Session Helles
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

Best by Jul1921. Served in a tumbler.

A: Crystal clear gold with 1/2-finger off-white head with decent retention.

S: nice lemony hop note but minimal to no malt component, off vegetal aroma

T: Flavor is mildly pils malty with light lemon hop note but a lot of metal and vegetal

M: light and easy to drink

O: skip it

 

 

Not much taste to it, pretty good mouthfeel, balanced but light flavors. Its not too bad to drink if you want a low alcohol beer, better than a lot of domestic beers, and a good summer beer. It doesn't really even smell like a beer, low bready profile, faint lemon notes, and just enough malt for a crisp finish with very little bitterness. Crushable. Not as good as the Surly Helles but it is a good overall beer. It looks like the can says 95 calories so its a pretty light beer.

From a 12oz can:

Appearance: Clear yellow, big head.

Smell: Bready, mild sweetness.

Taste: Mild breadiness, hint of sourness, mild tea bitterness. Not too good.

Overall: I wanted a lighter beer for the recent hot weather so gave this Leinie's a shot. Not sure if it was old stock or just not good, I don't expect sourness in a Miller/Leinie's beer but this had it. Yes, it was a light beer but the flavor shouldn't be off the mark.

Surprisingly light in devoid of taste for a German beer

 

 

 

So. A Leinie's, huh? Running out of beers to review, are you? No, not at all, but there are rules to this blogging thing of mine, and one of them is that I never turn down a free beer. Two cans were in my possession when my boss handed them to me and I accepted them. I'm not going to refuse them. "Session Helles," he mused aloud, "aren't all Helles' session beers?" Well, they're extra session when they're only 3.4 % ABV.

Crystal clear, bright golden hue, large white head that settles down swiftly.

In the nose: light malt, no hops, slightly corny, but inoffensive.

In the mouth: More of the above. . Crisp and clean, light as air. Watery. Quick finish. Slides off the palate with the greatest of ease. Ends on a dry note. Fairly forgettable, though it does accomplish exactly what it's trying to. Certainly not for me.

 

 

Appearance: Pours a clear, light golden color with a bubbling body. A mild white head. SRM of 6. (4.00)

Aroma: Mild aromas of pale malts upfront. Some yeast. (3.50)

Flavor: The flavor has faint pale malts upfront. This quickly dissolves into a yeast profile and some strong carbonation on the backend to finish clean. Only faint pale malt, flavors detectable. (3.75)

Feel: Medium-bodied. Strong carbonation. Finishes quite clean and dry, but a decent body (4.00)

Compared to Miller Light 6/15/21: Pours a similar color. Slightly more carbonation, yeast. and pale malt flavors. Quite similar.

Overall: This one drinks similar to a light beer as others have described. It has mild pale malt flavors with some hints of breadiness. Yeast in the middle, with a trace pale malt and bready finish. Smooth and drinks quite well. Alcohol is well hidden. I suspect this one drinks closer to a non-alcoholic helles beer, which I have been seeing more on the market lately. Overall, it was quite indistinguishable from Miller Light with slightly more flavor. So unless you are craving the adjunct light lager flavor and trying to avoid alcohol, this this beer might be one to skip honestly. (Final Rating: 3.68)

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a bright golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, slightly sweet. Taste is of malts and grains, a bit light for the style, but not bad. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall it's nothing special, but a decent summer thirst quencher.

12oz can. Poured out a clear, straw-yellow color with a small, white head of bubbly foam. It left little to no lacing on the glass. It smelled of toasted caramel, hay and floral notes. Sweet caramel, bready malt, toffee and a mild bitterness. Crisp and sharp.

Session Helles brewed by Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, with an ABV of 3.40% This Belles Lager pours out of a 12oz can into a pint beer glass. The color is a slight haze light amber color with a small white head. The head to this brew doesn't stick around to long. There is also some nice mirror lacing to this brew, it dose stick to the side of the glass well. The smell is light with grains an malts. There is a slight bitterness of hops at the end in the smell. So far Session Helles is a nice inviting brew. Now for the taste, it is Bold with flavors. Lots of nice flavors mixed with malts an grains. The body of Session Helles is a light medium. There is nothing overpowering about this brew, it has a super nice balance to it. The mouth feel is Bold, Light, Clean, Crisp, smooth and Refreshing. Overall I am going to give Session Helles a solid 4 out of 5. I would definitely look this brew up again givin the opportunity to. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company did a super nice job with this style of brew.

 

Appearance:
Light yellow-gold, tightly filtered to brilliant clarity, Thick head that falls to thin layer and laces decently.

Aroma:
Light bread and crackers, light noble grassy hops

Flavor:
Very light and clean, mirrors the aroma, low bitterness. Lip-smacking dry maltiness on the finish, very dry and crisp.

Mouthfeel:
Almost NA light. Generous CO2 and no astringency, slightly seltzer-y, feels good given the low gravity.

Overall:
This is a great-tasting American light beer. It was on sale at my local Crest grocery store in Edmond, OK for $4.97/6pk. I am trying to dial back the alcohol and calories so this is a perfect beer, especially for warm weather consumption. At that price point and for the quality of the beer, it is top notch. HOWEVER, this is not a German-style anything. Leinie's marketing states "German-style lager...brewed with Tradition [type of Hallertau] hops and select Munich malt." It might but not enough to make it taste like a German anything. A great German-INSPIRED AMERICAN All-Malt low-alcohol LAGER.

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Pilsner glass.

L - Pale yellow. Very clear. Good carbonation.

S - Touch of bread, slight noble hop grassiness, a bit of “cider” (from the corn... more on that later)

T - The front has a touch of hip bitterness, followed by corn sweetness, then the Munich malt bread/biscuit finishes and lingers.

F - Very carbonated. Very thin. Drinks like an American light lager because...

O - Classifying this as a Helles does this beer a very serious disservice. I’m pulling my punches on the score, because compared to a legit Munich Helles, this falls short (coming from someone who has been to Munich and had more than a few there!). However, if it were classified as an AAL, this would have been 4.5s across the board. This is what an AAL should be like... easy drinking, light, lower calories, some corn/rice sweetness, but a touch of malt character to make it taste interesting.

12 oz can poured into a pint glass, the beer is a light gold with a decent white head.

The aroma is of cereals and a touch of spice from the hops.

The taste is grain/malts and a bit of German hop bite in the finish. It is clean with no off characteristics. Very neutral with a slight lean towards sweet. It kind of grew on me by the end of the beer.

The mouth as expected is a bit thin but there is crisp carbonation.

For 3.4% beer, it is better than I expected.