What does Helles taste like?

Reading The Beer Nut’s tasting notes for Weihenstephaner Helles made us think about how we talk about Helles. In a typically perceptive, entertaining post he writes: My usual descriptor for good Helles is spongecake; this goes beyond that, into donut flesh or even candyfloss with its sweetness. What he’s getting at here is the essential delicacy of this style. Get it wrong in one direction and it can be sweet and bland – just bog standard lager with a fancy name. But go the other way and it’s too assertive, too sharp, too interesting, and too big. Helles is about drinkability. It’s soft but not mushy. And it’s built around malt, which can be harder to grasp than hops. Our usual descriptor – to the point that we’re bored of writing it – is ‘bready’. We think this overlaps with, or is the same as, other people’s ‘nutty’. Tegernseer Helles, new on as a regular draught beer at The Kings Head in Bristol, is a great example. It’s sweetish, but not very much so. It’s got a hint of fresh…