Heller Highwater

I'm gonna say that Kichesippi Beer Co.'s Heller Highwater is the best-named beer I've downed in some time. A pale lager from Ottawa, Ontario, this helles is a yellow-gold colour, slightly hazy, and pours with a thick shroud of bright white head. It's sold in 473mL cans and contains a very quaffable if slightly low octane 4.8% alcohol.

H2 has an unexpectedly forceful nose. There are assertive notes of hay and sweet grass, built on a foundation of classic, restrained Bavarian hops. The flavour is agreeable, though a bit on the sweet side. This beer is basically hay liquified--it has a grainy, grassiness that calls to mind a horse pasture. There is a faint nod toward hops at the finish, but this is nearly imperceptible.

Grassy and bright, Heller Highwater is a well conceived and decently executed Ontarian take on the heller/helles style. It's too sweet to be crisp, but it is definitely refreshing. As my pint was winding down, I didn't find myself wishing for a second, which is generally a bad sign, but in this case, I don't think it'll stop me from revisiting this lager. It provides something that hasn't been well represented in this province's beery culture, so cheers to that.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.