Sixpoint: Alpenflo Helles Lager

Discussion in 'Beer Releases' started by CNoj012, Dec 28, 2017.

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  1. CNoj012

    CNoj012 Initiate (0) Dec 7, 2014 New York

    Seriously excited for this one. 12 pack cans, Bavarian hops, and over two years spent dialing in the recipe.

    Distributed across all of the @Sixpoint footprint starting in January 2018.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I was seriously jonesing for a quality Pils last week and the Crisp was there to do the job. Here's hoping this one does the same for those Helles urges :slight_smile:.
     
  3. ESHBG

    ESHBG Pooh-Bah (2,099) Jul 30, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    One of my favorite styles of beer, can't wait!
     
  4. Tamarack

    Tamarack Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2016 Massachusetts

    12 pack sub-5% Helles? That's that shit I do like.
     
  5. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,090) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Really excited to try this. Found some additional info:
    [​IMG]
     
  6. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,065) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Surprised at the SRM of 7 for a Helles, which is typically in the 3-5 range. Should be a little darker than usual.

    Really excited to try this one though! Will def be picking it up.
     
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  7. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    100% 2-row barley. Hmm.
     
  8. ecpho

    ecpho Savant (1,159) Mar 28, 2011 New York

    Along with the darker color - I guess not really a Helles then?
     
  9. SCW

    SCW Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2004 New York

    Are you implying that a Helles typically has 6-row barley?
     
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  10. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Dunkles Helles?:thinking_face::wink:

    I know that there are some breweries who are making good beers with only 2-row, but they aren't calling it a Helles. I'll reserve an opinion on the Sixpoint until I can try it -- if I can find it. Looks like Sixpoint isn't distributing in my area anymore.
     
  11. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Well, I was doing the implicating, but I was implying that a Helles typically has Pilsner malt as its malt bill mainstay. And yes, Pilsner malt is typically a 2-row malt, but it's more than that. You see "2-row" as an ingredient and you think American 2-row barley, not Moravian barley.

    End the speculation, what 2-row is being used?
     
  12. SCW

    SCW Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2004 New York

    The base malt is 100% 2-row German Pilsner malt. Delicious stuff!

    The confusion here is you and presumably @ecpho automatically assumed that 2-row malt meant 2-row American Pale Ale malt. The 2-row universe is much, much bigger than that.

    The key distinction here is that nearly all American lager is made from domestic 6-row barley, which simply does not have the genuine and authentic flavor of 2-row Moravian, Bohemian, or Palatinate malt. These prime growing regions in Germany and the Czech Republic are our favorite for this style and also where we source our malt for the Crisp. The proof is in the taste!

    Its a double-edged sword though; a beer with 100% 2-row barley malt from these regions will have a completely different protein (amino acid) composition than one made form 6-row barley (which is typically blended with adjunct grains, further diluting the flavor). After many rounds of testing, we found that boiling the wort for an extended period of time gave us the fuller bodied flavor and drove off all of the volatiles we wanted to expel from the beer. Naturally, if you are boiling twice as long, it will result in a darker color, as there is more contact time with the surface area of the kettle.

    To be clear though, this is not a dark beer at all, it is more of a deep gold. The last actual refractometer reading of the beer came out at 5.8 SRM, fwiw. But we would have to do multiple rounds of testing with a spectrophotometer of the final product to confirm its exact range.

    Really exciting to see that there are still people who care about awesome lager!

    cheers
     
  13. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    So... why isn't Pilsner malt specified in the ingredients? Yes, American 2-row doesn't attract my attention as mush as Pilsner malt. Now I'm willing to really give this beer a go.
     
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  14. SCW

    SCW Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2004 New York

    We believe it was implied that if you are making a Helles, you are going to be using Pilsner malt. The only remaining question is whether or not you are using 6-row North American barley, or authentic 2-row barley from the original regions. Apologies if there was any confusion.
     
  15. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Now who's making assumptions? :wink:
    Honestly, that was never a question and never crossed my mind. Anchor uses 2-row exclusively in their California Lager and it's a great beer -- it's just not a Bavarian Helles.
    None necessary, thanks for the clarification(s).
     
  16. SCW

    SCW Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2004 New York

    To further clarify, we didn't want to say "made with 100% 2-row pilsner malt" because we thought that would imply there are no specialty malts in the grain bill, which there are. These specialty malts are also 2-row barleys, but they are not base pilsner malts (which is why they are specialty malts).

    cheers
     
  17. ecpho

    ecpho Savant (1,159) Mar 28, 2011 New York

    I was thinking of the California Lager too, a great beer.
    So if this is pilsner malt and noble hops (I avoid most "innovative" takes on traditional styles) I might actually give this one a try.
     
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  18. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Ah hah -- the plot (and mash) thickens!
     
  19. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I guess this has already been clarified, but a numerical SRM reading doesn't necessarily relate to color. It's more based on shining a light through the beer and reading what passes through, so a saturated gold as well as a fainter amber would have the same number.
     
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  20. SCW

    SCW Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2004 New York

    Yes, and Alpenflo is a saturated gold color.

    It gets its name from the Alpenglow, or the low-angle hue of the sun before it sets below the horizon on the side of the mountains (Bavarian Alps).

    For those of you who ski/hike/snowboard or live anywhere near the mountains you've probably seen this before. Its pretty stunning.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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