Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Thanks for the detail! Disappointing to hear about the Helles and Pils. Other than Victory and Ballast Point, what American Helles options do you recommend in New England?

 

Thanks for the reviews, man. Sort of loosely planning a VT trip (for the distant future) and saw Trapp's lodge in right in the thick of the beer mecca area. Was thinking it might be a welcome respite from IPA after IPA, but it sounds like I may want to temper my expectations a touch.

 

Breadwinner, for someone who obviously loves german-style beers and speaks about them well, you must go there and deepen your understanding and appreciation of them. Yesterday I saw an article in the news about air fares hitting a 4-5 year low this fall. Just sayin....

 

Keepin' my eye on that!

 

I can't say I see too many American brewed Helles on the shelves in Boston.

While I dig Ballast Point's and also Southern Tier's Where the Helles Is Summer (@steveh, whose palate matches up with mine on many accounts had a bad experience with this one though), Victory is my favorite.

I'd recommend any of those three, if fresh, over a six month old import any day. If both are fresh, I'd probably still lean towards grabbing the imports though. A well-kept Schlenkerla Helles or Andechs is a thing of beauty.

I would still go!

I hear the lodge is beautiful, great views, and fresh beer. I'd drink a liter (or whatever size they offer) of their Helles up there any day. Don't take my reviews the wrong way, the Czech Pils is the only one I'd honestly flat out pass on. The Vienna was different, but not terrible, and the Helles and Dunkel were still tasty.

 

Matt,

Some other US brewed Helles beers I would recommend:

· Southern Tier Where The Helles Summer? – Spring seasonal

· Stoudt’s Gold Lager

· Ninkasi Lux (available in VT and NY)

Cheers!

 

I spaced on the ST, even posted a review earlier in this thread! Was definitely enjoyable. I'll be on the lookout for Ninkasi next trip to Long Island.

 

Thanks, man, and I seriously hope to take up your advice. The wife and I are about to have our first little one, but we're naive enough to think/hope we can still pack him/her up in a year or two and shuffle off to Bavaria Maybe we'll sing a different tune once they're here, but, for now, we're definitely scheming of a way to make it happen.

 

I went to Vermont last weekend to that area. I believe one of the head brewers from Trapp opened Lost Nation which is in the same area (Morrisville). Their pilsner has a distinct bavarian yeast aroma to me and really hits the nail on the head if you like a proper german lager. The label on the can shows the rathaus in Bamberg, can't miss it. They get a bunch of attention for their gose, which is also quite good.

 

Go for it - we found it easier to schlep a baby around bavarian beer gardens than to chase a terrible 2-year old around those same gardens!

 

That's our thought! Our friends think we're nuts -- and we may well be -- but I think we're gonna go for it. I'm sure it'll slow us up from our usual pace of walking ourselves silly while traveling, but if that means dragging some fresh bottles of Schlenkerla or what not back to the hotel room while baby naps, well, I'm willing to make that sacrifice

 

Found the SN Okto locally: one retailer in my county so far, but they had 12 packs and six-packs.

I'm still assessing this beer because I don't want to jump to conclusions (look for a review soon); it has a great, crackery malt character that you don't find in many US takes on German styles, it has an outstanding drinkability, and it has a bigger hop character in the finish and aftertaste than any other Oktoberfest I've ever had (except maybe for last year's SN).

But... it's not a hop character that is contrary to German style beer. Just bigger for an Okto. I've had other American renditions that over-do the hop character, but this one doesn't step that far... and there's that nice malt character. It's not big and melanoidin bready, but it's not North American 2 row grainy, either. It's a nice sweetness and a little nutty in the aftertaste.

Okay, so not my favorite Oktoberfest, and it's definitely following the Wies'n profile, but this may be my favorite American take on the style thus far. Something very nice about this beer.

 

You said following the "Wies'n" profile, what color is it?

Also, have you had Brooklyn's? That might be my favorite American version.

 

Deep gold.

A few years back, I found it similar to Victory and Capital (favorite in my area), but I haven't tried it since.

 

Have you ever had Schwelmer Bernstein? Your description brought that beer to mind for me- kind of a mild Munich malt presence that takes a few to grow on you, along with a certain hoppy dryness. It's something I could find quite enjoyable in the right circumstances.

 

I've been following the airfares for a few months now trying to book my September trip to Germany... Lufthansa (and others, most likely) is having a sale from now to Weds 05Aug.... The flights I'm looking at went down about $260.... still not cheap at $935 rt, but.... Good luck!!

Prosit!

 

I was surprised to see the previous post about flights being cheap - I fly back to the US from Germany pretty regularly, and have been looking for fares for family to visit from the US, and they've been anything but cheap recently. A few months ago I did snag a round trip HAM-NYC ticket for just over $500 through Iceland Air. So amazing sales do exist!

 

Finally took some time to review the new SN Oktoberfest. I have to say that I'm very impressed with this beer. The collaboration with Riegele has produced a terrific American rendition of the style without going so far as to create a "new style." It's certainly more hoppy than a traditional Festbier, but they balanced the hop flavor and bitterness so well with the specialty malts that I can't help but want more.

 

Finally cracked the SN Oktoberfest open last night. With all the requisite CYA about my limited exposure to German beer and probably not being a great reviewer of beer in general, here's what I put down for my review:

"Pretty cool idea by SN here, collaborating with a German brewer for this classic German style. As with almost anything SN, this is obviously a well done beer, no flaws whatsoever. Pretty little thing in the glass, not sunshine gold like some of the wies'n style O-fests (Weihenstephaner comes to mind) but certainly not amber either -- more of a dark gold, maybe a touch of bronze. Little head/retention. Nose is in control, offering a touch of fresh lager yeast and the occasional snap of noble hops and/or sweetness. Palate is clean, a little caramel-esque sweetness at times, though it thankfully reigns that in generally (I have a hard time with overly sweet Marzens). Certainly some noble hops in there. Someone below mentioned a sort of mineralic (but not sparkling) water note. I can see that. It's a pleasant note. Finally, there's a nice malt finish, but I can't put my finger on what it tasted like - almost like really lightly toasted, sweetened bread. Overall, a very nicely done beer that I look forward to sampling more throughout this Oktoberfest season."

I saw @steveh call the malts a touch crackery, and I'm wondering if that's a better descriptor for the finish I noted. It was a nice, unique malt taste. Definitely looking forward to some more of these over the coming months.