Löwenbräu Original

First Brewed: 1383, although the formula has changed since then
Brewery Location: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
ABV: 5.2%

History & Availability: So I'm going back through my list and I'm realizing this is the first actual Bavarian beer I've rated yet. If there's one thing you should know about Bavaria, it's the beer, and so this section will serve as a mini history lesson. Bavarians love their beer. The whole region is drenched in it. Bavaria has more breweries than the entire rest of Germany combined (641 of 1275 in 2003), and they host Oktoberfest every year, which traditionally was an agricultural show (and originally a celebration of Ludwig I's marriage) but has become famous for being the largest beer festival in the world, with over 5 million people traveling to Munich to celebrate beer annually. This is serious business. And so as one of only six breweries allowed to operate a tent at Oktoberfest, you know Löwenbräu is serious business too. (Side note: although almost everyone in the U.S. pronounces the name of the brewery something like "Lo-wen-brow," the proper German pronunciation sounds more like "Ler-ven-broi" due to the umlauts. The more you know!)

As for the beer itself, although the recipe has obviously changed over the years due to the Reinheitsgebot and all that, Löwenbräu Original is nominally the same beer that was first served at the Lion's Inn ("Zum Löwen," hence the name) over 600 years ago, which I think is pretty neat. It was absurdly popular in the U.S. in the '80s, which interestingly enough was during the short period of time it was brewed for the North American market under license by Miller (which I'm sure is a name you all recognize), and in fact they used a totally different recipe than the actual Löwenbräu in Germany used, adding corn and taking out a good bit of real malt. Since 2002 Löwenbräu beer in North America has been reverted to the original recipe and is no longer brewed by Miller-Coors (thankfully).

I'll tell you one thing though, these people sure know how to sell a beer:

Appearance: Löwenbräu is a pastel yellow color reminiscent of straw. It pours with a decent-sized but weak white and fizzy head, which has above-average retention for the style. Of course, although it's technically a helles lager, it shares a lot of the pilsner style so as a result its head retention is really nothing special.

Smell: Like old coins. It's a lot like Beck's, a lot like Pilsner Urquell, a lot like most pilsners in fact. I'm a little disappointed that there's essentially no variation between all the beers of this style.

Taste: Still metallic, although I find that there is a little more hops presence than I found in any of the other pilsners I've rated. As I've mentioned for pretty much every other beer in the style, it's not something that stands out in any unique way. It's not a bad taste, but it's simply not interesting enough to keep me coming back.

Mouthfeel: A little bit heavier than the average pils. Carbonation is not too overwhelming, which is a problem that seems to plague a lot of beers of the style.

Drinkability: Pretty great actually, I found myself finishing the second bottle almost without realizing it. The problem is that this is largely a function of being so neutral. I'm sure it's a great hit at Oktoberfest because you can slam down a bunch in a row but if you're actually looking for something tasty to drink I don't think I can recommend this beer.

Overall verdict: C+, meet the new central European pilsner, same as the old central European pilsner.