Shiner Kölsch
Spoetzl Brewery

3.29/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Pour is like red gold, with small, fine, delicate off-white head of surprising retention. Aromas are grainy, and faint berry-like esters. Biscuity, bready throughout, not as grainy as I expected, with vinous notes and excellent suggestions of pear, apple, and again, berry. Tiniest amount of fairly nondescript hops in the back. Light-bodied but plenty thick with effervescence. Crisp, cleaner finish, refreshing.

 413 characters

3.48/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Pour from a 12oz bottle into a pokal... beer is a clear pale straw gold with a fizzy one-finger head that quickly disappears to nothing. No lacing.

Aroma is light, just a bare hint of hops and sweet malt.

Flavor is sweet up front, light white grape and pear notes, leading to a slightly dry green tea-like finish. Very mild and delicate.

Mouth feel is light, crisp, refreshing. Highly carbonated.

Overall, a nice beer in a rather uncommon style. Would have liked just a touch more hop presence.

 498 characters

4.84/5  rDev +41.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.
Aroma- Has an aroma of malt and grain possibly corn, smells good.
Appearance- Has a pale yellow color with a very small white head.
Taste- Has a nice grainy flavor with malt taste, I really like it.
Palate- This is a light bodied beer with light carbonation. Has a really nice crisp flavor.
Overall- I love this beer, I see many on line don't care for it a lot. I don't know why but to me it is awesome.

 452 characters

3.4/5  rDev -0.9%

12 oz bottle was poured into a pilsner glass.

Appearance: A one finger head was poured that reduced to nothing quickly. It is a golden straw yellow with great clarity and vision of bubbles coming up through the glass.

Smell: Toasted malts, cereal grains, some sweetness,

Taste: Same as above with slight light bitterness and fruity notes.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, crisp, refreshing, light bodied, a little chewy, and low to medium carbonation.

Overall: Pretty standard Kolsch. A little more hop character and less malt flavor would have been nice.

 560 characters

3.71/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured a nice clear golden color with a three finger white head that receded quickly leaving abundant lacing. Quite nice looking. Scents of floral German hops, biscuity malt and fruity, cherry-like aromas. A simple, true to style aroma that is quite pleasing. Flavor begins with a nice biscuit-like malt presence, with a slight fruitiness, hard to discern the individual fruit but I pick up some apple and pear. This moves into a nice, clean, grainy malt flavor with moderate-low levels of floral hop flavors and medium-low bitterness. Finish is dry with medium-low bitterness, medium floral Noble hop flavors and a faint fruitiness. Aftertaste is floral Noble hops with a low level of bitterness. A very pleasant, well rounded flavor profile that is mild, crisp and clean. Quite nice. Mouthfeel is light bodied, smooth and slightly chalky with a moderate level of carbonation. Quite pleasant and quite easy to drink. Overall this is a pretty good Kolsch. It hits the style guidelines pretty spot on, and while it doesn't do anything amazingly out of the ordinary it is still quite nice.

 1,087 characters

3.48/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a crystal clear deep straw color with a decent sized white head that quickly recedes. Aromas of bready pilsner with hints of sugary and fruity sweetness and a very faint floral hop scent. The flavor is mildly sweet with a honey sugary fruitiness that mixes fairly well with the doughy bready malts. Crisp spicy hop bitterness and a touch of carbonic bite balance this fairly well. Light to medium body with a moderate to high level of carbonation. Nice summer brew.

 471 characters

3.34/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Shiner Kolsch is light golden in color with a clear body and a white head of foam that dissolves away rather quickly. The nose on this beer is one of cereal grains, yeast, barley, and some fruit buried in the distance. It is fairly interesting, and it makes you anticipate the first sip.

This beer offers a taste that is simple and unassuming. The flavor of sweet grains greets you first, followed by some faint fruit flavors, like apple and white grape- even a hint of citrus. Some toasted character is noticed, followed by a crisp, slightly spicy/grassy finish of lightly bitter hops.

Shiner Kolsch is a very clean, direct beer with an average amount of complexity and a generally balanced nature that goes from sweet to slightly bitter from start to finish. This beer is light, easy on the eyes and stomach, and doesn’t leave you feeling bloated. However, the lightness level means the beer isn’t very rich and the finish is a tad weak. I know that many will appreciate the low bitterness level and the smoothness of the finish but I would like it better if it had a little more kick at the end.

Shiner Kolsch is still a pretty good beer overall and most people who drink it will find it acceptable at worst and pleasing at best. It does offer crispness and refreshment on a warm day and even if it isn’t the most exciting brew, it is still worthy of an occasional try.

