REVIEW: OTTAKRINGER HELLES

This beer has been sitting in the fridge for a few months, since a mate recommended it to me after his trip overseas. I haven’t found the time to have it yet, but this lazy public holiday monday seems like the perfect time. There’s a strange shortage of lagers in my fridge at the moment…

Ottakringer is the last of the big Vienna breweries left. The others have all closed up or been beaten out by the market domination of Ottakringer and Stiegl. A Munich Helles Lager is the German response to stop the Germans drinking Czech style pilsners. The style is much more subdued in hop flavour than the Czech style and is better balanced with malts.

My first impressions of pouring the Ottakringer Helles is the magnificent head that gushes forth from the bottle. The head is white and foamy, it is very impressive and has good retention. There is however, disappointingly, no lacing left behind. There appears to be great carbonation in this golden coloured beer. It’s toward the top end in terms of looks for a lager.

On the nose this beer is quite lowkey but the smell that is there is loaded with fruits and malts. There is a banana smell, quite similar to that found in German wheat beers. Bready malts are present as are some weak grainy hops. The overall feeling I get from this beer is that it is slightly sweet. It’s a very clean smelling lager, and it has really got me quite interested to taste it.

This is a really tasty lager! It’s definitely on the sweeter side, with limited hops bite. There is a bitterness about it but I can’t quite place what it is. The beers malt layering is impressive and spicy but by no means over the top, the flavours are actually quite mellow. There is a honey-like sensation to this beer and the finish is almost sticky, but in a good way.

Ottakringer Helles is a really drinkable lager. The mouthfeel is where this beer really shines, it has a stunning light fizzy feeling on the tongue, which helps to emphasize the slightly spicy hops. It would make quite a good session beer, in that the flavours are light and it’s incredibly drinkable. If you like Lowenbrau Original, this is the beer for you! It’s definitely worth a try if you are a fan of lagers.