Mephistop-Helles

I can't say that Bavarian brewery Faust has appeared much on my radar, in Germany or beyond. It's always been there in the background but the only one of the beers I've tried was an Eisbock I found in Barry's cellar. Today I have two bottles of more regular fare, acquired in Molloy's off licence in Dublin.

First up, in the pale blue and white livery that's standard for the style, Bayrisch Hell. I swear these didn't used to be all under 5% ABV, but here we are again at 4.8%. What happened to Bavarian luxury? It's brightly gold, perfectly clear, and has a fine head, if not a full and handsome frothy one. It'll do. The low-ish gravity robs it of fullness, and instead this is light and crisp, with lots of fizz and more dry grain husk on the malt side than the spongecake I prefer from Helles. There's an odd fruity ester kick; a little more clove than I deem appropriate, which suggests that the technical side of things may not be quite up to code. I would worry about this getting headachey if consumed in quantity. It's no classic, that's for sure, doing the minimum to pass, but all a bit rough and shaky with it. You may deem it delightfully rustic, I prefer more polish to my Helles.

Faust Pils is a smidge stronger at 4.9% ABV, and has a better head too, although it doesn't last as long as I'd like. Again the appearance is clean golden perfection otherwise. With a pils, I'm on the lookout for hops, and this one does more of a dry rasp than grassy flavour, but that's OK. It turns a little tangy and zinc-like in the finish, and I don't mind that either. This is a simple affair. I'm happy to report there is none of the overly sweet ester character of the Helles, and while it's plain and inoffensive, it doesn't sink so low as to be deemed bland. Enough is happening with the crisp pale grain and typically German hops to grant it a pass as a good example of what it is.

I don't know if pils sells at a premium over Helles where these come from, but it tastes like altogether more effort went into that one.