Spaten Münchner Hell (Premium Lager) - Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

jwc215

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into pils glass

The smell is of sweet grass with some fresh grass and a tpuch of fruitiness. No Euro skunk here.

The taste is of fresh, sweet malt balanced by oily, slightly fruity hops. Light, clean refreshing finish.

It has a nice body for the style. Very smooth.

For a green bottled Euro this is very nice. Holds up well. Nice taste with a smooth, refreshing feel. Good choice for a "session".

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2007 23:37:12 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Finally got my hands on a bottle I was sure would be skunk-free. It doesn't have the raw grains and lager yeast flavors of a Weihenstephaner for instance, but it had a decent hop to it. The malt stayed back and the spicy, but somewhat bland, hops dominated. Still, even if the hops weren't crisp, it's not a bad lager.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2007 23:59:59 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance: Golden straw color with a nice sized fizzy white head leaves behind healthy amounts of lacing served in a Spaten half liter mug. Aroma: Sweet grainy lemongrass tones with lightly toasted malts packing a nice gentle punch and the grassy herbal European hops do the trick here. Taste: Very clean tasting no "skunky" effect the draft really improves the flavor of this beer, sweet with a nice bitterness in the finish, session brew. Mouthfeel: Light bodied fizzy carbonation, mass produced but well done German helles. Drinkability: Nice and easy effortless beer don't think about just enjoy, meant to be drank in number.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2004 18:43:11 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured golden yellow color with plenty of carb. and a small fizzy white head that reduced to a ring with no lacing. First sip and taste was that of classic German pils .vWhat I did like about this was that it didn't have the overwhelming skunk taste that accompanies many German beers, if i'm going to drink German beers the Munich styles are my first choice. Very clean, fresh and crisp with a small hop finish on the end.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2008 19:50:00 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - The bottle is brown with some gold tin, pours a clean yellow color, nice carbonation, small head which fizzy's down to some nice lacing through out the drink.

S - Scents of sweet malt, hops, and maybe some citrus.

T - Very nice taste crisp clean and a little sweet, hoppy/malty. Nice kinda dry finish.

M - Light-Medium body. This is a nice balanced brew.

D - Very drinkable. Would recommend.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2006 00:35:22 | More by Wasatch

Jason

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 12 oz green bottle with a no freshness date.

Appearance: Glistening golden straw colour holds a decent white lace for some time.

Smell: Crisp graininess with a lemon back and some faint grape tannin as well, a touch grassy from the hops and very clean.

Taste: Fluffy crispness lifts the tongue to feel all of the tiny bubbles, a mild biscuity malt shows some grape tannin off … this show the quality of the brew by the choice malt it was brewed with. Graininess hits with a light bready and faintly lemon note, hops round everything out and seems to clean things up nicely. Long lingering grain and hop finish leaves a trail of dryness.

Notes: One of the originals and some what underrated in my opinion, this brew has no problem pairing with a plate of knock and bratwurst with a tangy kraut and some German potato salad.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2003 19:05:31 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a light straw color and clear. White head, leaves alot of wispy lacing. bready nose. Floral/grainy hops. Mild malt notes in the center. Light bodied, crisp and pleasant. Prickly carbonation on the tongue late. Quality lager, very nice in summer. Good session brew.

Serving type: on-tap

06-23-2004 01:31:05 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From 6/4/10 notes. Had on tap at Saloon in DC.

a - Pours a golden color with an inch of white head.

s - Smells of yeast, bready malts, and wheat.

t - Tastes of caramel malts, wheat, and bready malts.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation.

d - An ok lager but nothing special. Probably wouldn't seek out again.

Serving type: on-tap

06-11-2010 00:05:59 | More by mdfb79

Zorro

California

3.6/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear yellow beer with a solid white head.

Smell is a lot of grain and a grassy herbal hop scent. Lots of bread and crackers in the malt scent and a little spice is in there from the hops.

Taste is mildly sweet with a lot of herbal hop flavor. And that is about a little malty with a solid hop flavor that finishes clean.

Mouthfeel is OK.

This is my standard reference beer by which I measure all the others. Not one thing about this beer is outstanding but nothing is flawed either. Very drinkable and dependable beer choice that isn't that hard to find. I was surprised that I had not reviewed this beer yet when I noticed the omission.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2005 22:44:07 | More by Zorro

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.8/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours with great yellow clarity and a frothy white head. Aroma is definitely skunky, in a light, green bottle, not weed kind of way.

Nice spritzy effervescent feel to the beer, maybe noble or golding hops, very light malt bill to the beer. Skunky lemon, green apple to a much lesser degree. Skunky, yet crisp.

Very light aftertaste, good bitterness, this is a great beer to have with food when you don't want a big beer to drown out the food flavor you are pairing it with. A decent palate cleanser as well, without being water or watered down.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 17:51:12 | More by Beerandraiderfan

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.18/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Usual brown 500ml bottle, labelled as the Munchner Hell. Best before Mar 2012, poured into two pilsner stemmed tulips.

The beer was reviewed in a blind tasting along side the Spaten Pils: this beer was slightly dark in its golden colour and smoother, meaning softer and so bitter as the Pils.

