Gateway Kolsch
Sawdust City Brewing Co.

 

I would consider this a nice light summer beer. One of the first I tried from Sawdust City, it is by no means my favourite, as I prefer something a bit hoppier. This one is easy drinking, without much bite to it.

Can from the beer Store Mississauga
Slightly hazy deep yellow with a decent sized frothy white head. Bready crackery pilsner maltiness light fruit faint earthy floral hops, I thought this was a pretty nice Kolsch.

 

 

Pale straw body with white head. Little aroma at serving temperature. Flavour bready with hints of lemon and faint sulphur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serving Type: 473 mL Can

A- Pours an extremely pale slightly hazy yellow topped by a 1 finger white head that fades to a couple whispy caps fairly quickly. No lacing to speak of.

S- Fresh bread, restrained herbal hops. Slight lemon aroma.

T- Bready grains, lemon zest, and herbal hops.

M- Light Body and Moderate but prickly carbonation.

O- A good Kolsch, although it drinks more like a Pale German Pils. Not real bold on anything (especially aroma and flavour) but not bad either. Wouldn't go out of my to find this one again but I do recommend that you give it a try. Good beer, half-decent representation of a Kolsch.

 

473 mL can picked up at TBS; canned Jun 16 2016 and served well-chilled.

Pours a sunny, pale golden-yellow colour with brilliant clarity, fitted with a half-inch crown of soapy white head. Average retention; it has mostly dissipated after a few minutes' time, leaving behind a foamy collar and an attractive swath of lacing. Gritty cereal grains, wheat and tempered pale malts on the nose, with slight suggestions of grassy, leafy hay courtesy of the German hops. Nothing to get too excited about.

And really, that statement just about sums it up - while this is a quality German-style beer, as a köelsch it's a little lacking (reminding me more of a German pils, to be honest). More grainy, doughy pale malts come through, but with a slight hint of bready wheat sweetness in the background. The Magnum/Spalt hops show up on the back end, with subtle hop flavours of grassy hay and herbal, vaguely spicy notes. Finishes moderately clean. Light-bodied, with aggressive carbonation levels and a prickly, crisp mouthfeel and pleasing texture. Quite refreshing; this would serve adequately as a summer patio beer.

Final Grade: 3.57, a passable B grade. Sawdust City's Gateway Kölsch is a decent stab at this suddenly-trendy style, but I'd be lying if I said I were inclined to seek out more cans in the immediate future. As a big German pils/Munich helles fan - two styles that certain aspects of this beer really remind me of - I still enjoyed Gateway, but if you're not already enthusiastic about pale German lagered styles then I wouldn't expect this one to shift your opinion much, if at all. Not bad I suppose, but there are a handful of other domestic kölsch beers that I'd definitely select before this one.

 

This one didn't work for me. Slightly hazed gold, moderate head, no lace. Enjoyable nose, nice and grassy. But not so much going for it after that. Doesn't drink like a Kolsch to me. Somewhat metallic, more bitter than expected. Not a tasty quaff.