Saturday, September 01, 2007

Tony Beard's NABC Happy Helmut label art.

Tony Beard's label art for the newest NABC beer, Happy Helmut, is named for a merry trinket salesman with whom I once drank numerous half-liters of Spezial in Bamberg. There is 25% smoked malt from Bamberg's Weyermann malting house, and 15% rye in the grist. California Common yeast is used. Happy Helmut is happily soft and suitably Franconian, with the smokiness and rye qualities both present though muted, and a noble hop firmness. At 4.5% abv, it's a fine quaffer.

3 comments:

Jonathan said...

I like it. Why is he waist-deep in water?

David said...

He is standing in the River Regnitz with the Bamberg Altes Rathaus Old Town Hall) behind him.

The New Albanian said...

BBC Brewmaster is correct. I'm not sure why Tony thought it better to have Helmut in the water; I'll ask him when there's the chance.

But the river and the Rathaus on the island between channels is the signature view of Bamberg. The brewpubs are only moments away ...