Freie Liebe
Brauhaus Nittenau

 

A lager.

Pours a cloudy, deep amber coloration with a small, fluffy head. Smells of grainy, caramel malt and herbal, fruity hops, with a certain honey note as well. Taste is a great balance of grainy, caramel malt and herbal, fruity, slightly spicy and resinous hops, with citrus notes of orange and tangerine, as well as hints of pine, vanilla and honey. Finishes rather sweet, with not much perceiveable bitterness coming through, as well as some citrus and honey lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a light/medium body and medium carbonation.

While I didn't like this nearly as much as their Le Chauffeur Non-Alcoholic Beer, it still makes for a nice example of the style with an interesting flavor profile, although it is just much too sweet for my personal taste and sorely lacks the bitterness that made Le Chauffeur such a great NA beer. That subtle vanilla note from the Lotus hops is very interesting here, although coupled with the caramel malt and honey notes, just makes this too sweet, although I do like those hints of herbal and resinous notes. Overall, there is a slightly odd, but not unpleasant, flavor profile to this that doesn't quite seem to come together that well, but still makes for an enjoyable NA drinking experience.