Sixpoint: Alpenflo Helles Lager

OK, I'm not sure why the app wasn't showing stuff around me before, but it is now. Still no Alpenflo, though...I guess it hasn't hit the Philly area yet.

 

Cool. I'll check them out.

Take a check of my reviews, you can count me on that list too (maybe even higher 'cause I've been promoting good lager forever ).

But my point is that the majority of beer geeks really don't understand good Helles -- not just lager. There are a lot of the Pale Ale drinkers who like Pilsner, and Imperial Stout drinkers who like Doppelbock, but I see too many reviews that equate Helles to Macro Lager. They can't seem to discern a good German-style light lager from bland swill because all they want is in-your-face types of beer.

You're up against that mindset and there are more of them in beer-geekdom than "lagerphiles."

I know it's disparaging, and I hope your new beer (among others out there) can wake people up to what a good light lager can be, but I have my doubts.

 

The malt character is superb in that beer though, and the subtle smokiness adds a touch of complexity without getting in the way.

Now if it tasted like a full on Rauchbier, that's a different story...

I find the level of smokiness in this beer to be inconsistent. Sometimes it can border on overpowering, other times it's barely noticeable. Seeing as smoked malts aren't actually used, I can understand that. Couple that with the random age of this beer (Schlenkerla doesn't bottle date)...

I honestly rarely take price into account. This past weekend I bought a mix a six, and another six pack, and it came to about $30. I honestly couldn't tell you the price of most of those beers. I just bought them.

I won't try to tell you this is intelligent on my part, just an example of how I don't really care about price.

The only time I check and do care is on the rare occasion I buy a 750 or a single 12 oz. of something barrel-aged and then I get sticker shock. Or if I'm at a bar and the price is truly exorbitant, like $15 per pour.

I was also at the bar Saturday and paid $10 for a 10 oz. draft without caring too much.

Craft beer is expensive... especially in my area.

 

Must be nice, moneybags.

 

It's a good thing brewers care more about a beer's sales than it's reviews. Many beers that review well are just one-time tick purchases. I think a good drinkable lager can defy the rating bias with repeat sales.

 

Agreed, but the repeat sales (and reviews) really have to show. Based on the typical BA opinions, can you see that?

 

Our Helles is the beer I think is maybe a bit overrated on that ticker site. Only one of ours that is higher is the Festbier, which is basically an amped-up Helles. Not sure what it is that's driving it, but people have mentioned the high drinkability. That or Helles is generally getting hyped these days

 

If you brewed an IPA do you think it would eclipse the Helles? Think about it... Don't you think they're rating to the brewery as much as the beer?

 

The quality or tastiness of the beer has nothing to do with my use of it in this context though (just to be clear). I'm simply saying that if someone was out and they ordered it because it was a Helles, the drinker might find it "repulsive" (to continue the use of that term) if it wasn't what they were expecting a Helles to be. I'm just playing off of the scenario presented by @herrburgess (Speaking personally, I've always given Schlenkerla beer tons of high and vocal praise here.) On the side note, I've also found the smoke level inconsistent in that beer. I also think that my taste buds/brain that day and the age of the beer probably play a role... in addition to simply being used to drinking it. "Thanks" guys... now I'm feeling the urge to buy more cans.

 

Just tried an Alpenflo and had to have another can directly after, and that doesn't usually happen with me. Super light drinkable and crisp, nice pure malt bready crackery light honey taste, perfect hops to balance. Superb beer. Well done.

 

Chris, isn't it great that we can obtain this beer in cans now! Plus there is a canned on date on top of the 4-pack holder!!

Cheers!

 

Not trying to derail the thread, but it would be great if you can expand on that. It's not everyday that a brewer says that one of their beers is overrated. What's your perspective here?

 

Honestly, I don't believe BA members are the average craft beer drinkers anymore (if we ever were). We are a niche within a niche, and a beer does not live or die on our thoughts and ratings. I'm interested in what you and many other folks around here have to say about beer, but I don't think our views are really in-line with the larger market.

 

I'd say you can take that one to the bank. (As you already know, self-selection in this case isn't even close to being the same as random selection. )

 

I recently expressed the same thought in a recent reply to Bill Manley:

“As you already know using the BA crowd as the measure of the craft beer market is not the way to approach things. We BAs generate a lot of ‘noise’ but we are a very small portion of the beer market.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...rs-post-snob-era-is-here.564404/#post-5935634

Cheers!

 

Just got this in and thought you might find it insightful,


"There was an issue with it being registered with the PLCB, and it ultimately wasn't posted with them until about two weeks ago. Our wholesaler can't do anything until it's posted, and their red tape is so far above and beyond (on person approves every single thing these days) that they also won't even order any items until posted, as they've been burned across their portfolio a ton in the past.

That said, even if they could have and had ordered for March, their truck only got there last week so it wouldn't have even started showing up on the shelves until this coming Monday anyway. Working on remedying asap so Ranbot and others can knock these back!"

 

Road trip to Red Hook could be in order, faster and more fun!

 

Too bad us NYers still can't find any for off premise sales. That seems weird to me.

 

If you know how picky I have been in the past about other breweries' attempts at German styles, just transfer that knowledge to my statements about my own attempts.

That said, I have only brewed this one once and for that it's pretty good. Just, that I am always going for an ideal. So when I drink our Rauchbier I am always comparing to Spezial or Schlenkerla; our Kellerbier it's Mahrs U; our Kolumbianer it's Malzmuhle and Paeffgen; etc. If I come up short of Augustiner, then, with our Helles, while I am not happy, I'm okay with it at this point. There's always a next batch, right...?

To bring it back to the topic at hand, sometimes brewers go to great lengths to get something they consider "just right" for them and their palates. I applaud @Sixpoint for doing that here. Prost!