 1,381 characters

4.24/5  rDev +23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This is a good beer. Balanced, pleasant flavor from start to its crisp finish. Pleasantly effervescent. This came unexpectedly in an assortment of Shiner beers. and was a pleasant surprise. Quite refreshing. This makes me want to revisit the Kolsch variety and explore some more different ones.

 294 characters

4.12/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance:
Golden color, clear. Lots of bubbles rising. Thick frothy bright white head.

Aroma:
Grass, bready, some fruit, very crisp and clean.

Taste/Finish/Body:
Sweetness up front, bready, cracker, grainy, just a touch of honey. There some roasted chestnut. Bitterness is mild, spicy/herbal. Finish is crisp, clean and dry. Body is medium, very crisp, refreshing, easy drinking, a little dry, very nice carbonation.

Overall:
It's an Excellent Kolsch.

 462 characters

3.48/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Comes out of the tap a pretty clear and slightly orangy amber. Crisp, fruity aroma has a powdered-drink undertone. Flavor is not strong but is pleasingly crisp, fruity, a little dusty and a little sour. Smooth, fizzy texture is powdery and just a bit on the thin side. A refreshing way to welcome summer - which it might as well be right now in Atlanta! (And it’s only mid-May!)

 380 characters

3.65/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: A golden hazy color with a thin head.
Smell: Malty, hay, citrus, and floral.
The taste is malty with a hint of floral citrus and hops. The finish is slightly bitter but mellows out for an easy drinking. A kolsch should be a fruity and mellow. This beer seems borderline on a kolsch and an blonde ale

 313 characters

2.75/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours with a small white head. Not especially appealing metallic smell at first. Mild, light nice flavor, however, with a slight metallic twang, subtle tastes of sweet heartiness and corn. Refreshing, crisp, and easy to drink. Overall a decent summer beer, but nothing outstanding or particularly impressive for the style.

 322 characters

3.6/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Yellow, clear, with some head. This beer may fall short of the Kolsch style in that the maltiness may be a little sweeter and the hops a little lighter than I expected, but it really is a smooth and easy beer to drink and I'm happy that my dad-in-law picked up the 6-pack.

 272 characters

3.59/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a clear, golden yellow with virtually no carbonation or head. Nose was fruity with a pleasant, floral hop nose. Almost witbier-like with some caramel or Munich malt. Light-to-medium body and flavorful. Tastes cleaner and has more malt than expected from the aroma. Well-balanced. Mouthfeel was nice--lively, crisp, and creamy. Drinkability was also good as this was a refreshing brew.

A solid, highly drinkable summer beer. My experience with the style is not extensive so I can't put it into perspective relative to what it's "supposed" to be, but I liked it. Could use some bubbles, though; maybe I just got an undercarbonated bottle. (Actually, the second bottle was much better in this respect.)

 707 characters

4.33/5  rDev +26.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Being this is the first Kolsch beer I have ever tried. I was a little suprised when I saw that it had a little bit of a yellow tinge to it. But loved the way it taste. Very nice summer beer for those long dog days of summer in TX. I would drink this agian and will definatly have to say shiner is 100% dead on with each of thier beers.

 335 characters

3.41/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nice initial head and good retention. Dry malt smell.

Taste is dry like a typical kolsch. This Kolsch is average but decent for the summer time. I'd buy it again for it's on sale price (5.49)

Mouthfeel is fair and clings to the mouth well, but lacks a little crispness.

This is a decent lawnmower beer from an average at best brewery. Give it a try if it's on sale.

 374 characters

3.58/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Living in Oklahoma, you learn to live with Shiner Bock. Everybody loves Shiner Bock. It just seems like they all forget that the Spoetzl Brewery in Texas produces more than just Shiner Bock. Like Shiner Kolsch, for example.


A: Pours out a slightly darker yellow with hints of red and orange present in the brew. Head pours out to about 3/4 of an inch and is eggshell white. Beer has excellent clarity.

S: Beer smells of perfumed grass, hay and citrus. Further swirling reveals a slightly skunked smell.

T: Grain, mild hops. More of the grass and citrus. Faint herbal notes in the mid palate, followed by a slight sweetness coming in from the grain. Also, there are notes of both green apple and citrus on the finish

M: Light bodied. Carbonation does dominate the beer, but it gets smoothed out in the finish.

T: American brewed light beer with herbal and citrus notes? You bet it's easy to quaff. Pure summer beer. The slightly sweet finish of this beer, combined with its herbal and citrus notes could do very well next to some spicy Thai food. Or hell, pair it with any BBQ style fare.

 1,108 characters

3.28/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Perfectly clear golden yellow brew, okay head is very white and stays compact.

