Munich Helles

Confessions of a home brewer #501:

OK, so I racked my Munich Helles this weekend after two weeks in the primary. SG was 1.008, which is great, it is clear with a real nice color just slightly darker than straw. Aroma was, well, a little thin, which I mainly attribute to this German lager yeast I am using for the first time and I'm not really used to lager yeasts generally. So obviously I taste it--and it kind of tastes like a flat budweiser. Now, I don't panic, it's only two weeks old and has many many weeks of conditioning to look forward to in the secondary and the keg.

However, it suddenly hit me that I really have no idea what an authentic Munich Helles should even taste like. I have never been to Munich and don't recall drinking any commercially--I brewed this because I liked the description and wanted to try something different. I actually brewed this beer before about 9 years ago, but that was a half extract with a dry yeast and I had to substitute some grains and it came out nothing like this one...

Oddly enough, today I have lunch in the last remaining german bar in the city and what is on tap: Hoffbreau Munich original. I am obliged to get one and surprisingly, it looks and tastes pretty much exactly like my beer did, although carbonated and more finished---but the recipe appears to be dead on. Now for the confession--it is not my favorite beer (especially when they had Spatan lager and Optimator on tap). It's a little thin on the hops for my taste and I expected it to be a tad bit spicier--I am undecided on the maltiness at this point since that may round out.

Now, in six weeks i could love this beer and it could be the best lagar i've ever made--I know better than to jump to conclusions early, but I am thinking of dry-hopping it to spice it up a little. What do you guys think--leave it in its authentic form and reap what I have sewn, or jazz it up while I still can?

I feel like a dumb*ss, in a Jonny Damon kind of way

nah, i brew beer styles all the time that i have never had before (mainly because i don't travel internationaly and will never ever get a chance to tastethe real version!). we just do our best.

try this link for a BJCP of the helles and it's characteristics, commercial examples, ingredients, etc.

http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category1.html#style1D

it's even harder when you do a lager because you have to wait so long to tap into it and see how it came out!!!

Well there you go--I did not even know Spaten was technically a Helles . Guess I never thought about it. My recipe called for 16 IBUs and my guess is Spaten has closer to 22. The Hoffbreau I had today was not as crisp and had less bite than a Spaten, but then again it was on tap and who knows how old it was. I have not had a Paulner in ages.

I think I'll test mine again in three weeks and then maybe add a small amount of dryhops before kegging if the spirit moves me.

I'm a big fan of Bavarian style beers in Germany, These were also the beers I liked the most when I was back in Germany because they go lighter on the Hops. Right now I have 3 different Bavarian styles in my cellar (fermentation fridege that is).

Here in the US (especially in the North East) you should be able to get at least Paulaner and Spaten helles. When I compared their taste I prefered one over the other. I don't remeber which (will have to look at my notes). The one I preferred more had more hop aroma.

And yes, this style of beer is actually closest to Bud than most of the other beer styles. But it's still significantly different.


Kai

hey guy's, i just got back from my local liquor warehouse and picked up a sixer of Hacker-Pschorr Munich Edelhell. very good! a tad malty, little hop presence, not much head, but a thin lace of foam around the glass as it goes down. will go great w/ my steamed mussels tonight!!!! give that one a whirl and tell me what ya think!

DeRoux's Broux said:

hey guy's, i just got back from my local liquor warehouse and picked up a sixer of Hacker-Pschorr Munich Edelhell.

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Dam'n. I wish I had a place like this near by . I'm lucky If I can find Spaten and Paulaner Helles.

Kai

it was new to our store. they had a H-P helles and Octoberfest that i hadn't seen before. it's not a big beer, or hoppy, but a good pils for quaffing.

jeffg said:

I think I'll test mine again in three weeks and then maybe add a small amount of dryhops before kegging if the spirit moves me.

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I'd say, try a hop tea instead. Dry hopping will not increase bitterness or hop flavor. It only gives you additional aroma which you may not be after in this case.

Kai

Kai said:

Dam'n. I wish I had a place like this near by . I'm lucky If I can find Spaten and Paulaner Helles.

Kai

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Have you tried Whole Foods? They've really expanded their selection recently and probably would be willing to stock some special requests (though I've never asked).

If I could turn back the clock I'd add more bittering hops, but I am a little leary of trying a hop tea--mainly because I think the beer may round out in a month. I thought dry-hopping with tettnanger, hallertau or even saaz might just add a little more hop perception/aroma. To be honest, this is the most lightly hopped beer I have ever made (less than two oz. total) and I am a hop head by nature.

well, after a month in the secondary I racked it again today as I had a glass carboy open up and it had previously been in plastic. Color looks great, it has noticeably carbonated and the body has balanced out quite a bit. It actually seems to have a nice malt/bitterness balance at this point. Since I only have one keg it is going to get another month of conditioning at 55 degrees--not true lagaring but the best I can do, and I may still chuck in a 1/4 oz of noble hops to give it a quick dryhop before kegging just for the hell of it. Should be a nice beer for Arpil.

My experience with drinking Helles in dozens if not hundreds of places in Bavaria is that no two are the same. The only real chacteristic they all are share are the general colour - Helles.

I can remember some that were as thin and flat as American Bud, others were heading towards an IPA in hoppiness. Some has such a maltiness I thought I had been served a bock, but they all get called Helles.

Sounds like yours is right in the middle of the spec. Good for you!

