Munich-Style Helles Style
- Color: Pale to gold
- Clarity: Appearance should be clear. Chill haze should not be present
- Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Malt aroma and flavor are pronounced. Low levels of yeast-produced sulfur aromas and flavors may be present. Malt character is sometimes bready and suggestive of lightly toasted malted barley. There should be no caramel character.
- Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Hop aroma is not present to low. Hop flavor is very low to low, derived from noble-type hops.
- Perceived Bitterness: Low, derived from European noble-type hops.
- Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters, DMS and diacetyl should not be present. A very low level of sulfur attributes may be present in balance with other attributes.
- Body: Medium
- Additional notes: Many beer brands known as Austrian-Style Maerzen are nearly indistinguishable from Munich-Style Helles and are appropriately categorized here.
Munich-Style Helles Vital Statistics
- Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.044-1.050 (11-12.4 °Plato)
- Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato)
- Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.4% (4.8%-5.6%)
- Bitterness (IBU) 18-25
- Color SRM (EBC) 4-5.5(8-11 EBC)
2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines used with permission of Brewers Association.