# Matilda Bay - Big Helga...



## O'Henry (8/9/09)

I was on the Bitter and Twisted site having a look at the line up of beers and saw that Matilda Bay has something called 'Big Helga' listed. Anyone seen/tasted it before?


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## Pollux (8/9/09)

I was wondering that myself to be honest.


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## sydneyhappyhour (16/10/09)

I just had one at the Orient in the rocks, slight floral hop aroma very light on the palate, reminded me of a Pilsner more than anything. The guys i was with all agreed nothing to write home about.


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## winkle (16/10/09)

Yes -meh.


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## BrenosBrews (16/10/09)

It's an OK, fairly hoppy lager. Supposed to be a Helles.


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## Sprungmonkey (16/10/09)

Munich dry lager dry hopped - not too bad.


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## Andyd (16/10/09)

I was lucky enough to get some of the first keg tapped publically... it's got a hop forward character, and doesn't quite have the biscuity malt character I'd expect from a munich lager, but otherwise its a very enjoyable beer, particularly as a gateway beer for mates that find it hard to part ways with their crownies 

Andy


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## thirstycritter (17/10/09)

I haven't tried it but BeerMatt has... nice little review over here ->

http://beermatt.com/2009/10/08/my-date-with-helga/


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## Thirsty Boy (19/10/09)

Not bad - but nothing to write home about. Mild hop aroma, mild malt - dies on your palate a little after mid way.. no finish to speak of.

In a standard pub tap line up of mega brew lagers... this is the beer I would be drinking. But if there was other quality beer on tap I doubt if I would be drinking more than one or two.


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## JestersDarts (6/5/10)

Thirsty Boy said:


> Not bad - but nothing to write home about. Mild hop aroma, mild malt - dies on your palate a little after mid way.. no finish to speak of.
> 
> In a standard pub tap line up of mega brew lagers... this is the beer I would be drinking. But if there was other quality beer on tap I doubt if I would be drinking more than one or two.



Definate hoppieness over maltiness, but neither overdone - no real lasting finish..

..had about 7 pints of it last night during darts comp at my local..

..didnt help my darts game much. We still won though GO YOU JESTERS!!


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## big78sam (6/5/10)

There was a 2 page spread on this beer in a recent beer and brewer magazine. I thing it was the recent summer edition that has a recipe book included (beer and food matching). It was an interesting read about how/why it was developed.


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## Pennywise (6/5/10)

I really love this beer, one of the few Lagers I could drink in a session. I got a comlpletely different impression of it than the way you fellas are describing it. I got a fair whack of malt in the taste and just a little hop aroma, quite dry though. I agree with the finish though, not much there, which for me makes for a good swilling session beer.


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## jiesu (6/5/10)

I had one of these about 3 months ago at the clock tower in Surry Hills. 
All I could taste was metal, probably the worst beer I have ever had. On par with Hammer and Tongs. 
Mind you it was likely the the beer lines. 

Still it has turned me off them.


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## Dazza_devil (6/5/10)

I didn't mind this one actually, not that I told me mum about it. 
I could detect a nice hint of hop flavour and I thought the malt and bitterness were reasonably balanced from memory.
There are a lot worse lagers out here.


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## Muggus (6/5/10)

After having a couple of $12 jugs of this stuff at the Cambridge in Newcastle, I decided it's quite a good session beer. 
Certainly better than the vast majority of Aussie "lagers".


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## QldKev (6/5/10)

I really like the hops, but the malt is waaay to dry :icon_vomit: 

QldKev


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## Fents (6/5/10)

good snags shit beer


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## eamonnfoley (6/5/10)

I find it undrinkable. Rough malt flavour (cloying, dry), strange hop character. It is light miles away from a helles. Very hard to put down.


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## HoppingMad (6/5/10)

foles said:


> It is light miles away from a helles.



I actually like this beer.

But I have to agree with Foles that in terms of style this beer is nowhere near a helles. Their PR reads 'Munich-style lager'. :blink: 
If you dig around you'll discover this beer uses NZ Pacifica hops dry-hopped in the fermenter. Using a big NZ hop this way drowns out any 
sense of German Noble hops the brewery claims to also use in this beer. And last time I checked, New Zealand wasn't anywhere near Munich.

You drink one and all you can taste is the Pacifica - which tastes a bit like a grassy version of a US Cascade to me. 
That said - I did enjoy drinking an unpasteurised version of the Helga at the Melbourne Microbrewer's showcase. Tasted like it was poured through a 'randal' the hop flavour was that big. 

When I drink this beer, I try to forget they're even trying to make a lager here. It's more of a pale ale to me. 

Hopper.


