Leinenkugel's Hoppin Helles

I agree. I think it's really good. Leinenkugel's brews some good beers, but since Miller bought them, BAs don't give them much credit. Their discontinued Northwoods Lager was GREAT!

 

haven't tried it yet. have been thinking about it. may take your advice and try it. leine's was one of my early craft beer experiences, not the first, that was millstream brewing company in the amana colonies in iowa.

 

I have had it 2 or 3 times and enjoyed it. It's a perfectly fine beer. I can't wait for their Snowdrift Vanilla Porter to come out!

 

I just had it last weekend and I think it's probably their best beer. I'm not a Leinie fan at all, but Hoppin Helles is nice.

 

Miller bought Leinenkugel in 1987, almost a decade before BeerAdvocate was founded (and probably before many BA's were born ).

 

The attitude toward Leinie's on BA is a prototypical example of beer snobbery. Yeah, on paper Miller owns them, but 95% of Leinie's beer is still brewed in Chippewa Falls, right where they started out and not far from the butt end of nowhere. Really only two things have changed w/ Leinenkugels since they were bought out in 1988: 1) their packaging and distribution are markedly better, and 2) they've been brewing a little more adventurous beers (e.g. the Big Eddy line). Otherwise it's the same old school brewery, putting out a pretty quality product.

 

On a similar note, Shiner also makes pretty nice/authentic German beers that often don't get the credit they deserve.

 

Solid brew. I've had it a couple of times.

 

Is that really still the case? Industry reports have the Leinenkugel brand nearly the 1m bbl. mark and I've always read that the brewery in Chippiwa Falls, even after several expansions after the Miller purchase, has a capacity of around 500k bbl/yr. Plus they own the former "Val Blatz" brewery in Milwaukee that Heileman built but that's a small facility and is usually cited at brewing around 50k bbl. (mostly draft and the specialty "Big Eddy" Leinenkugel line).

I was under the impression (and the now-inaccessible TTB COLAs would show if it was the case) that some of the Leinenkugel brands are brewed at regional MillerCoors facilities. MC's coding would prove that as well - since each of their breweries is given a separate number in the second line of the date code.

 

purchased a six pack of the hoppin' helles today for $7.49. beings it's only my second helles style purchased, i'm no expert on the style. the only other was ballast point longfin lager, and if memory serves me right the hoppin helles is similar to that, sweet and funky. a little more hop character than longfin lager, but not as much as i was expecting.

 

I haven't yet tried Helles but have been meaning to, I second Snowdrift, probably my favorite offering from Leine's!

 

Yeah I dont care about who owns them but its annoying that they are priced liked craft when they arent really craft. Yeah in the midwest you can get a sixer for 7.49 but in the northeast they are more expensive which is why I usually pass on them. Im probably gonna have to pay 9.49 for this beer and I dont really wanna pay that much for faux craft especially when people in the midwest are getting it cheaper.

 

Tried it at a Chili's cause the only other things they had were bud, miller, and SA cherry wheat. Was surprised that this actually had some hop flavor to it, not bad but not all that great either. Probably the best Leinenkugle's I've had, as the others have all been sugary "fruit" beers.

 

Leinie's is my goto beers when I don't want scare the BMC crowd too much at a gathering. They have some decent variety.

 

But it IS their corporate parentage that is the primary reason why Leinenkugel is "not craft/faux craft" according to the Brewers Association current criteria - certainly this particular beer of Leinenkugel's would be considered "craft" based on its recipe alone, otherwise.

I bought a six of their Hoppin' Helles and enjoyed it for what it was. Many "Germanbierophiles" and other sticklers for "beer style authenticity" might complain that it uses the "wrong" hops and is too hoppy for the style, but on the latter it ain't like they didn't warn you --- right there in the brand name.

I will note that "knowing" (and posting) about a brewery's history and ownership is not necessarily the same thing as "caring" about it.

 

The Big Eddy series...cant go wrong

 

Big Eddy series is hard to find. Never seen it here myself. A lot of breweries that have regular lines and seperate "big beer/imperial" lines, the latter is hard to find. Not for local breweries obviously but usually the ones from way out of state. Sam Adams Big Batch series are everywhere around here obvioulsly.

 

I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if the Big Eddy series is distributed out of state at all. It's scarce enough here in WI

 

It is available in NJ (and I assume many other states). From Total Wine Cherry Hill's price list:

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