Hövels Original | Hövels Hausbrauerei
Brewed by:
Hövels Hausbrauerei
Germany
hoevels-hausbrauerei.de
Style: Altbier
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.50%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by revdrjbob on 02-13-2005
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 129 | Reviews: 46
3/5 rDev -18.5%
Beerman1977, Dec 30, 2012
4.35/5 rDev +18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is an excellent altbier and session beer overall.
Golden brown, it has a big pale tan head steadily shrinking to rich frothy ring and thin veneer of foam.
Aroma is wonderful caramlised toasty grain, bread crust herbs, leaves, pretty full-bodied overall.
Taste is nice, lightly toasty, faintly caramelly bread crust sweetness, a nice, gently dominant toasty-woody-grassy bitterness. It's dryish but with noticeable sweetness and bitterness, and an excellent, characterful session beer as a good alt should be.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is an excellent altbier and session beer overall.
Golden brown, it has a big pale tan head steadily shrinking to rich frothy ring and thin veneer of foam.
Aroma is wonderful caramlised toasty grain, bread crust herbs, leaves, pretty full-bodied overall.
Taste is nice, lightly toasty, faintly caramelly bread crust sweetness, a nice, gently dominant toasty-woody-grassy bitterness. It's dryish but with noticeable sweetness and bitterness, and an excellent, characterful session beer as a good alt should be.
516 characters
3.7/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Flip-top half-litre bottle: best before Apr 2013, poured into three stemmed Pilsner glasses @ home during a random tasting evening on 23 Nov 2012.
Lovely looking beer: bright amber, clear and healthy, on top a snow white crown.
Malty nose: caramel being the main aroma. That caramel front carries on into the taste and although not really a sweet brew it certainly has a maltier flavour than a hop one. Actually the beer is well balanced because it has a crisp, sharp hop feel within the maltiness from start to finish.
I used to drink this on a regular basis years ago: I still like it.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Flip-top half-litre bottle: best before Apr 2013, poured into three stemmed Pilsner glasses @ home during a random tasting evening on 23 Nov 2012.
Lovely looking beer: bright amber, clear and healthy, on top a snow white crown.
Malty nose: caramel being the main aroma. That caramel front carries on into the taste and although not really a sweet brew it certainly has a maltier flavour than a hop one. Actually the beer is well balanced because it has a crisp, sharp hop feel within the maltiness from start to finish.
I used to drink this on a regular basis years ago: I still like it.
590 characters
3.72/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a clear coppery amber with a thin, persistent light tan head with some lacing. Mellow aroma of caramel malt with light wheat. Fortunately the skunky whiff I got when opening the bottle was not present in the aroma from the glass. Green bottle, why do they do this? Flavor of caramel and bready malt, finishes with light grassy hops and a long hop and malt aftertaste. Starts slightly sweet and finishes slightly dry. Guess I got a bottle of this soon enough that the skunk had not affected taste. All flavors are pleasant, but very low key and unmemorable. Light to medium bodied. Definitely would consider this as a pleasant dinner beer, but would never buy it again if it is in a green bottle. Not worth taking the chance.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a clear coppery amber with a thin, persistent light tan head with some lacing. Mellow aroma of caramel malt with light wheat. Fortunately the skunky whiff I got when opening the bottle was not present in the aroma from the glass. Green bottle, why do they do this? Flavor of caramel and bready malt, finishes with light grassy hops and a long hop and malt aftertaste. Starts slightly sweet and finishes slightly dry. Guess I got a bottle of this soon enough that the skunk had not affected taste. All flavors are pleasant, but very low key and unmemorable. Light to medium bodied. Definitely would consider this as a pleasant dinner beer, but would never buy it again if it is in a green bottle. Not worth taking the chance.
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2.82/5 rDev -23.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
330ml green bottle. BB16.11.12. Claims no additives on the US label.
It opens with a bit of skunk (idiots). Smell is faintly caramally and grainy.
