Review: Helles - Premium Lager

Author: James Smith, The Crafty Pint
Original Article published on 10 September 2026

Six years on from their launch, and with plenty of swings and roundabouts along the way, the arrival of Helles in White Bay's core range feels like a return to their roots. In their earliest days, part of their mission via Union Lager – later just Lager – was to create the best core range lager they could; given the beer was named Champion Beer at The Indies in 2022, it was a mission for which they were well-equipped, and over time they put out all manner of lagers at a time most in the local beer world was only just starting to think such an approach was a good idea.

Following a rebrand, said Lager disappeared from their core range – although at time writing there's a Japanese Lager and banging Czech Pils holding the fort. However, after proving popular on tap at White Bay's cohort of supportive venues in the Balmain area they used to call home, Helles has been given the nod to bring classic German lager vibes back to their year-round lineup.

It opens with familiar soft, floral German hop aromas alongside bready / doughy malts and a hint of honey sweetness. Equally soft of texture, but with a slowly-building, old-school dusting of bitterness and lingering, straw-like, faintly spicy finish, it's as simple as the can design yet still has plenty to offer the traditionalist.