I encountered Baird Beer first at Banji Kaichou. Despite the name, it’s a Japanese brewery. I picked Shuzenji Heritage Helles because the name suggested it’s gonna be a light German beer, which most likely means lager, which most probably means I’m gonna like it.

It has a clear gold body. The white head’s soft and compared to the averages of the genre, on the small end. There is some minor lacing, but nothing impressive.

The nose is just as expected: lager. Malty, grainy.

The body’s light and gently carbonated. The taste is traditional lager too: grainy malts, gently bitter hops. It’s a well balanced lager. I’ve never had a helles before, so I don’t know if it fits that style.

The “heritage” name fits well to this conservative lager. There are no extreme experiments, no weird additives, “just” a good lager in the bottle. Refreshing, light.