Hofbräu Original - Hofbräuhaus München

bosox941827

North Carolina

4.6/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in 1L mug at the Chinese Tower biergarten in Munich.

A - Served foaming and darkish yellow in an absolutely massive 1L mug; a good 3-4 inches of head on top hangs around for a while.
S - A slight hint of hoppiness, with malt character thrown in as well. Sounds dumb, but it smells like a prototypical "beer" to me.
T - When you provide a beer that is typical served in 1L containers, it better be drinkable and this beer has that in spades. A bit sweeter and malty than the other Munich brews, it still has enough hop character to make it perfectly balanced. If you really want to, this beer has enough character to stand up to a detailed tasting, but really it's made to be drinkable and thirst-quenching, and it achieves that perfectly. Much more character to it than any large American beer, and remember, this is made to the German beer-quality law, so there are no adjuncts in here. A tasty, well-made quaffer.
M - Decent amount of carbonation despite the casking, with just a bit more heaviness than other typical lagers.
A must when in Munich, either at the Hofbrauhaus itself, or at one of the many other gardens or kellers in Munich or elsewhere.

Serving type: cask

03-28-2011 18:32:07 | More by bosox941827

alankwak

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Nice golden, clear beer with decent head retention and lacing.
S: Lager type smell. Grass notes and Saaz hop smell.
T: Smooth and moderately hopped. Good balance of maltiness and hop bitterness.
M: Nice light body on this beer yet flavorfull.
D: Very drinkable indeed. A high quality lager.

Serving type: cask

09-01-2007 04:24:40 | More by alankwak

BierStein711

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not a bad lager.

Draught into 12 oz pokal.

pale gold color, two inch fast reducing head

Smells of grain, cereal, and barley

Tastes: grain, lager yeast, citrus, and a mild grassy finish

Mouthfeel: thin

Overall, this isn't a bad beer. I doubt I would seek it out in the future, and I doubt that the Munich Helles Lager is a style I would pursue in the future either.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2013 18:01:42 | More by BierStein711

delta490

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +19%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a 330ml bottle into a Sam Adams glass. Poured a clear pale gold with almost no head and no lacing. Aroma is sweet with notes of bread and maybe green apple (there's a certain tart feeling to it). The taste is very malt forward, with the same flavors as the aroma and a nice hit of hop bitterness on the finish. There is slightest bit of carbonation and the mouthfeel is a little bit thin and both a really quite nice. A great German lager, simple and well made.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 08:25:51 | More by delta490

sagabrews

Hungary

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pale blonde; pretty translucent, head all but disappears after initial pour. Very little lacing. Bubbles rise to the top like a champagne.

S: Not the greatest; somewhat metallic, but could be result of can.

T: Crisp and bright! A happy beer that conjures a smile. Very enjoyable beer. Aftertaste is good too.

M: Can feel the spice on my tongue.

O: This is a beer you drink after a long day at work. Plop on the couch, pop some popcorn and watch/read something.

Serving type: can

03-28-2013 18:26:04 | More by sagabrews

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.16/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Half-litre in the new Berlin Hofbrau Hall: 24 Feb 2013.

Usual helles/plisner/lager look and feel: bright gold, clear and clean, thin snowy white head that doesn't like hanging around too long.

Neither sweet nor dry: neither hoppy or malty, a run of the mill brew that I enjoyed because of the place and company where I had it.

Nothing stands this apart from the thousands of simular brews around the world: refreshing but standard fare really. Just above your average mass produced lager type beers.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2013 15:00:07 | More by BlackHaddock

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

500ml bottle, at least they make 'em brown for the Canadian market.

This beer pours a clear, bright golden yellow colour, with two beefy fingers of puffy, loosely foamy white head, which leaves some circular bands of patchy, fuzzy lace around the glass as it recedes in an orderly manner.

It smells of grainy pale malt, raw cereals, a touch of field honey, mildly zingy lemon rind, and some softly skunky, grassy hops. The taste is more cereal-like grainy malt, a bit of lightly-toasted white bread, subtle overripe lemon peel, grassy, somewhat weedy hops, and a slightly stoney underlying mineral stripe.

