Beer of the Weekend #979: Big's Munich Helles
Here is a sad oversight: I live very close to a brewery but have never featured its beers on BotW. So last weekend, I dusted and washed out my trusty growler, walked up the street, and had it filled with Munich Helles, brewed by Big’s BBQ and Brew Pub in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Serving type: 64-ounce growler.
Appearance: Poured into a flute. The color is light gold. Two fingers of white, dense, buttery head leave an even skim spotted with bubbles.
Smell: It smelled like a helles when I unscrewed the cap and started pouring, which really excited me. However, in the glass, it smells like a mix of cider and the warm next-day remnants left in the bottom of a beer can. It is really malty, but there is a touch of spice. (Isn’t that the name of a massage parlor in Iowa City? Or is it A Touch of Mink? I don’t remember. “A Touch of Spice” is a good name for something, maybe a Thai restaurant.) It lacks the grassiness of a helles.
Taste: It tastes more like warm next-day remnants at the bottom of a can. It is very light and malty. It has a touch of vinegar. (“A Touch of Vinegar” is not a good name for a restaurant, unless it serves salads only.) Mostly light malt. It is mostly bland and tastes pretty flat and old. Being old is probably its major issue, though I have no clue when it was brewed. It also has a hint of sweetness, which makes me think of apple, and a little pepper spice.
Fun facts about Big’s Munich Helles:
• Style: Munich Helles.
• Price: $18.95 for a 64-ounce growler fill at Big’s BBQ and Brew Pub.
• Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
• IBU: 13.
• Color: 5 SRM.
• Though this beer is a miss, the food at Big’s has always been on target. All the meat-eaters I know say the barbecue is amazing. I can’t vouch for that since I’m a vegetarian, but I will tell you the mac and cheese (which is smoked), potato salad, coleslaw, and corn bread are amazing.
• Big’s website says, “Our brewmaster’s recipes are heavily German influenced and he adheres to the German purity law.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: D.
Serving type: 64-ounce growler.
Appearance: Poured into a flute. The color is light gold. Two fingers of white, dense, buttery head leave an even skim spotted with bubbles.
Smell: It smelled like a helles when I unscrewed the cap and started pouring, which really excited me. However, in the glass, it smells like a mix of cider and the warm next-day remnants left in the bottom of a beer can. It is really malty, but there is a touch of spice. (Isn’t that the name of a massage parlor in Iowa City? Or is it A Touch of Mink? I don’t remember. “A Touch of Spice” is a good name for something, maybe a Thai restaurant.) It lacks the grassiness of a helles.
Taste: It tastes more like warm next-day remnants at the bottom of a can. It is very light and malty. It has a touch of vinegar. (“A Touch of Vinegar” is not a good name for a restaurant, unless it serves salads only.) Mostly light malt. It is mostly bland and tastes pretty flat and old. Being old is probably its major issue, though I have no clue when it was brewed. It also has a hint of sweetness, which makes me think of apple, and a little pepper spice.
Fun facts about Big’s Munich Helles:
• Style: Munich Helles.
• Price: $18.95 for a 64-ounce growler fill at Big’s BBQ and Brew Pub.
• Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
• IBU: 13.
• Color: 5 SRM.
• Though this beer is a miss, the food at Big’s has always been on target. All the meat-eaters I know say the barbecue is amazing. I can’t vouch for that since I’m a vegetarian, but I will tell you the mac and cheese (which is smoked), potato salad, coleslaw, and corn bread are amazing.
• Big’s website says, “Our brewmaster’s recipes are heavily German influenced and he adheres to the German purity law.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: D.
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