Helles Lager
Van Henion Brewing Company

Crackery and satisfying. Malty and yet really clean. Beautiful smell from a Ureich pilsner glass. A very good sessionable beer made for hot July days. Canned in May, enjoyed July 5. Van Henion has become one of my go-to breweries. Their attention to German traditions really shines through.

Pours a crystal-clear golden amber with a brief surge of foam in the goblet. Aromas of grain and straw and something earthy. There is an odd winey nose. Sharp and tangy on the tongue. Malty flavors dominate with some roasted grain, cereal, and a fruity note. Somehow I taste pumpkin. The green and melon-tasting hops add to the pleasure, but bitterness is pretty much absent as you'd expect. Tasty, but the carbonation is all too brief in the glass. From the 12 oz can purchased at Bridge and Tunnel Bottleshop in Astoria. Dated 09/14/24.

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden yellow color with a small, off-white head of foam. It left sudsy lacing on the glass. It smelled of grains, caramel, toffee and floral notes. Sweet caramel, toffee and a mild bitterness.

draught
IBU: 18
Medium amber gold appearance. Good, balanced, floral hop and medium light toasted malt, with a little caramelized note, for the aroma. Medium light amount of an effervescent, slightly herbal hop flavor, with a moderate amount of lightly toasted and a bit caramelized hop note.

Canned on 7/26, so still fresh for a lager. A pretty pour, lots of head and carbonation. Nose is subdued, as with most lagers, with a light whiff of bread yeast. Taste is clean. A healthy dose of malt with light bitterness. Finish is clean but no real depth past some lingering sweetness. Refreshing, just not spectacularly good.

 

12oz can from Broken Top. Clear golden pour, fizzy head, then flat. Sweet malty aroma, corn, faint vegetal notes. Taste is very sweet, slick, bitterness at the back. Oily feel. Tastes like an adjunct lager.

Pint at Westside Taphouse in West Salem OR.
$6.00
Pours a traditional bright straw yellow body. Nice and persistent foamy white head.
Aroma is pretty spot on for a Helles, straw, yeast and floral hops.
Taste is OK, but maybe a tad to sticky sweet.
The mouth feel is pretty nice.. thinner but we'll carbonated, which helps the stickiness.
Nice enough.

Look: Dark yellow and nearly clear with a sudsy white head that is short-lived and settles to a film, leaving minimal lacing behind
Aroma: Fresh baked bread, floral hops, pilsner malt, and a light sweet note
Taste: Cereal grains and floral hops kick it off as distinctive pilsner malt pecks in to make its presence known. These all go back and forth until a very light sweet note presents itself along with grains on the close
Mouthfeel: Light but decently full, medium carbonation, clean throughout, and crisp on the finish
Overall: I dig it. I’d never heard of these folks but not surprised since the can says “Est. 2021” and they’re from this state so I had to give them some love. A good Helles and oddly reminds me a ton of 10 Barrel’s Pub Beer (which I also like) but also wouldn’t hold its own with the heavy hitting lager brewers in Oregon. They are new so I will give them some leeway there plus I always will support local beer, especially one who makes lagers