The flavor isn't horrible. Definitely thin for the style. A bit of diacetyl, breadlike malts, caramel, and some noble hop bitterness. It doesn't taste spectacularly fresh but it isn't awful.
It suprised me by not totally sucking.
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look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
330ml green bottle. BB16.11.12. Claims no additives on the US label.
It opens with a bit of skunk (idiots). Smell is faintly caramally and grainy.
The flavor isn't horrible. Definitely thin for the style. A bit of diacetyl, breadlike malts, caramel, and some noble hop bitterness. It doesn't taste spectacularly fresh but it isn't awful.
It suprised me by not totally sucking.
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3.68/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Pours mahogony with a small tan head. Dissipation leaves rich lacings.
S: Grass, grain and nettles. A metallic tone in the back (I find that in every Altbier I drink). Sweet malts. Bitterhops balances the malt.
T: Dry and bready. Grass, grain and nettles is what this one is all about. Bitter hops.
M: Aftertaste is quite bready and bitter. Body is medium while carbonation is mild.
O: An interesting Altbier, with the dryness and the nettles.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Pours mahogony with a small tan head. Dissipation leaves rich lacings.
S: Grass, grain and nettles. A metallic tone in the back (I find that in every Altbier I drink). Sweet malts. Bitterhops balances the malt.
T: Dry and bready. Grass, grain and nettles is what this one is all about. Bitter hops.
M: Aftertaste is quite bready and bitter. Body is medium while carbonation is mild.
O: An interesting Altbier, with the dryness and the nettles.
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4/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hovels has a thick, fluffy, very light beige head and a mostly clear (but, with tiny floating specks throughout), copper-colored appearance, with some streaming bubbles and a fair amount of lacing left behind. The aroma is of sweet & sour sauce, faint grain, and a little sting in the nose. Taste is of brown bread (Roman Meal brand), molasses, lightly-toasted malt, and a shot of hop bitterness showing itself in mid sip. Also, a shade of paperiness is detected in the undertaste. Mouthfeel is mostly watery, and Hovels finishes refreshing, mild, and highly drinkable. This is a very good light beer.
RJT
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hovels has a thick, fluffy, very light beige head and a mostly clear (but, with tiny floating specks throughout), copper-colored appearance, with some streaming bubbles and a fair amount of lacing left behind. The aroma is of sweet & sour sauce, faint grain, and a little sting in the nose. Taste is of brown bread (Roman Meal brand), molasses, lightly-toasted malt, and a shot of hop bitterness showing itself in mid sip. Also, a shade of paperiness is detected in the undertaste. Mouthfeel is mostly watery, and Hovels finishes refreshing, mild, and highly drinkable. This is a very good light beer.
RJT
607 characters
3.58/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: The beer is clear amber in color and has a moderate to high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin off white head that never faded away and left some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are aromas of caramel and bready malts in the nose along with some hints of fruity yeast.
T: Like the smell, the taste has light flavors of caramel and bready malts but there is no sweetness because this is contrasted by a light amount of hop bitterness. There are some notes of skunkiness and metallic flavors but these seem to diminish as the beer warms up.
M: It feels a bit shy of medium-bodied and somewhat smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink but the taste might have suffered a bit as a result of the long trip across the pond and the green bottle.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: The beer is clear amber in color and has a moderate to high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin off white head that never faded away and left some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are aromas of caramel and bready malts in the nose along with some hints of fruity yeast.
T: Like the smell, the taste has light flavors of caramel and bready malts but there is no sweetness because this is contrasted by a light amount of hop bitterness. There are some notes of skunkiness and metallic flavors but these seem to diminish as the beer warms up.
M: It feels a bit shy of medium-bodied and somewhat smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink but the taste might have suffered a bit as a result of the long trip across the pond and the green bottle.
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Hövels Original from Hövels Hausbrauerei
3.68
out of 5
based on 129 ratings.