Hofbrau Munchen-Hofbrau Original

My love for ale has kept my beer geo focus on the states and the British Isles for the majority of my 13-year beer drinking career. Except for the traditional Marzen when celebrating Oktoberfest, my exposure to German beer has been limited until a recent homebrew meeting where German Wheat & Rye (BJCP category 15) was the style of the month. We were instantly hooked and planned our own German beer dinner for the weekend (just an excuse to eat brats and Limburger). Weizen, Dunkelweizen, Weizenbock, Helles, Dortmunder, Bock, and Doppelbock, oh my! Tried them all, loved some and strongly liked the rest. Enough about my uncultured palate, let's talk Helles.

Hofbrau is probably one of the most recognized German breweries and their Original is their most popular beer. The Hofbrauhaus in Munich was one of the beer halls used by the Nazi Party, but I'm not going to hold that against them because I also like Volkswagens.

Poured the Original into a pilsner glass and served at 48 degrees. The appearance was clear and the color of dark straw, well carbonated with weak head retention. Overall very alive and inviting. The smell of malt was very prevalent and best described as roasty, sweet, biscuity, and pear. The taste was clean with malty and caramel ends with a bite at the back. The mouthful was very light and sweet with a dry finish. Very clean and smooth. Drinkability-definitely, just wish I had one more bottle. Hope our Helles turns out as well.

Julia-A
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