Tasting

What does Hessian Pils taste like? Fresh, pale and rather lean, with a bitterness that fades quickly without scratching. Taking a sip of Licher Pils, one tastes the freshness of the malt first and only afterward the bitterness. This is an example of flavor, not a rating. Those who want to compare should try two beers one after the other and pay attention to color, foam and aftertaste.

Three breweries are worth comparing. Licher from Lich stands for the Pils of central Hesse, Schmucker from the Mossautal for the Odenwald beer of a family-run business. Binding Römer Pils recalls Frankfurt, though it's no longer brewed in Sachsenhausen.

There are two answers when it comes to glassware. Pils goes into the tulip glass or the goblet, whose shape holds the foam and tempers the bitterness. Weizen tastes best from the tall, slender wheat beer glass, which leaves room for the foam crown. For Apfelwein, meanwhile, there's the Gerippte, the glass with the diamond pattern.

Temperature for Pils and Weizen usually sits between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius. Too cold, and you can hardly taste anything; too warm, and the bitterness becomes broad. By Hessian custom, the Gerippte of Äppelwoi is drunk cool, but not ice-cold.

When it comes to pouring, the foam decides. The glass is first filled at an angle, then upright, until the crown forms. How long a good Pils needs for this depends on the tap setup. The often-cited seven minutes is a saying, not a rule. A good glass is recognized by its fine, clinging foam regardless.