Former ratebeer user (ozzatoadisback). No ticking, reviewing only from bottle/can or full draft pour.
Activity
7.3/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
A beautiful clear deep golden, with just an orangeish hint. Average sized white head, good enough retention and decent lacing. Quite good intensity in the aroma, with a deeply sweet malty base (caramel, honey) and a lighter hay/grainy note; a bit of delicate grassy/herbal feel on the back, some dry floral hops notes. Feels well integrated. Taste notes follow the aroma: medium sweetness, low to medium bitterness. Leans slightly towards sweetness, but there's good overall balance in both taste and in a semi-dry aftertaste. Nice taste intensity and definition, maybe not 100% clean in finish/aftertaste. Medium body, slightly below average carbonation, feels quite fullfilling for the style while still retaining good drinkability. A very satisfying heller bock.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Jun 2026
at 16:47
7/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Pours pale golden, almost perfectly transparent. Medium sized, relatively fluffy white head, average retention and lacing. A pretty subdued but freshly simple aroma: restrained malty base with just a minimum amount of grainy malts (hay, crackery hints), delicate white flowers notes (chamomille most noticeable), a bit of herbal/grassy freshness. Taste notes follow the aroma. Sweetness and bitterness are both delicate, the beer has a delicate refreshing feeling and a neutral, dry enough finish/aftertaste. Quite light in body, pretty light carbonation too; very quaffable. Overall: very simple, classicly delicate helles (maybe even more delicate than usual). Nothing out of this world, but well refined.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jun 2026
at 19:14
7.1/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
An uncommonly coloured rauch, golden with some amber hints, quite transparent. Medium sized white head, average retention and lacing. Quite good intensity in a relatively simple but clean and even slightly fresh-feeling aroma: a slightly fragrant malty base with notes of grain/hay, a hint of hop freshness (grassy?), smoked notes coming out with campfire and an uderlying cheese-like smokiness (provola). Taste feels simple and clean too, good enough intensity: a pretty neutral malty base (hay/grainy), smoked notes as per aroma, a good dose of dry floral notes; restrained sweetness (definitely lacks the soft/sweet base of darker coloured rauchs), average bitterness, feels like a pretty dry beer, but nicely balanced as a whole. Quite light in body, average carbonation, quite easily drinkable as mandatory. Overall: a welcome twist on the style and a pretty good beer on the whole.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 May 2026
at 19:55
7.3/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Light brown with reddish hints, maybe a bit of haziness. Average sized off-white/greyish head, good enough retention and lacing. Average intensity in the aroma: a malty base that's slightly toasted, with some caramel and perhaps a hint of nuttiness to it, the slightest dark fruit hints, a touch of cinchona. Taste notes follow the aroma, plus maybe a touch of floral hops. Good taste definition, excellent sweet/bitter balance, with a slightly sweet leaning mouth and a balanced/neutral, dry enough finish with a touch of cinchona. Lightish in body, with average, fine-bubbled carbonation; classic franconian easy drinking mouthfeel. A very well crafted example of the style.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 May 2026
at 19:54
6.9/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
A hint darker than golden, just the slightest bit of haziness. Low to medium sized white head, good enough retention and lacing. A nicely fresh aroma: grainy malty base with hints of hay, a bit of something sweeter in the back (honey?), fresh herbal/grassy notes, a bit of apple-like fruitiness; though mainly a fresh-feeling aroma, it also has a slight warming touch. Taste doesn't fully live to expectations: taste notes more or less as per aroma, but not as fresh in feeling. Ok taste definition, but a bit of syrupy/sticky sweetness in finish/aftertaste. Sweet/bitter balance is still fine on the whole. Medium body, slightly below medium carbonation, ok drinkability for style and abv. Very much ok, but I've had much better stuff from this brewery.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 May 2026
at 18:50
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Pours an intense dark golden to light amber, pretty hazy. Doesn't get much head for the style, and it fades relatively quick. Dominant bubblegum in the aroma, with a hint of soft dough like feel on the back, a hint of clove, a bit of banana and perhaps also a citric hint. Good enough intensity, but doesn't feel too refined, with bubblegum a bit too dominant. Taste notes follow the aroma: again, average intensity, but a bit too much bubblegum (perhaps even a little more prominent than the aroma suggested). Sweet as usual per style, or perhaps a tad more with a hint of stickiness in finish/aftertaste (not much really, but enough to undermine freshness). Light to medium body, average carbonation (perhaps slightly lower than average per style), decent drinkability. Decent, but quite far from a good example of the style; perhaps not in it's best shape.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 May 2026
at 11:56
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pours deep brown with reddish hints if seen through light; looks like it's probably a bit hazy. Doesn't get much head, just a thin layer is left, scarce lacing. Average intensity in the aroma: caramel malts (with a soft feel to them), just the slightest toasted hint, dark fruit notes (not very defined, plum perhaps discernible). Simple, nice enough, not perfectly defined. Taste notes follow the aroma, with quite good intensity and now a bit more definition/precision. A sweetish character on the overall, but there's good balance in a dry enough finish, with a hint of herbal freshness showing up. Light body, with very light carbonation; feels pleasantly slick with just a touch of soft malty character. A delicate, pleasant mouthfeel. Overall: should i review it for what it is labeled (in which case, this is plainly NOT a schwarzbier), or should i review for what it is (an honest, enjoyable dunkel)? I'll lean for the second, though i was pretty upset with the misleading labeling.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Apr 2026
at 19:04
6.9/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Clear pale golden, medium sized white head, good enough retention and lacing. Average intensity in the aroma: a grainy malty base with a hint of something sweeter (shortcrust pastry?), relatively strong golden apple fruitiness, a touch of herbal freshness. Taste notes follow the aroma quite closely: a neutral or slightly sweet leaning malty base (notes as per aroma), a pleasant, delicately refreshing herbal/grassy note, a bit of apple-like fruitiness. A clean, well defined taste profile, with a balanced, clean aftertaste. Quite light in body, with low to average, quite delicate carbonation; pretty much your standard, quaffable franconian lager mouthfeel. Nothing special maybe, but clean, well made and a pleasant one on the overall.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Apr 2026
at 19:01
ozzatoadisbackagain
updated a beer:
Macclesfield
brewed by Shire Brewing
4 months ago
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Blonde in colour, some haziness but maybe a bit more clear than usual for a belgian blonde. A quite big, pillowy and quite frothy white head that shows good retention and very nice lacing. Good enough intensity in the aroma, with a malty base of puff pastry and lighter hay, followed by fruity notes (peach, lighter pear and lemonish notes), grassy freshness and perhaps a hint of spiciness (can't detect something specific). Taste notes follow the aroma, a bit of earthiness shows up in finish/aftertaste but the beer feels overall cleaner/more nitid than most belgian blondes. There's a decent amount of sweetness, well balanced by moderate bitterness (with a hint of earthiness to it) and by a hint of refreshing lemonish sourness. Light body, average to high, fizzy carbonation; feels pleasantly lively in the mouth but still very slick and easy. A very good example of the style.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2026
at 11:36