Looks good, as already stated it is a good rich gold colour, a thin white head tried to hang around, but like all beers I've had in this style, it failed to stay for long.

No real smell, gets my usual score of 3 for a non-smelling pilsner/lager/helles.

Although there is a hop feel to it, its not harsh or too bitter (like its Pilsner brother).

Easy to drink and I could see myself drinking this sort of brew on a hot summers day in a Munich bier garden.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2011 12:11:02 | More by BlackHaddock

Gusler

Arizona

3.55/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

As I always beat on lagers and pilsners, I must own up to finding this one quite pleasant to quaff, as fair is fair and it deserves my praise. Bright gold color as it sets in the glass with a spacious frothy white head and as it dissipates, leaves a fine covering sheet of lace to cling mightily to the glass. Sweet tones first, then malt, with a light earthiness to end the nose. Malt start, with the top light and fresh, the finish smacking in its acidity, hops apropos to the style, dry as a desert bone aftertaste, and just plain refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2003 16:17:01 | More by Gusler

DoubleJ

California

3.65/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is Bavaria's offering here in the Golden Invitational, and second of four. It must score well here if it wishes to overtake Golden Pheasant for the early lead, and at 3.9, will be a chore. On to the beer:

From a half-liter bottle into a Spaten labled stange glass, it pours into the glass almost perfectly, with a darker clear gold color. The appearance rating gets a jump from sporting in it's brand name's glass, but takes a hit when the head holds up merely okay. Vey clean in the nose, with some dextrin notes. The flavor is clean, a bit grassy, hops and malts don't really dominate the flavor. Good to drink on a warm day, but otherwise I'll take the brand's Pilsner...

..Or Bohemia's offering Golden Pheasant. Spaten Premium is still a satisfying choice, but the beer with the bird on the label holds it's early lead. The South Pacific's offering is the next scheduled tasting here in the Golden Invitational.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2007 17:14:01 | More by DoubleJ

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.28/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased at the Sheffield branch of ALDI supermarket. BB 07/2008, served chilled in a weizen glass.

A: yellowish straw in colour, coming with a lively carbonated body and a layer of nice white froth with reasonable retention.
S: floral and lemony upfront, the aroma seems to give out more hop elements than many other Helles Lager I’ve tried; a very mildly tart doughy edge and powdery grains hide underneath. Overall, very clean, subtle, and simple (in a good way).
T: neutrally-flavoured upfront, gradually introducing a faint floral tinge of hops to go with the light grainy theme, while a corn-ish flavour of gristy malts hides at the back, with a faintly syrupy touch in the very end... As the malts retreat, a restrained bitterness manifests itself in the aftertaste, yet everything remains attenuated throughout.
M&D: the mouthfeel is o.k., not too fizzy, befitting the cleanliness just quite well; for a 5.2%abv. Helles Lager, this one comes surprisingly light in maltiness and clean for the palate, while the bitterness level doesn't come sufficient to live up to a Pils-style Lager. Despite being slightly mundane, this beer fares as a well-made, easy-drinking, meal-pairing beer, perhaps working well to wash down some overly-salty Bratwurst~~

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2008 15:07:10 | More by wl0307

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Crystal clear and light gold with a short white cap of fine and rocky bubbles. The head quickly settled to a collar, leaving behind streaky lace. Hoppy aroma, spicy with notes of sulfur and lemons, almost floral. Malt was quite mild. Light bitterness allowed delicate malt sweetness and spicy hops to cover the palate. Short finish of malt and hops. Crisp and dry, light bodied with average plus carbonation. I liked this quite a bit, even though I'm not partial to the sulfury hop notes. A slight bit more bitterness would have made it a little more refreshing, but it's a minor quibble.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2010 00:42:21 | More by DrJay

plaid75

New York

3.88/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a medium straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a strong spicy noble hop and a mild grainy malt.

The taste consisted of a soft grain malt and a good spicy and potent noble hop.

The mouthfeel was average with good carbonation.

Overall a very drinkable lager on draft. A good Madison Square Garden beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-24-2007 05:54:27 | More by plaid75

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at The Bier Markt, in Toronto.

The beer's colour straddles that line between dark yellow and medium gold; it is spotlessly clear, to be sure, but has an untypically intense, thick tone, one that implies more flavour and body than the average North American lager. The beer is well insulated: two fingers worth of soapy, white suds create a dense seal between the liquid and my lips.

The brewer saw no need to dress up the aroma and neither do I. Sure, it is ordinarily simple and plain, but every bit as pleasant. Clean Pils malt dominates the nose, providing a reasonable graininess as well as a spattering of sweetness. Sniffing this all night would be monotonous but beers like this are not meant for ceaseless smelling anyways...

They're meant for drinking! And the brewery has done everything to make this beer serviceable for doing just that. At your disposal is a clean, relatively tasteless maltiness that is appreciated most for its unwilted graininess. The absence of hops leaves scantly a dash of bitterness and the beer slides down the throat like a more substantial water.

