Muddy York Gaslight Helles Lager (5.4%)

For centuries, the signature beer of Munich was the dark lager known today as dunkel, but once so closely associated with the city that it was described as simply Münchner. When the rise of pilsner made pale beer particularly fashionable during the second half of the nineteenth century, however, a new Munich beer was born, the pale gold Münchner helles, or more commonly and simply, helles.

Generally less hoppy and more malt-driven than a pilsner, helles is classically a lightly sweet, consummately refreshing lager designed to be consumed in sizable quantities in beerhalls and bars, biergartens and patios. In other words, it is the ideal beer style for summertime socializing.

In Ontario, the helles category was arguably and perhaps unwittingly pioneered by Steam Whistle Brewing, whose Pilsner has always struck me as more helles than pilsner-like. Collingwood’s Side Launch Brewing embraced the style with their Mountain Lager, which they unwisely discontinued for a time but have of late brought back – I have not sampled the new incarnation, so have no idea if it remains true to the Michael Hancock-brewed original – and the Wellington Brewery got the style right with their aptly named Helles Lager.

The current standard bearer for helles, however, is without question Muddy York Brewing.

Pouring a rich gold colour with a slight chill haze – the soft haziness that arises when residual malt proteins are cooled to refrigerator temperature – Muddy York’s Gaslight Helles presents the classic helles aroma of sweet malt, cereally and just a bit candied, with perfumey floral notes and just a hint of green leaf. The start of the taste is likewise descriptive of its malt, with a sweet and ever-so-slightly creamy character leading to a rich and still sweetish mid-palate of bready, lightly toasted grain and just a touch of leafy bitterness with a very faint suggestion of lime zest.

While I thoroughly enjoy this beer from beginning to end, it is in the finish that it demonstrates its superpower. While classically helles-like throughout, the Bavarian-esque credentials of Gaslight show particularly well when the mild, only lightly bitter hoppiness arrives to dry the beer to refreshing near-completeness, making its initial sweetness a forgotten memory and inviting another sip, or perhaps better a gulp.

One of the reasons I so enjoy visiting Munich is the opportunity to drink large quantities of helles in its freshest form, since freshness is key to the enjoyment of this beer as it is to only a small handful of other styles. Thanks to Muddy York, not only do I get to have my Munich experience at home, I also have the perfect excuse to dust off my Oktoberfest Maß on a sunny summer’s day.

89 ($3.75/473 ml)