Falter Export Hell Beer Review

Falter Export Hell

Review Date 12/8/2023 By John Staradumsky

For Christmas of 2015, my wife bought me a really cool present: BeerAdvent Calendar 2015 from Kalea. In truth, my wife got me a lot of nice presents (she’s the best wife ever), but the nice thing about the Beer Advent Calendar is you get it early. You have to, since it’s comprised of 24 different imported German beers in a box with little doors that you open, one per day from December 1^st through December 24^th. All of the beers are listed on the side of the carton, however, so be careful not to look and spoil the daily surprises!

I love German beer more than beer from any other country on Earth, so this was definitely right up my alley. My one criticism of the calendar is there are not enough bocks and doppelbocks (not fair!), but otherwise it’s just an amazing way to sample 24 German beers I’ve never seen before. I get mine at Costco here in Georgia and pay on average $59.95 for the box. That might sound steep, but when you distribute that price over 24 different half liter cans, it only works out to $2.50 per can. Not a bad deal at all looked at that way.

First week of September 2023 arrived, and that means I am out there at Costco weekly looking for my beloved Kalea Advent calendars. I didn't see them (and of course buy one) until September 24th, but I gleefully placed one in my shopping cart when I did. The price this year was stable from last year at $69.99 and I think that is a bargain honestly. $2.92 per can is still a bargain for beers from small German brewers I might never otherwise get to enjoy, that includes new beers and one I have had before and get to enjoy again.

December 1st arrived, I opened my Day One door to reveal a can of Falter Export Hell by Privatbrauerei J.B. Falter of Regen, Bavaria. This is a new brewery for me. The beer is, of course, a Munich Helles in style. I love the style, but I do believe that it has been overrepresented in the calendar over the years, You can see that in the breakdown below of all the beers I have received in each calendar, going back to 2015 and counting the first beer now of the 2023 edition.

Dortmunder 8 4%
Munich Helles 46 24%
Oktoberfest 33 17%
Munich Dunkles 11 6%
Hefeweizen 11 6%
Dunkelweizen 12 6%
Zwickl/Kellerbier 10 5%
Kristalweizen 3 2%
Pilsner 20 10%
Bock 2 1%
IPA 5 3%
Doppelbock 5 2%
Maibock 3 2%
Pale Ale 7 4%
Weizenbock 4 2%
Vienna Lager 3 2%
Imperial Pilsner 3 2%
Steinbier 1 0%
Stout 3 2%
Rauchbier 3 2%

As to the brewery, Falter, they trace their history back to 1649. They say:

Wenige Monate nach dem Ende des 30 jährigen Krieges und der Brandschatzung Regens durch die Schweden wird 1649 vor den Toren des Marktes ein bürgerliches Brauhaus gegründet. Erster Brauer ist Lorenz Geiger.

Which means:

In 1649, a few months after the end of the Thirty Years' War and the sacking of Regen by the Swedes, a local brewery was founded at the gates of the market. The first brewer was Lorenz Geiger.

When you visit the brewery website you are immediately greeted by a splash page touting the Export Hell, and after enjoying my can, I could see why. A refreshing looking glass is featured in the center of the page, with the words: Unser Export Hell Wurde Helles des Jahres, or Our Export Hell was Helles of the year.

Of the Export Hell they say:

Ein Bier, wie seine Heimat-a beer like it's homeland.

Bodenständig, feinaromatisch und vollmundig im Geschmack, eine Gaumenfreude von würziger Eleganz.Der überzeugende Genuss für jeden Bierfreund.

Down-to-earth, finely aromatic and full-bodied taste, a culinary delight of spicy elegance.

I agree with that description.

Falter Export Hell has an alcohol content of 5.3% by volume according to my can. Ingredients on the can are listed as water, barley malt, and hops. My can is stamped BavarianCanning EXP 2025/03. I would call this a Dortmunder Export, which is a sort of Helles/Pilsner hybrid, but the brewery calls it a Helles. Who am I to argue?

Falter Export Hell pours to a bright golden color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of crisp biscuit malt and grassy herbal hops. Taking a sip, the beer is fresh and biscuity malty up front, bready too, and permeated with earthy herbal hop aroma. It finishes grassy herbal and quite bitter, indeed depositing a lingering bitterness on the tongue. I want an Export to be malty like a Helles and hoppy like a Pilsner and this one hits the mark on both counts.

A very nice example of the style, I think, and one I would drink lots of if I lived in Germany.

I’m greatly enjoying my 9th annual Beer Advent Calendar with the day 1 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 23, and another assortment of 24 in 2024. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco, and following the beers on their Facebook page.

The beers of the 2023 Beer Advent Calendar:

Day 1 Falter Export Hell

Day 2 Kauzle Helles Lager

Day 3 Kurpfalz Brau Kellerbier

Day 4 Graminger Kirta Dunkles Weissbier

Day 5 Erl Brau Erlkönig Hell

Day 6 Hösl Märzenbier

Day 7 Bambule Pilsner

Day 8 Landgang Helle Aufregnung

Day 9 Propeller Bier Turbo Prop Pilsner

Day 10 Gmoastier Weisser Bock

Day 11 Flötzinger Hell