Beer Review – Spaten Premium Lager

Overview

Spaten Premium Lager is one of four beers brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu GmbH in Munich, Germany. As the name suggests, it is a lager style beer and has an ABV of 5.2%.

About the Brand

I found this beer on the shelf at my local H-E-B grocery store, but had never heard of it before. Having done some research online, it seems that Spaten has produced beer out of Munich (and under many different names) for several centuries.

The company website speaks of Spaten’s history of exporting German beer to the world, helping to lay the foundation for the reputation of its nations brews. The company proudly exports to nations such as France, Austria, Italy, Spain and the United States.

About the Beer

Spaten Premium Lager’s clear, light yellow color and hoppy aroma are fairly typical of European lagers. Upon opening the bottle, my first thought was to compare it to the smell of Italy’s Peroni.

The similarity to Peroni continued in the way Spaten tastes. It has a slight bitterness, due to the hops, that carries over in its aftertaste. Its flavor profile maintains some individuality, yet clearly fits in with its class of European lagers.

Given Spaten’s adherence to the German Beer Purity Law (which limits ingredients to water, barley and hops) it makes sense that its Premium Lager tastes particularly similar to other brews of the same class. Ultimately, it is a pleasant beer, it’s just not that remarkable in any particular way.

As far as where one would enjoy this? I believe the hoppy, slightly bitter flavors would not lend themselves to an active/outdoor situation. Spaten Premium Lager would be best with a steak, in a European restaurant on a fall or winters’ night.

TL;DR

Spaten Premium Lager is a reasonable beer. It is highly drinkable and fairly similar to other beers in its market segment. That said, there is nothing remarkable about Spaten that would lead me to seek it out in what is a fairly competitive market.

Rating: 6/10

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite German beer? Comment below and let us know!