The carbonation is perfunctory in its supportive workings, no more, no less, the body a decent medium weight, sturdy and working-man smooth. It finishes a tad off-dry, the graininess and understated grassy hops contending with a lingering honeyed sweetness.

Another of those German lagers, the kind where you start to wonder why you're wasting your time analyzing it, when a good chunk of your DNA has been co-opted by the general laid-back, but still stern, uh, pleasantness of this offering, and whether you should just get on with the drinking. I'm strongly to inclined to just say 'Prost' to it all right now.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 01:12:06 | More by biboergosum

dogfishandi

New York

2.95/5  rDev -22%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

11.2oz green bottle at fridge temp poured into a pint.

Pours out a very clear golden color, very small amount of sediment if you look hard enough. About one fingers worth of white head that fades to a thin yet retentive layer. Some nice sticky, sporadic lacing. Lots of carbonation bubbles rushing to the top.

A bit skunky and bland. Mineral lager yeast and some grains.

Similar to the aroma. Mineral, almost sulfer lager yeast, sweet cereal grains, hints of butter, finishes with a bit of crisp hop bitterness.

Crisp, refreshing, light bodied. A bit watery.

Pretty standard lager. Only slightly better than most American macros, not something I would strive to drink again.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 21:56:39 | More by dogfishandi

TheSixthRing

California

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Pours a crystal clear, golden yellow color with a white, 2 finger head. Good retention. Very little in the way of lace.

Smell - Aroma consists of grainy bread and honey malts, with a bit of grassy hop sitting beneath.

Taste - Flavor is predominantly light honey upfront, with a grainy malt malt backbone. Malt forward to begin, but by mid-taste the grassy hop character beings to cut through, then shows more presence near the finish. Good balance, though finishes more sweet than bitter.

Mouthfeel - Leans close to medium bodied, with a fair amount of carbonation. The sweetness leads to fantastic smoothness and drinkability; goes down nice and easy. One of the more impressive lagers in terms of mouthfeel.

Overall - Great all-around lager. Flavorful, without being cloying. If I were in the mood for a "honeyfied" sweet brew, I'd definitely buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 23:32:34 | More by TheSixthRing

FLima

Brazil

3.43/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very dense and abundant. Vibrant golden color. Good carbonation.
Faint aroma from malt and hops.
Strong grassy hops flavor mingled with mild sweetness from malt. Refreshing taste and very German.
Bitter and dry finish. Once it gets warmer you can better feel the grains.
Classic one, even nicer when having it at Hofbrau in Munich.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 14:41:54 | More by FLima

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

11.2oz bottle poured into a 0.2l Rastel pokal glass. Date stamp on bottle" L 156 L 09:47

Appearance: Bright golden yellow. Rocky white foam upon pouring died back to a thin skin across the stop. Lots of crazed lacing noted that would slowly slide back down the glass. Plenty of nice bubbles coming up through the glass.

Smell: Strongly metallic with some herbal and floral thrown in for good measure. I can see why on the bottle back they mention "fine harsh aroma". Surprisingly it works here whereas you'd think by itself it wouldn't.

Taste: Solid malt up front and in the middle with a hint of caramel merging in the middle with the spicy German hops. Bitter finish is part metallic, part spicy, part skunky, part floral, part tea-like. Plenty of flavor and very German in style, classic really, but not outstanding. I think it needs a bit more malt.

Mouthfeel: At first quite fizzy, but later it became more lively in carbonation but not fizzy. Spicy carbonation on the tongue. A little bit sticky underneath the carbonation.

