a large white foamy head. Nice lacing. Medium carbonation. Aroma - grassy notes over light malts, light cloves. Taste - Sweetish, light malt feel, spicy notes as aroma, light crisp bitter finish. This was unexpected but really nice for it. Great easy drinking lightly malted, spicy well balanced German beer.
Jun 25, 2017
Photo of aleigator
Reviewed by aleigator from Germany

4.12/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a slightly clouded golden color with a huge, fluffy head.

Smells is quite unusual for a lager since the nose does not carry any detectable malts. Instead the aromas are defined by dried, damp herbs and wet grass, together with a bright straw quality.

Drinks soft and refreshing, light and balanced with a unique, spicy yeast finish.

Tastes of straw, dried pepper, clove and old garden herbs. Turns a tad sweeter during midpalate with a well pronounced straw presence. Finishes light, yet spicy with a belgian saison yeast appearance and a soft layer of old hops.

Wow, this is quite unexpected - the yeast changes the flavors fundamentally. The beer is far away from being malty and boring, instead it packs a Saison punch, bringing a spicy peak to the palate, which mingles marvelously well into the noble hop defined foundation of the beer.
Jun 03, 2017
Photo of Ciocanelu
Reviewed by Ciocanelu from Romania

3.8/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Hazy golden color with white head. Aroma has honey malt and bread crust. Taste starts slightly sweet and bready, continues with a really clean malt profile and finishes more hoppy with a nice, earthy bitterness. Light to medium bodied, well carbonated. Overall this is a very tasty lager that showcases the solid malt backbone as well as the earthy hop character.
Nov 06, 2016
Photo of drmeto
Reviewed by drmeto from Germany

3.82/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
L:
-pours a hazy golden-orange with a medium to big,foamy, white head
-high carbonation visible
S:
-spicy,bready,honey,dough,onions,apples,blood orange,white grapes,orange zest,sweaty
T:
-bready,spicy,grassy,honey,apple,slight lemon,herbal,orange zest
-finishes dry
F:
-medium carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
Very good Kellerbier aside from the sweaty off-smell.Surprisingly light for a franconian Keller.

-medium,lingering bitterniss for the style
Jul 03, 2016
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

4.02/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a ever so slightly hazy golden amber with a largish head (as I poured it just a bit warm). The head stays a while as I enjoy the beer. Taste, ah! This beer tastes as I expect a lagerbier to taste! Recommended!
Jun 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by cbnz from Canada (BC)

Nov 30, 2014
Mönchsambacher Lager from Zehendner Brauerei
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 59 ratings