Raising Helles in the Midwest

In the bubbly tsunami of IPAs you may find that you swallowed too much, and your tastebuds have been been shot to Hell. This phenomenon is now known as the Lupulin Threshhold Shift (LTS), coined by Vinnie Cilurzo of the Russian River Brew Co. As brewers turn up the volume on IBUs, our beerdrums get accustomed to the bitter noise. So next time, we want it a little louder, and a little more louder. Some beers clock in at 2000 IBUs or more! The ridiculous thing is that human tastebuds cannot perceive any difference above around 150 IBUs. The sole benefit in my opinion is marketing. The bad effect is the beer itself.

Now we know why beer drinkers increasingly want the classic Helles lagers of Germany. Several top winners in recent beer competitions have been the good ol' Helles. With IBUs under 30, the Helles leaves open the door for other interesting flavors like pleasant, light maltiness, honey, and subtle spices. I'm happy to say that the Baptist Helles from Göller is stirring up the Midwest market in a big way. Baptist Helles drinkers can't get enough. That's just what it was made for.