Aroma is light grainy malt, husky. Hops are mostly grassy, with some citric lightness.

Flavor is clean and refreshing, but very light. Almost all grain husk, slightly sweet, with lots of carbonation. Hops are understated, but this one has fuller flavor than many pale lagers. Dry finish, overall an okay summer beer.

 402 characters

3.04/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pale yellow / very clear / moderate carbonation / mild head / doesn’t last long at all though

Tart hop floral / sweet malt undertones / good balance

Bitter metallic blast / chalky light malt / floral hop flavor / doesn’t taste like much but it isn’t hard to drink / refreshing and light / finishes a little bitter but mostly clean

Light body mild carbonation mostly annoying foam

Just a cool beverage for a hot, thirsty day.

 439 characters

3.65/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Shiner Kolsch pours a crystal clear, deep gold body beneath a short head of creamy white that holds well and leaves some minor lacing about the glass. The nose is grainy and a bit husky, but otherwise clean, and just slightly fruity (berries and apple). In the mouth it's medium bodied and smooth with a moderate carbonation that softens to become creamy as it warms. The flavor reveals a sweetish, cereal-like malt that's backed by a slap of spicy and herbal hop flavor and a firm bitterness. Delicate fruitiness is present, and lingers into the semi-dry finish along with some sticky malt, a smear of leafy hops, and mild bitterness. Overall it's a pretty drinkable golden or blonde ale, but it doesn't quite have the crispness, bitterness, or finesse of a proper Kolsch. Enjoyable!

 784 characters

3.41/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

This brew pours an extremely brilliant, very pale golden color into my pint glass with a moderate white head the quickly diminishes into a thin skim. The aroma of the beer is moderate-high malty sweetness as well as some grainy aroma and a little fruitiness. There is no detectable hop aroma. The taste is what the smell advertises, moderate-high malt sweetness, a little fruity, a touch of grainy flavor, and a low hop bitterness and flavor. The beer is moderately carbonated, quite smooth, and has a medium body. Overall, this beer is well done. The flavor is very clean and mouthfeel is very smooth. A personal preference, I find it a bit sweet, I don’t think I would drink a lot of these, although maybe my mood would change on a summer day instead of a January evening. What impressed me most was the appearance, cleanliness, and smoothness.

 847 characters

3.38/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pour was a nice crystal clear golden color. A fluffy white head of an inch slowly faded. Plenty of carbonation can be seen rising to the top. Very minimal lacing.

Bitter malt aroma. A very faint lemony crisp scent on the very end of the first whiff. A second whiff just confirms the smell of barley malt. A light bittering from the hops.

Light cereal oat flavors. A slightly gritty lemon balance in the aftertaste. Sweet malt and a very light hop bittering is a nice blend. Decent balance makes for a nice flavor.

Nice crisp bounce of carbonation. A decent body walks the nice line between watered down and thick.

Overall a nice session beer for a hot summer day. Would go great with light picnic fare. A great offering if you are looking for something a little tastier then the usual macro brews.

 811 characters

2.9/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

In Ga. we don't have to many kolsch beers so this is a nice addition to the shiner family. Light in color and body though the mouthfeel was pleasant almost wheat like. With a mild grape flavor with a mild grassy overtone. The sample I tried was getting close to being out of date. But this beer still had a good finish. One of the best beer I've tried from shiner. But there beers still seem to be very mild and boring.

 419 characters

2.49/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with a modest head that declines to a ringlet and leaves only spots of lace

Smell: Grainy aroma with a bit of DMS and acetaldehyde

Taste: Starts with a crisp, slightly sweet flavor; after, the swallow, a husky grain flavor emerges that is less than pleasant

Mouthfeel: Light body with moderate to heavy carbonation

Drinkability: Don't care too much for this one; Sorry, Texans

 427 characters

3.62/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz green labeled bottle into a mug. I don't have a stange. Who the hell has a stange?

Extremely clear light amber. At the pour it has an off white head that quickly reduces to a thin rim. Very fizzy appearance to the beer, with carbonation rising rapidly. Little spots of lacing here and there.

Strong grape aromas that really hide any other characteristics of the smell.

Once again, a syrupy grape like flavor. Mild hoppiness at the finish. All I can taste is the grapes...

Light bodied with crisp carbonation. More of a clean finish than a dry finish, but the hops do linger a little bit.

I really don't know what to think about this beer. It certainly doesn't taste bad, but it seems a little off with the high amounts of grape flavored sweetness. It's like bubble gum. I would have expected more of a malty beer with a little more hop profile, and maybe some lemon twang. I prescribe that you try it yourself, and see what you think. Once again, this isn't a bad beer.

 990 characters