Kolsch
Mother Earth Brew Co.

 

part of their new periscope series, which i believe is small batch test stuff, which is great to see from a brewery who is really great but most of the time really lacks innovation, the tap list at the top has been stagnant for a very long time, and outside of the project x series beers and the four seasons stuff, there is almost never anything new at all from mother earth, so i welcome this development, they had a couple new ones on from this new series on this recent visit. this is a pretty basic kolsch, in typical mother earth fashion its a touch heavier than it needs to be so not as easy drinking as the more classic examples of the style, but the flavors are right, and most importantly, the fermentation is right, solid overall, and for me preferable already to their other more established lighter selections. golden in color with an inch of white head from the tap, an aroma of german pale malt, long cool fermentation on european yeast, and slight herbal bittering hops with a floral note. the flavor is robust on the grain side but this is still pretty dry, quite a bit of body to this, husky, cereal forward, definitely a little more meat on the bone here than the most refreshing kolsch examples, but the overall execution is good, the carbonation is high, and the little bit of hop snap at the end is welcome. nothing amazing here, but it marks the start of hopefully a lot more experimentation and rotation for mother earth, looking forward to see what the next periscope beer will be!

edit: couple of years later this has resurfaced, listed at 4.9% abv on their menu now and definitely lightened a bit, cleaner now, still german on the grain side but fresh and bright in a way it wasnt quite before, and with to me a more dialed water chemistry and overall briskness, very drinkable, still hoppy and full flavored, but somewhat easier going. nice revisions, pleasant anytime drinker, and my wife dug it!