Description
4.9% abv.
Paulaner is a German brewery, established in the early 1600s in Munich by the Minim friars of the Neudeck ob der Au cloister. The mendicant order and the brewery are named after Francis of Paola, the founder of the order. Munich is the capital city of the province of Bavaria, which is sometimes called "The Cradle of the Art of Brewing." It's a place where beer is an art form to some and a religion to the rest.
Currently, there are just over 1,200 breweries in Germany, 800 in Bavaria alone – more than any other country in the world. So to say Germans know beer is an understatement. Munich is the home of the Paulaner Brewery, which exists on the site of the original brewery founded by the Paulaner monks in 1627. Today the brewery is the largest in Munich and Bavaria and still one of the most revered.
Paulaner ranks number 8 among Germany's best selling breweries.
A bright, golden beer with a light, clean body and an alcohol content of 4.9% abv. Paulaner is the world's biggest selling Munich lager. It has a distinctive malt accent as opposed to the hoppier brews of the Pilsner style. This style is often identified as Munchner Helles ('pale'). Paulaner Munchen Lager is a prime example of a Helles lager, which is pale variety of lager.
The first golden lagers were brewed in Plzen, Bohemia, in the 1840s, but the golden lager style spread rapidly worldwide and gave rise to different styles, including Helles (pronounced Hell-es), which is German for "bright". Helles was a response to the incredible popularity of the Pils style beers, and the fears of Munich (München) brewers that they would lose sales as drinkers switched to pale beers brewed elsewhere. Munich brewers started brewing Helles in the 1890s. The water in and around Munich has high levels of carbonates, causing hoppy beers to taste excessively harsh and bitter. As a result, Munich beers tend to be maltier than those found elsewhere, and this is evident in the taste of Helles. Pilsner-type beers brewed around Munich also have more sweet maltiness, and some are closer to a Helles style, though labelled as a Pils -- Kaiserdom Pils is a good example.
Helles lagers are distinctive from Pilsners in that they have a noticeable malt sweetness, with a delicate balance of spicy hops, but much less bitter than a Pilsner. Though they are served cool, there is a delicious, comforting, soft warmth in the malty flavour.
Vanilla and cardboard aroma; sweetish/bitterish taste with hop, fruit and margarine aromas; woody bitter finish. Has a slight hop-extract offtaste and a generally rough hop character. This Hellbier (lager beer) is very subtle and spicy, brewed with great skill. The consistent high end quality has made it one of the most popular beers in Bavaria.
On draught this beer pours with a clear golden yellow, nice rich colour, big and thick white head forms, slowly settles down to a thick ring around the glass, good layer, good lacing and great retention. The aroma is nice, really toasty and biscuity, caramel, honey, pretty intense aroma, tons of biscuit and toast character, and some floral charachteristics. The taste is similar, a sweet and malty character up front, honey and some caramel, big biscuity middle, burnt toast, floral, very clean and malty, with a clean herbal bitter finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium carbonation, very nice helles and very drinkable.
Anyone taking a trip to Munich should definately check out the Paulaner beer garden located at the Paulaner Brewery!
This beer pairs well with German cuisine, buttery cheeses such as Brie, Gouda, Havarti and Swiss. Also pairs well with salads, pork, fish and shellfish.
Available on draught.
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