“Joie de vivre meets beer enjoyment and Bavarian tradition! The Pale Maibock: strong, malty with a unique hop character.”

Glassware: Stein.

Appearance: Honey-golden complexion with a dense thumb of head perched on top. Good retention and a healthy lace deposit on the glass.

Aroma: A bit sweeter than we’d anticipated. Pretty hefty notes of caramel, honey and brioche gets us underway. The spicy and grassy hops do a sterling job of levelling the malts out though. Starting to get more from the hops as it all settles…herbals, fruits like apple and pear, some earthiness. Light florals creeping in. Quite rich overall but it still displays the base lager notes nicely.

Flavour: Starts off exactly like the nose – very malty-sweet brioche and or Hawaiian rolls, caramel, subtle honey on the flank. The hops providing soft grassy and spicy accents, light herbs and earth. A prickly bitterness kicks in around the mid but it’s gradually snuffed out by the malt sweetness. Then it all punctuates on a fairly smooth, slightly dry and grassy finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and well-rounded. Mild-medium body. Light effervescence to the Co2 and the 6.5% ABV is well behaved.

Overall: It’s been about 4 years since we’ve got amongst anything from Weltenburger. Their Asam bock was absolutely superb but this iteration not so much. We found it a tad cloying and it was a bit too bitter for the style.