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## JestersDarts (6/5/10)

Yes I like beer - thats why I kept coming back for another, and another.

I agree on the ale like qualities - nothing like the lagers i'm used to.


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## AlphaOne (6/5/10)

Sink pour for me.


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## winkle (6/5/10)

I had one at Grand Central when it first came out, and that'll probably be the last.
Bit of a train wreck without being horrid.


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## whitegoose (6/5/10)

Wow this is really bizzare.... I've had it a few times at a few different pubs and have never noticed any hop character whatsoever... I've found it to be munich malt through and through - kinda like an Oktoberfest beer.


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## warra48 (6/5/10)

Almost had one of these a few weeks ago, at our Beach House Caf.
When I saw the tap I thought it must have been an imported Munich Lager I hadn't heard of before.
Then I saw the tap for imported Budvar, and had one of those instead.
Glad I did.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (6/5/10)

I had Helga off the tap, took them back to the bar for a different beer swap. Quite possibly a bad batch or just slack line cleaning practices. Mind you they were the first beers poured from this tap that I saw, so I think others though the beer was rubbish too.
GB


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## Murcluf (6/5/10)

daft templar said:


> All I could taste was metal, probably the worst beer I have ever had. On par with Hammer and Tongs.


 :icon_offtopic: Come on.... Tried Hammer & Tongs in Mildura billiant beer at $10 a six pack from the bottle-o. Awesome headache inducer


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## Josh (8/5/10)

Had a pint in Port Macquarie last night. Liked it so much I brought the glass home h34r: 

Have had it a few times at The Orient also.


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## amiddler (8/5/10)

Having never tried a Munich Style Dry Lager before I tryed having a one with lunch at a local in Gero a few months back. I got through 1 half pint and couldn't even come to have another beer let alone another one of those. After reading comments above I am thinking the beer lines must have been dodgy because it tasted sour, even smelt sour. As said I have never had a true style Munich and thought this was the way it was meant to taste but might give it another go at a different pub over the weekend.

Drew


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## scotteth (8/5/10)

Had this one a couple of weeks ago and was one of the worst beers I've ever tasted. I can't remember the taste so much, only that when I've subsequentially seen it in a bottlo there's been a sick feeling in the back of my mouth. It was from bottle but like other's I'd assumed a bad batch....


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## nathanR (9/5/10)

Worst beer ever I made the mistake of buying a pint of this had a sip thought this tastes strange had a couple more sips and gave it back to the bar tender to pour down the drain he did warn me it tasted strange

If you gave me a choice of Big Helga :icon_vomit: or Emu Export :icon_vomit: I would go the red can :icon_vomit:


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## HoppingMad (10/5/10)

This thread is very strange.

All the Big Helga I've tried in Melbourne (where it's brewed actually in our outer suburbs - at the Garage Brewery in Dandenong) has tasted clean, not sour at all and has a very subtle, mild American style hop character. There seems to be a real inconsistency with the fresh stuff we're getting here in Vic vs the 'rough' and 'sour' beer being drunk in places like WA & QLD? Could be handling, low turnover, old kegs or maybe some of the batches of late have been crapola? Weird one. Could this be another Matilda Bay repeat of the the infamous 'Sebastian' episode? (A notorious Dunkelweizen beer that was ok in first weeks then went south all around the country?).

The stuff I had at Microbrewers showcase was magnificent. But was quite a different beer - being unpasteurised (not heat treated) so the hop character really came through. Have tried it on tap elsewhere in Melbourne without issue. The commercial one is very low on hop, but it's still subtly there.

Hopper.


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## piraterum (10/5/10)

Tried a six pack, very ordinary. 

Dry and rather tasteless. I can see this product line being scrapped in the near future :lol:


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## petesbrew (10/5/10)

They had it on for tasting at Dan's a few months back. Glad I got to try before I bought it.
Nothing to write home about.


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## Dylo (18/5/10)

Tried one at the Local Sporties club. It was really good. Quite different than the usual swill they sell there. Intersting malt character and a touch sweet. Tried another one there a few weeks later and it was absolute garbage! I asked bar tender what happened and he confirmed this was the 2nd keg of the stuff. It was a dud and tasted like a really bad kit brew. (trust me i know that flavour I've made my fair share of them!)

Needless to say they have binned it and swapped the tap for Fat Yak. (which i must add is alot less hoppy than when i first tried it!)

Dylo


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## jbirbeck (18/5/10)

I bought a bottle of it a while ago. not unimpressed but certainly far from impressed. Lacking flavour of any form, would have rated an over cold West End Draught as having more flavour from hops and malt than Big Helga. Won't buy it again.


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