The maltiness is so clean, in fact, that there is absolutely no lingering taste. None! You start to understand why Germans don't serve these lagers in anything less than a full pint (if not a 2 liter stein!) and why they drink so much of it. I could easily have gone for one of those huge steins (it helps that I happened to be sitting on a sunny patio at the time.)

It's not easy to claim this beer as being anything other than an ordinary, conventional kind of lager but that doesn't mean it isn't owed some acknowledgments. For one, clean and appreciably malty beers like this are not commonplace in North America. I wish domestic macro brewers shared the same standards as their German counterparts.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2010 17:06:32 | More by biegaman

Brad007

Vermont

3.73/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale yellow color with almost no head. Aroma isn't too impressive with a slight skunk. Taste is somewhat smooth, even fruity and goes down very easily. There's some biscuit-like taste to it and it's definitely the opposite of what I expected it to be, due to the slight skunk in the aroma. I have to give this lager props for being very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2007 03:20:39 | More by Brad007

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.88/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz purchased at the Coop on Thursday for about $1.45.. poured into my standard weizen glass.

Very short lasting head left behind nice lace.. atop a light golden brew.. very clear.

Grainy pale malts.. very clean.. this is one of the good times where less is more... I love a good helles... and this is a good one for sure.

Malty .. very restrained bitterness and just the slightest breath of spicy/grassy hop flavor... smooth lite/medium body with just enough carbonation... as it warms, it sweetens.. but not in a bad way.. the malts come to the front as they should. This is not a pilsner.. and nobody should think otherwise. This brew does not have the hoppy backbone the Spaten pils has.. Malts are the star here.

Everytime I try and brew a helles, I buy as many as I have access to in Boise.. this one is always available... the Spaten is damn near perfect and a fantastic beer for your friends who hate micros or imports... Pretty much spot on for the style .. even better on draft.. don't pretend that this is a pils... it is not.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2008 09:55:05 | More by JohnGalt1

mactrail

California

3.43/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Popping the top releases that hoppy aroma that does have a whiff of skunk, but perfectly pleasant. Fairly sharp with a light body, but nothing watery about it. Golden color with a fairly coarse head. Pleasant flavor with that same hoppy fragrance as you sip. A touch of malt and a little more sweet than typical lagers.

Not a bad drink but probably needs to be icy cold and really fresh so you get a nice froth. Seems to be all about the perfume of the hops. Modestly bitter aftertaste. In the right mood this could be fine, but it is a little unusual.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 05:01:34 | More by mactrail

RoyalT

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance – This one is a nice, deep yellow with a huge, pillowy head. The head is like lumps of shaving cream and leaves some beautiful lacing on the inside of my glass.

Smell – The Munich Lager aroma is very pleasing. The grain is easy on the olfactory bulb. This is one mellow nose.

Taste – The light grain from the nose turns a bit orangish at the taste. This is a very even flavor. The hops are done just right and provide excellent balance.

Mouthfeel – This big lager is medium-bodied and heavy. The carbonation is light and feels terrific. This one also packs a huge dry wallop at the end.

Drinkability – This Helles Lager is a bit rough around the edges but good and very drinkable. It’s a classic.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2004 17:28:50 | More by RoyalT

largadeer

California

2.53/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

On tap at Gourmet Haus Staudt.

It pours a pale and perfectly clear straw-yellow. A two finger head rests on top, retaining nicely and leaving a bit of lacing behind.

The aroma is light but clean, bordering on bland. It's lightly sweet and malty, a bit floral and soapy. Not bad, but there's not much to it.

The taste can pretty much be summarized by the word "meh", but since BA reviews require more characters than that, I guess I'll extrapolate. It's malty, clean, sweet without any hops to balance the malt; it fades into nothing. There's no finish, not much in the way of nuance. It's in no way terrible, but it is poorly balanced and extremely boring. The sweetness seems to stick to the palate after a while, which makes this difficult to drink in any large quantities.

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2010 01:48:05 | More by largadeer

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a nice golden yellow and a nice white head that left a nice sticky lacing around the Spaten tall glass. Aromas of a nice sweeter malt. The taste of a above average German lager. Sweet where it needs to be, and a bit dry. A small hop bitterness is in the aftertaste.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2007 11:12:01 | More by OWSLEY069

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Spaten Premium Lager, poured from a mini keg/can into a pint glass. Straw gold in color with fine clarity, good amount of head and lacing.

Smells of bready malts and euro hops.

Tastes of pale malt, light herbal hopping. Cracker like yeast is in the flavor profile as well. Well balanced and tasty for the style.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and a bit thin.

Drinkability rates high, this is a nice German lager, smooth and refreshing.

Serving type: can

01-09-2010 00:19:36 | More by Stinkypuss

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a bright, pale sunshine yellow. A one finger, bright white, spongey head lastst for about five minutes. Eventually recedes to nothing. Good bubbling though. The aroma has very pale pilsner malts and some grassy hops. The taste is hinting at trees, and a fresh cut prairie grass next to a small stream. Dry malts and light, earthy hops. Very reshing palate and easy to drink. Great session beer that could easily be served by the liter.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2008 21:43:35 | More by scruffwhor