Braustelle Helios
Braustelle

Pours a slightly cloudy golden coloration with a small, fizzy head and slightly visible coloration. Smells of doughy, grainy malt and grassy hops, with just a hint of hay and citrus. Taste follows the nose, being dominated by doughy, grainy malt and grassy, herbal hops, with hints of hay, citrus and a light estery note coming through as well. Finishes with a light sweetness, medium bitterness and some grainy malts lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Very nice example of a traditional Wiess with a great balance and mouthfeel, although it is what it is and still feels a little bland, which might also be due to this not being very fresh though.

L:
-pours a bright, opaque golden with a small to medium,frothy,white head
-high carbonation visible
S:
-Yeast sweetness,fresh grain,lemon,herbal,doughy
T:
-Follows the nose + honey,grassy,spicy
-high bitterniss for the style
F:
-medium to high carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
It represents the style well, but with a lot more (Altbier-esque) hop bitterniss.
If you ever want to try an unfiltered Kölsch, try this.

Pours a slightly clouded golden-light amber color with a medium, stable white head.

Smells of wet hay, crackers, dried herbs and a hint of lemon rind and refreshing orange.

Has a supersoft, creamy, yet refreshing mouthfeel, resulting in a truly refreshing finish.

Tastes of dried herbs, white bread dough, together with a very pleasant hop smack on the back end and a crackery note. Has a subtle toffee sweetness, which blends very well into the present hoppiness, adding an exotic note to the flavors, which stays well in line. Finishes with a touch of flour, more herbs, dry hops and a pleasant smoothness from the hay.

Wow, this is a great Wiess. This certainly is recognizable as a Kölsch, it does inherit a well desirable hop punch though, which makes this so much more enjoyable than your average Kölsch. Its mouthfeel is another highlight, although its still very effervescent and refreshing, the beer drinks smooth and creamy like a heavier bodied IPA. This is awesome.

 

Hazy! Is it Kolsch or wiess - because it looks like a wiess!

White frothy cap. Fluffy and soft as the finest Kolsch heads out there. Retention is good - ~7 minutes or so.

Aroma brings notes of fresh vitaminy biscuity fresh yeast - again, on par with a wiessbier. Floral Hops, fresh Munich malt, maybe Pilsner malt, I'm not ruling out even wheat malt (though I doubt it), orange citrus...this isn't your typical Kolsch. Just as fresh as the best Kolschbiere out there, but it definitely seems like a wiessbier nodding at a weissbier. I think I even catch a subtle banana ester poking its head in. Aromatic intensity is average.

Fresh as can be, with a flavour profile that delivers on all the promises of the aroma. Balanced, with plenty of subtlety in terms of ale yeast esters (yes, Weissbier-redolent banana!) and malty intangibles.

Mouthfeelwise, presence on the palate is rudiculously soft, and it's one hell of a smooth, wet, refreshing brew, boasting a medium body and an approachable texture. Not oily, astringent, boozy, or otherwise flawed - though it is overcarbonated. Okay, it's not the fragile delicate feel of the best traditional Kolschbiere, but this ain't traditional.

Overall, it's a great wiessbier...yeah, I'm calling it - there's no way this is filtered. Not as ludicrously drinkable as, say, Paffgen or Malzmühle, but nevertheless a must-try when in Koln.

Low B

 

 

 

 

 

200 ml draft @ Braustelle. It is hazy! & clearly unfiltered, looking absolutely nothing like the other Kölsch’s I tried in Cologne. It also sports a smaller creamy white head. Nose is full of hops, raw onion & barnyard hops, slightly zesty, lots of fresh hops, freshly made it seems, lovely. It is almost IPA-like. Taste is pretty hoppy (& extremely so compared with everything else I tried within the style), bitter grass, onion, barnyard, tad milky, raw herbs, lighter sweet malt underneath, fruity, it is not brutal or anything, very easy to drink. Distinctly nothing else like all the other Kölsch’s, a completely unique take & break from tradition just like everything else at Braustelle. Body is creamy & way fuller than other examples of the style. Great stuff, interesting take on style, seems like a mix of modern influences and what Kölsch probably was 100+ years ago before they started changing it to compete with pils / lager.

 

 

Served in a stange at Braustelle on 4/10/2013. Described as an unfiltered Kolsch. Appearance is bright yellow-gold with a hazy clarity. Head is a dollop of bright white cream, similar to a latte. Nose is light, delicate and clean with a pleasant yeastiness. Taste consistent with nose - clean and simple with a touch of hops bittering at the finish. Mouthfeel is light in body with a pleasant, even carbonation and a semi-crisp finish. Overall, a little off-style in that it is unfiltered, with just a bit more flavor than is typical of the style. Quite good, but needs to be served in a larger format than a .2l stange - I ended up drinking three.