I love Helles (sort of fitting that a pastor would love hell). I love its maltiness and delicate hop character. The Beer Style series has a GREAT book on the style, one of the best I've seen from Brewers Publications.

This is a case where style and taste can get confusing. The line between Pils and Helles and export and fest can weave back and forth across each other so easily. So brew to taste, and then name it to style.

Peace!

I have been to Munich and had various types of helles such as Lowenbrau, Hofbrau, and Augustiner brews. They are so good and so fresh that they put any bottle or tap to shame. They seem to be a "real ale" in a lager form and cask conditioned. I have never forgotten the wonderful taste. A true helles is not overly hoppy and should be malty but not really sweet. To compare this beautiful beer to North American budweiser is a crime against humanity.

Helles just means "light" as in color.

It is just a light pilsner, ranging from slightly bitter to bitter, clean and crisp flavor and a tad malty.

I too have had them all over Bavaria, but still go back to my first love - Hefe Weizen!

I just talked to a Bavarian friend of mine about the beers in Munich. Especially for the Helles he said that there are many crappy and many good examples brewed there. Bases on this and my limited experience of brewing one, it is one of the harder styles to brew. Just because it relies on subtle flavors of malt and just a tad of bitterness to balance the sweetness.

I crapped mine up. I tried to up the FG with Malto Dextrin and added some hop tea to increase the bitterness slightly. Boiling the hops w/o the presence of hot-break resulted in a very harsh bitterness. Though there is not much bitterness in the beer at all, it can be noticed as a light, yet unpleasant, aftertaste.

Next time, I'll do it as AG.

Kai

homebrewer_99 said:

It is just a light pilsner,

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Calling a Helles ' a light pilsner' is like calling the US 'North Mexico'. Go wash your mouth out!

Mikey said:

Calling a Helles ' a light pilsner' is like calling the US 'North Mexico'. Go wash your mouth out!

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Waddayamean? That's what it is...a "Pils" short for "Pilsner", not "mushroom" (the other German word for "pils").

...and the US "IS" Northern Mexico...you know the part we purchased from Napolean!

Mikey said:

Calling a Helles ' a light pilsner' is like calling the US 'North Mexico'. Go wash your mouth out!

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No, it's not a light pilsner since it's flavor is not dominated by the hops. It is considered a light lager. That's also the beer style category it is in.

Kai

Again I suggest reading the book Bavarian Helles. It is very good.

homebrewer_99 said:

Waddayamean? That's what it is...a "Pils" short for "Pilsner", not "mushroom" (the other German word for "pils").

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And a Pilsner is a beer from Pilsen (or Plzen) which is in the Czech Republic, not Germany. Same goes for 'Budweiser' which is a beer from Budweis (or České Budějovice).

'Pils' type beer is a description used in Germany to denote domestic beers that are brewed in the Pilsner style. A Helles is not a pils in any sense of the word.

The German word for mushroom is Pilz, not pils.
Back to spanish lessons for you!

My bad, "pilz" are mushrooms.

But I never said Ceske Budejovice was in Germany. I've been to the CZ Rep and CB (Budweis in German) a number of times!

Figured I'd dig up this thread since I tapped my keg of Helles this weekend. It spent 71 days in the secondary between 50-55 degrees and I've got the keg around 38 degrees. It's pretty good and a nice springtime beer. It developed a nice body over time and I actually think it is plenty bitter in relation to the malt, so I'm not sure I'd go much over 16-20 IBUs. I still might have added some finishing hops and maybe one more pound of grain, since the ABV is only 4.5%. The good news is we are getting a new fridge for the kitchen so i will now have true year round lager capabiities.

CHEERs and here's to year-round lagering capabilities!

I've went to Munich last summer. The Hofbrauuhaus Is fantastic. The food and beer was the best I ever had. They serve 5000 gals of beer a day starting in the morning. When I got back to the US I went to Binnies, a huge liquor store in the Chicago area. The have 100's of different imported beers. I bought a 6 pack of HB beer. I was disappointed, the bottled import was nowhere near as grood as the draft.
Anyway, I bought a book from Morebeer entitled BAVARIAN HELLAS by Horst Dornbusch. It's a fantastic book and has a lot of recipies for Munich Hellas. Also the light colored beers are Hellas beers, the dark beers are Dunkel beers

A historical perspective on Pils and Helles. I am the founder of a beer tasting club and a homebrew group--- Pils came first. The Germans felt threatened by Pilsner beers--typically hoppy golden lagers that everyone seemed to like. They were displacing all the typical German/Bavarian dark lagers and ales of the time, and becoming more popular. So Bavarian brewers developed the "Helles" style which in German means "light" referring to the color. It was literally meant to directly compete with Pilsner. Pilsner was the first golden lager, Helles was the second. In order to be original and resemble Pilsner but not replicate it, most Bavarian brewers ascribing to this style produced beers focusing on the malt bill rather than the hops. So , in general, a true "Helles" in the purest sense, should be more malty with a delicate hop flavor. In short, if it were Pilsner you were trying to brew, then you should hop it more. If it were Helles, leave it alone.

jeffg said:

Figured I'd dig up this thread since I tapped my keg of Helles this weekend. It spent 71 days in the secondary between 50-55 degrees

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If you can, next time try lagering it at more typical temperatures of 30-34*F, you'll see even more improvement.

Mikey said:

If you can, next time try lagering it at more typical temperatures of 30-34*F, you'll see even more improvement.

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I was at the whim of my basement this year, and we had a warm winter...