56 Brewing Harvest Helles

56 Brewing Harvest Helles. 5.2% ABV, 30 IBU. 56 Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Clear, bright golden hued, large white head, looking great.

In the nose: Light, floral, grainy, slightly sweet. Exceptionally lovely.

In the mouth: Smooth, a little sweet, delicious. Lightish bodied. A touch of honey, grainy, malty, crisp and tasty. Ever-so nice. If you can't tell, I like this one.

A Helles lager with some locally-grown ingredients. And guess what? It tastes great, and you can drink it. Go on and do it. Won't hurt you none.

Celebrating Minnesota’s harvest season using MN grown and malted grain from Vertical Malting and hopped with traditional Hallertauer and German Magnum hops.

Sponsel's Minnesota Harvest Happily Apple Cider

Sponsel's Minnesota Harvest Happily Apple. 6.5% ABV. Outside Jordan, MN.

Clear, pale yellow appearance, no type of froth atop, but with plenty of active carbonation.

In the nose: apples. So very apples. nice and dry.

In the mouth: Big, brisk carbonation, all kinds of apple, and, again, ending dryly. Nice upon nice.

I'm going to read the label: "Contains sulfites. Bottled by Sponsel's Minnesota Harvest Orchard, Jordan, MN. You will find us on the high ground--overlooking the Minnesota River Valley. In 1971 Doc Sponsel scouted out this bluffing rallied the whole family to plant the first 25,000 apple trees. Millions of apples (and half a century) later we launched our new ciders.  We actually grow, pick, pack, and press the very apples that we use in processing our sparkly hard cider. This semisweet "happily apple" drink is light and refreshing, with a Minnesota crisp finish. A most pleasing beverage. You must try it. SERVE CHILLED."

So, yeah. Sparkly. Light. Refreshing. Good cider and you can drink it.