Overall / Drinkability: Not bad. Not the best German lager I've ever had, but not bad. I think the beer needs a bit more malt to balance out the hops, but, I think this beer would work really good with food. I had it by itself and I keep thinking I need something to pair it with and so drinkability is not high - one is enough.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 00:28:39 | More by damndirtyape

pkalix

California

4.23/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

oktoberfest... must review german beers...
pours a perfectly straw, clear.... small head.
smells.... like a dry, lager-y brew.
tastes.... like a dry, lager-y brew, with some hop bitterness on the side. very balanced and round taste.
feels heavy, thick, and fulfilling.
overall, why is there only ONE october review of this brew? oh, probably because everyone in the world has already had this beer, and reviewed it YEARS ago.... there is a slight 'cereal' taste to this one. it's very 'commercial' and very drinkable. seems most of germany's 'commercial' products can qualify as a 'standard' for many other parts of the world.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2012 00:08:10 | More by pkalix

JednoPivoProsim

Maryland

4.28/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from an 11.2 fl. oz. bottle into a pint glass. Purchased at the Hofbraeuhaus Pittsburgh - six pack to go.

Appearance: Pours a standard pale lager yellow with a decent soft fluffy head. Good looking beer.

Smell: Grassy Euro hops. Slightly grainy.

Taste: Refreshingly bitter. Grassy, slightly floral, Euro hops. Lots of grain. Biscuity but not buttery.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied yet light at the same time. Good aftertaste. Very nice.

Overall: Not too much to say about this Helles, other than it is a good one!

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 18:36:15 | More by JednoPivoProsim

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Pilsener Haus in Hoboken, NJ

A: Pours a crystal clear pale golden yellow in color with light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall white head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of extremely thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of grainy malts with some lighter notes of floral hops.

T: Moderate flavors of grainy malts with just a hint of sweetness. There is a light to moderate amount of bitterness from the floral hops throughout the entire taste of the beer. Very light metallic hints are also present.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Clean and crisp.

O: Very easy to drink but not surprising for a beer that is designed to be drank from one liter mugs. Pairs very well with a meat and sausage heavy cuisine.

Serving type: on-tap

09-03-2012 18:37:53 | More by dbrauneis

jsprain1

Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Yellow golden. Clear. Head is big and white, and lasts quite well. Fair amount of lacing.
S- Clean, grassy, grainy, a bit sweet.
T- The taste is very clean and inoffensive. There is a bit of grassy, grainy, and a touch of lemon. Otherwise, clean breadyness.
M- Medium body, crisp carbonation, exactly what I want from a helles lager.
O- It's exactly what I want from a helles, clean crisp flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

08-31-2012 02:13:31 | More by jsprain1

jonb5

United Kingdom (England)

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Half litre bottle, poured into pint glass. One and a half finger head which wasn't retained well. Pale colour, clear. Aroma was Saaz hop with citrus notes and a hint of malt. Tasted Munich malts, had a sharp after taste, fairly sweet, slightly fruity. Moderate carbonation, fairly smooth, crisp body. Very easy to drink, good warm weather beer. Typical Munich Helles Lager.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 08:49:33 | More by jonb5

fields336

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 mL bottle, in Hofbrau stein

A: goldenrod yellow with a solid 2 finger white head. lacing is excellent. lots of carbonation

S: grain, sweet, husk, noble hop presence, malt

T: malty sweet, grain, with a slight noble hop character. leaves a bitter, hoppy aftertaste.

M: medium body, sweet finish, nice carbonation.

O: a delicious munich helles. pretty standard

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 03:39:00 | More by fields336

adams82

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a light gold/straw color with a billowy white head. Bready and fruity aromas; delicate hop scent. Flavor is malty; a little grainy, with some hop flavors/bitterness. Nice and dry, effervescent, but not chock full of flavor reducing adjunts.

Well suited for, but not limited to, hot summer days; Hofbrau Original is a minimally invasive, and well crafted lager. It's crisp, clean, refreshing and begs to be sipped on all day.

I can also tell you from experience, that this beer goes very well with generous portions of chicken and veal. I have very happy memories swilling on litre mugs of this stuff at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, MI, before and after a gigantic meal.

A style that I don't see too much, but I really enjoy and this one is well done by Hofbrau.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 00:07:20 | More by adams82

zaxhere247

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I purchased a 13.5 gallon or 50 liter keg of Hofbrau Original Munich Lager or "Helles" this month for the kegerator.

Classic Munich lager that becons the Biergarten!

A - Golden color and very clear, no chill haze here. Great carbonation.

S - After pouring into a [beer-glass-clean] glass I smell mild malts and Hallertauer hops.

