Beer Styles

How much alcohol does Pils have? According to the BJCP competition guidelines, 4.4 to 5.2 percent ABV. For Helles, it's 4.7 to 5.4. The styles sit close together, yet they taste quite different, because hops make the difference.

Helles is the softer beer: pale, malt-forward, with a delicate hop character and little bitterness. It originated in Munich and is now found throughout Bavaria and Franconia. In Spalt it's called Spalter Helles Vollbier. Vollbier is an old term meaning a beer with an original gravity of 11 to just under 16 percent.

Pils is the more assertive beer. It carries more bitterness, 22 to 40 IBU. IBU is brewers' unit of measure for bitterness — higher means more assertive. With Spalter Premium Pils, the hops take center stage, brewed exclusively with Spalter aroma hops, according to the brewery.

Alongside these, the brewery bottles further specialties — more than twenty, according to the town. These include Dunkel, Weissbier, and seasonal beers such as Spalter Bockl in pale and dark versions, Weizenbock, and a winter beer.

Where does the difference between Helles and Pils show up in the glass? Helles is softer and rounds out with malt. Pils dries the palate and leaves the bitterness lingering. Taste both side by side and you'll notice it within a few sips — the hops from Spalt make each a fine example of its style, each in its own way, and neither one heavy.