Klar Helles by Kai Draft Beer is one of those beers that gets you excited when you come across it in a store. It’s an unknown beer that you have never seen before and you know you want to buy it. Klar Helles is brewed in Yamanashi, aka wine country in Japan, and was pointed out to me on the recent trip to Outsider Brewing. It’s filtered to remove all particles in the final bottle so conditioning is done in the fermentation tanks.
Perhaps the only time I have seen this bottle is in Kofu station.
Klar Helles Aroma and Taste
Klar Helles poured out a deep amber colour that frosted up the side of the glass. I initially thought that some sediment had escaped from the fermentation tanks as there was a thin layer of “something” on the bottom of the glass. The head was rather large and frothy, around three fingers or so, but dissipated quickly to a thin rim around the glass. Aroma wise. Well, Klar Helles didn’t smell like much, just a faint hint of hops and malt that reminded me of sour dough bread. It seemed to be a by the numbers beer, something I dislike reviewing.
Even the body of Klar Helles was safe. It’s supposed to be a helles beer and it does that to some extent, with hops barely even registering on the taste buds, yet there was nothing else to take the place of the hops. The malt was not apparent and Klar Helles tasted like someone had placed a dollop of aquarius, or sports drinks, in the bottle to do some conditioning.
Klar Helles One Line Review
Klar Helles is not really worth buying. Again, it’s a craft beer for craft beer’s sake.
Where to Buy Klar Helles
We got out bottle of Klar Helles from a store in Kōfu station back at the beginning of January. However, Kai Draft Beer do have an online store here where you can buy it from.
2 comments
i used to enjoy drinking the pilsner and the helles when i cycled around fuji san. a store near yamanakako always sold the bottles. not cheap. recently visited the tiny brewery and the beers there werent good at all, to be honest. seen them on tap at kofu beer fest. they were excellent and for me had the best helles in japan. helles being a delicate, bready, straw like beer that is light and refreshing, not at all like a pilsner. the klaar though might be a tad thin. no need to filter out that lovely yeast flavor.i think they ve gone down hill recently but i might put that down to bad quality control.
Will check out the rest of their range but I doubt I’ll rush out to buy them.
I understand why breweries filter their beers but something like a helles deserves to be bottle fermented for longer.