If I was to sit down and try articulate what made a world class Helles, I would probably use adjectives such as delicate, soft, deft and rounded.  I probably wouldn’t use those words to describe most craft beers and certainly not any mass produced lagers.

Other than buying imported German Helles, it is almost impossible to enjoy a well-crafted, authentic German style example in the UK.  Unfortunately, your average drinker really hasn’t been exposed to such a perfectly crafted beer.  UK lagers from the big brewers are so far removed from the style it’s an absolute travesty.

With frequent visits to Bavaria, when I was a young brewer, and with some help from some amazing brewers in Bavaria, I really got a feel for German brewing traditions and the thought processes behind these beers and I now feel very comfortable brewing almost any German style.  Despite brewing an amazing range of forward-thinking ales, Thornbridge didn’t have a ‘Germanic style’ in its core selection.

When I took the helm six years ago, I naturally wanted to add lager styles to the already impressive range. Since then, we have brewed a Vienna Lager, Smoked lager, Oktoberfest, Pilsner and numerous Weisse beers. I cannot believe it took me until this year to brew a Helles, the most popular style in Bavaria by far.

I remember years ago an old brewer told me that brewing is all about separation. I don’t think until the last few years as I have grown older it truly made sense to me.  When I talk about separation, I’m talking about separation from start to finish.

When we mash in, we are separating the sugars from the malt. That’s not as simple as you might think. We mash in at a specific temperature in order to obtain the right spectrum of sugars, so:

a) We hit the correct final gravity, which will do so much for mouth feel and drinkability;

b) We hit the right original gravity, so the ABV is what we’re aiming for.

Not only is temperature important, but also pH and liquor-to-grist ratio should be correct. It’s also important we mash in as gently as possible, so we don’t cause any unnecessary sheer forces, damaging the husk. Control of all these parameters will prevent us from extracting any undesirable compounds resulting in astringency in the finished beer.

Onto lautering, which is separating the sweet wort we have produced during mashing from the malt. It’s important to have the right bed loading and raking profile, so we produce a relatively bright wort which is free of undesirable compounds, but still has the desired extract. I personally believe that a traditional infusion mash will produce the best quality worts, but careful and controlled lautering can still produce a fantastic quality wort (I would need an entire blog post to put my argument forward!).

There are a whole multitude of reasons why we boil as brewers, but, in terms of separation, we want to separate as much of the trub as possible from the wort that goes into the fermenter and also evaporate undesirable compounds. So a good aggressive boil, with sufficient evaporation, the correct level of copper finings and a well-designed whirlpool ale aid with this process.

I personally don’t favour some modern German brewhouses which concentrate on efficiency, where evaporation rates are low and concentrate on only the elimination of DMS as a measure of efficacy. This, in my opinion, results in a distinct flavour profile and a poorer quality wort. I have spoken to other lager brewers who also advocate an aggressive boil throughout and good evaporation; I guess the proof is there to be drunk.

We are so careful to eliminate trub from our lighter German beers. We watch each cast out, to make sure none of the trub from the whirlpool is taken through into the fermenter. Rapid wort chilling also ensures the formation and optimal removal of cold break. We also employ a flotation vessel and trub off the first few mornings of fermentation. I even know of brewers in Bavaria who skim off the hop drive on the initial day of fermentation, as this is supposed to contain astringent compounds, but this is one step too far for us!

There are of course other considerations when making a Helles. The use of German Pilsner malt, the choice of yeast strain, the choice of hops.  However, with the quality of raw materials at hand for brewers these days, only a fool could pick badly here!  We are well known for using Bamberger Malt for our Germanic styles and the hops we use for Lukas at the moment are Hallertau Tradition, from the Hallertau region of Bavaria.

Onto fermentation – I know, from experience, when I lowered what would be considered a relatively cool fermentation temperature from 12C to 9C across the board for my lager styles, the improvement in perception of softness was significant.  Low fermentation temperature reduce the already low ester formation and result in a much cleaner, more delicate beer. What is absolutely essential though, is getting a solid fermentation at these low temperatures, as a sluggish formation could do more damage than good.

After the primary fermentation we lager our Helles for five weeks. During this process the yeast slowly metabolises by-products, which were produced during the fermentation, and utilises any remaining gravity. Prolonged lagering essentially smooths out any rough edges and creates a much more delicate product. I have read many times that prolonged lagering is not strictly necessary, but the proof is well and truly in the pudding here.

I defy anyone to show me a Helles which is lagered for a minimum amount of time which can complete with a world class Helles.  We also make sure we only carbonate naturally by krausening each batch.  This takes some jiggery-pokery with the brewing schedule sometimes, but ensures a much finer carbon dioxide bubble, which breaks out of solution much more slowly when compared to forced carbonation.

Probably the most obvious example of separation is producing a bright beer, using either filtration or centrifugation. This style is most commonly enjoyed sparklingly bright. Not only is this demanded from an aesthetical point of view, but also yeast masks flavour and alters the mouth feel (try drinking a ‘Kristal Weisse’ next to a normal Weisse beer).

I know there is a trend amongst a section of the craft brewing fraternity for cloudy beer, but I’m not convinced it’s cloudy for the right reasons. I would advocate a tank beer if the yeast count was tightly controlled and supply chain could guarantee the product was drunk fresh. We might still brew a ‘Keller’ version of our Helles at some point in future, but I still need my arm twisting a little bit tighter…

The correct water profile is also very important. I remember brewing with relatively hard water and after tasting a lager in Bamberg, which used an RO plant to produce soft water, invested in a RO plant straight away.  Our brewing liquor in Bakewell is (thankfully) naturally very soft.  What difference does soft water bring to the table? The best way I can describe it is that a lager goes from being 2D to 3D! 

One other final point is the overall structure of the beer, to me this is of fundamental importance. When I first set out to brew a Helles, I rounded up samples of some the best around and measured the final gravity and bitterness.

The relationship between final gravity and bitterness ensures supreme drinkability. We monitor every batch extremely closely to make sure they are in specification. If we are slightly out, we hold back and blend with another batch to correct it.

So, I hope you see what I mean about how important separation is when brewing this style, as faults will stick out like a sore thumb and ruin the desired soft palate. There is a reason why Helles is so popular in Germany and that is because of its supreme drinkability and thirst -quenching attributes.  They might not be as fashionable as hazy DIPAs at the moment, but I know what I’d be prefer to be drinking when the mercury hits 30C.