Mother Marsha's Kolsch
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a light clear straw color with a white head. The nose brings forward some grain and very subtle fruit flavors. The taste is a bit of grain with light stone fruits. Some straw as well. Really light with crisp carbonation. Easy drinking and quite light.

This beer have a very translucent color yellow to it. Had a medium size head to it. The smell to it was very fruity however. Did not taste as much malt as I expected, but still tasted light amounts of it. A very smooth beer, one of the best at the Rock Bottom Brewery.

Served chilled in a big ol' mug at the brewpub.

Appearance: Clear light shade of yellow (though darker than a macro). Topped by a smallish cap of foam that is supported by myriad little bubbles escaping to freedom. Eventually the cap mellows down to a layer of foam. Small splotches of bubbles are left on the glass.

Smell: Light fruity esters (too faint to peg individual fruits to) with a subtle presence of noble hops in the background (Perle, per the rap sheet).

Taste: Soft and pleasant flavors of pale malts with a kick of hoppy spice on the finish. Nice and subtle, quite delicate.. but not like, fragile or anything.

Mouthfeel: Smoooth, light, and refreshing. Quite crisp.

Drinkability: An excellent crossover beer. Quite palatable and a great session beer. Went well with a light salad and seared tuna I had while sitting outside on the patio.

Other: Winner of the 2004 Gold Medal Winner for Kölsch-style Ale at the World Beer Cup as brewed by Michael Barker. A continuation of the apparent tradition of DC-area micros making kick-ass kölsch.