Bavarian big boys

It's bad form that the Traunstein beers have been in circulation here for some time and I haven't yet ticked off the main core lagers. A sunny Sunday afternoon last month provided the opportunity.

I started with the Helles, and as expected there are no surprises here. It's 5.3% ABV and a medium golden colour, perfectly clear of course, and topped with a fine white froth. The body is full and smooth, as Helles should be, and it's very satisfying to take big gulps of it. That gives the flavour a spot-on spongecake richness, and it's maybe a little sweeter than is typical, lacking hop character and with with a layer of fruit esters -- apricot and banana -- making it seem even bigger, rounder, and maybe even somewhat ale-like. That became rather cloying by the end, so I don't think this is a great session candidate, but it got the afternoon going properly. I was in the mood for crispness next.

At 5.1% ABV, the Bayerisches Pils is a bit of a whopper. It's rare to see these over the 5. Still, it looks light and easy-going, a considerably paler shade of yellow than the Helles. I had hoped for a bit of hop aroma but there isn't much, only a faint hint of salad leaves. Sadly, I didn't get the crispness I was after. The high-ish gravity makes this another full-bodied chewing lager, and while it's nowhere near as heavy and sweet as the previous one, it's not the angular, precision-engineered German pilsner I wanted. I can see why the brewery sought to make it clear that this is specifically a Bavarian pils, free of hardline Prussian influence. There's a little basil and spinach in the foretaste -- the minimum level for a German pils -- and a dry grassy aftertaste, but otherwise this is quite a malt-forward beer. There are no fruit esters and it doesn't cloy, so if you're up for a session when round Castle Traunstein, this is the beer to stick with.

Both beers convey a sense of luxury, being almost dessert-like in their richness. You need to be in a Big Lager mindset to enjoy them. My only real beef is that these two aren't sufficiently different from each other. That pils in particular needs dried out and hopped up.