Ballast Point built its reputation on aggressive West Coast IPAs, so a faithful German-style helles is an interesting move. Longfin Lager is brewed like the classics: pilsner malt, German Noble hops, nothing else to hide behind. It has even picked up multiple gold medals in competition, which raises the question of what two regular drinkers make of it.

The basics

• Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego, CA)
• Style: German-style Helles Lager
• ABV: 4.5%
• IBU: 17

What to expect

Longfin Lager pours pale golden and bright with a light, spritzy white head. The flavor opens with soft, bready biscuit and cracker malt, mildly sweet but never heavy. Northern Brewer and Tettnanger hops add a gentle peppery and faintly lemony character that frames the malt without competing with it. The finish is short, clean, and dry, the kind of beer that invites the next sip immediately.

There is a delicate interplay between the biscuit malt and the soft hop bitterness that reviewers praise, and the balance is genuinely well executed. It is refreshing and simple in the way a helles is supposed to be, which is both the point and, for some palates, the limitation.

Our rating

6.0/10

Rated by Alex (6) and Nick (6). This one is as clean a verdict as you will ever see: Alex and Nick scored it identically, a flat 6 from both. The consensus is that Longfin is a well-made, balanced, thoroughly drinkable helles that neither of them would turn down or go out of their way for. Competition medals aside, it is a background beer in the best sense: crisp, inoffensive, and easy to forget you are drinking.