A brief history of beer: Episode 5, Helles
As you already know, every beer style has its own very unique story. Helles, which is one of the most famous commercial beer styles has not been around for very long (in comparison with other beer styles that seems to be around for more than 4–5 centuries).
During the late 19th century, the best seller European commercial beer style was the Czech Pilsner. The clean lager beers originating from Bohemia, were really popular due to their crystal clear color and crispy taste. So, Germans and more specifically Bavarian brewers were afraid that they may lose the leading role they had until now in beer production in Europe, they had to come up with a new beer style that could compete with Czech Pilsners and even overtake them.
After a while they came up with a new beer with intense malty character, a bit of spicy hop bitterness and and a bready aftertaste, the Helles Lager. Spaten Brewery in Munich (which is the same one that now owns and produces the Franziskaner and Loewenbrau brands) seems to be the first one to brew a Helles in 1894 according to historical sources. Helles (which means “bright” in German) is medium-bodied with a significant amount of foam when served correctly. It is a crucial style to beer history as it is the predecessor of the light lagers that are now the most known and commercial beer style in the world.
