Flötzinger Hell aus Rosenheim |Rosenheim, Germany
Another from the Man Bag. How disappointing. And it’s another Hell. How disappointing.
It looked like a Hell. It tasted like a Hell. It smelled like a Hell. It was a Hell. This brewery dates back to 1543 so they have some experience and it shows.
After tasting four Helles so far I guess I can make a comparison. I enjoyed it. Would have preferred something dark and winter-like but it was a good beer. This was a very mild beer. The aroma was good especially after it warms up. Kinda bready. You kind of forget you are tasting a beer and find yourself just enjoying it while you prep dinner. Maybe that’s a sign of a good beer. You forget you are drinking it. Nothing to jump out and tell you that something is different, forcing you to stop and think if it’s good or bad different.
I drank it in my “Sin Boldly” Martin Luther pint glass. Shame none of these brews so far are made in Wittenberg where Luther spend most of his life. His wife, Katharina von Bora, reported made very good beer in her brewery there in the “Black Cloister.” This beer’s name is “Hell aus Rosenheim” which means Helles/Hell from the town of Rosenheim.
Their website shows the brew in the bottle. The can’s label pretty much matches the bottle. Here is what they say about it:
Flötzinger Hell aus Rosenheim
A beer with a mild personality. Available in the “thick” Euro bottle and in the small 0.33 l bottle – ideal for parties and barbecues. Alc. 5.2% vol., Original wort 11.9%, IBU 18.”
With over 500 years of “modern” brewing in Germany I would suppose that the hops grown in Germany probably have their own “AVAs” similar to France and their wines. Their description implies it. I’m sure American brewers know a lot about how to properly source their hops and malts but I suspect Germany has hops that no one knows about because it is so hyper-local that they don’t share their secrets. Or they flaunt them but make sure no one else can get it. Of course I’m making that up but if you were a small traditional brewery and you know that this one farm has a special soil that creates hops with a totally different profile that makes for a very unique brew wouldn’t you keep that to yourself? Or grow your own so you don’t have to share.
So I’m disappointed that it was a Hell and that it was a Hell I had already tried in September but I wasn’t disappointed in this Hell.
All I want for Christmas is a damn Christmas beer.