T - The favors begin with the mild malts that blend in with mildly spiced hop flavors that linger. A well balance helles.

M - Light and balanced,a refreshing light beer.

O - Typical drinkable Munich helles. I will purchase another keg in the future.

I enjoyed drinking this while I lived in Munich near the Hofbraukeller. An awesome Biergarten and not touristy like the Hofbrauhaus. I am glad I can get HB in Arizona now.

Prost!

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2012 22:48:26 | More by zaxhere247

Hoptometrist

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap

A- Poured a super bright slightly hazy golden color with a two finger fluffy head that left some chunky lace

S- Nice aromatic and balanced aroma of lemon, grains, pilsner malt, and breadiness

T- Very fresh tasting, balanced taste of lemon, grains, pilsner malt, and breadiness

M- Very refreshing, crisp, effervescent, high carbonation, dry

O- A very sessionable, refreshing, and flavorful lager

Serving type: on-tap

07-16-2012 03:24:12 | More by Hoptometrist

Vixie

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear yellow with a full white head. Been some time since I've had a beer that pours this clear.

Smell is mainly malt with a hint of yeast.

A bit malty at first, then the hops come in, I'd describe them as being more pine and floral.

Nice feel to this one, nothing to complain about.

Quite a flavorful beer, if mass market lagers had this much flavor, I'd be buying them. While not my favorite style, this has to be one of the better lagers I have tried.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2012 00:54:45 | More by Vixie

articode

4.23/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Crystal clear golden color with 2-finger white head - quickly dissapating
S: Very bready, medium grainy
T: Light and well-balanced, nothing stands out, but in a good way
M: Quickly and highly expanding finely-textured carbonation, but not over-carbonated
O: One of the best German lagers that I've ever tasted. Extremely well balanced. Not sweet or sour, and a nearly perfect blend of hop, malt, yeast, and grain flavors -- at least for me. Perfect at 35 degrees or so.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 00:38:55 | More by articode

SmashPants

Australia

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: green bottle with reasonable German-style macro label. Nothing special.

Appearance: pours a golden colour with a light haze. Decent white head.

Aroma: floral notes, light grassy, lemon zest, and a few biscuity malts.

Taste: pilsener malts and some noble hops. Banana flavours up front.

Aftertaste: hops carries through with a touch of tobacco.

Mouth feel: lighter bodied, medium carbonation brew. Actually suits the style well, though still not brilliant.

Overall: quite a nice lager / wheat beer cross-over, bit too expensive though, at AU$70-ish a case (2012).

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 11:00:27 | More by SmashPants

Grohnke

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

(BA / BJCP)

look: pale gold, brilliantly clear. Well forming, and holding, condensed creamy white head ( 5 / 3)

smell: Clean aroma. Light noble hop. Moderate toasty malt. No esters. Slight sulfur note came and went. ( 3.5 / 8)

taste:Moderate light, clean toasty/grainy/pils malt is in the forefront, with a light spicy noble hop character. Noticeable hop bitterness, enough to carry the malt. No esters. Finishes clean, and moderately dry. Well balanced between the bitterness and malt. Crisp. Aftertaste is light lingering bitterness, but the malt here takes over. Very slight vegetal taste in the aftertaste. ( 4 / 17)

Mouth: Light-Medium body, moderate carbonation. No astringency. Crisp. ( 5 / 5)

Overall: Well balanced, clean lager. Malt flavor and Hop bitterness are strong enough to add some great character, and the light spicy note adds some pleasing complexity. Not so much the immediate aftertaste, but the lingering aftertaste detracted from the overall clean impression with the noticeable vegetal flavor. (4 / 8)

( 4.05 / 41)

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 01:26:24 | More by Grohnke

CreamCity

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into pint glass

S- Floral, grassy, lemon, salt, a bit wine like (white)

A- Golden yellow, heavy carbonation, pure white thick head, heavy lacing

T- Malt at first, bready, pleasant hint of hops, sweet

M- Light body, refreshing, good amount of carbonation

O- Very drinkable, perfect for a hot summer day

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 06:53:22 | More by CreamCity