Lakeside Kolsch
Lake of the Woods Brewing Company

From a 473ml can dated 22/06/2025. Poured into a pint glass. A two finger fine white head on a slightly hazy pale gold. The head diminishes to a layer. Some fine lacing.

Yeast in the nose. Some floral notes in the taste. Some bread dough.

A light body and good carbonation. Overall a clean, refreshing Kolsch. A great drinkable summer beer.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Packaged June 29/25. My third beer from the Kenora, Ontario brewery, and for 2025. With Sundae the cat...

 

Appearance: Poured with two fingers of head that retained decently but left no lace. The body is a pale gold showing solid, abundant carbonation.

Smell: I think maybe a bit of straw malt and bread dough but that's it. Mild to the point of nearly being absent as even after warming the potency did not improve.

Taste: Like the nose, mild as it starts with mild straw malt that turns to a doughier experience with a very mild kolsch pepper note before clean grass hops wrap things up. Mild, but easy to drink.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is trying to bring out the beer, but it doesn't have enough to work with, so you get a slight touch of the club soda vibe. That said, the transitioning is decent, albeit not a long journey and the aftertaste is very clean.

Drinkability: This is easy to put back, as it's absurdly mild and light bodied, but does give that slight pepper note to make it a bit different then generic lager. Settles down well too.

Final Thoughts: As the name implies, lakeside Kolsch is the kind of drinker for those warm days by the lake. This is a summer guzzler, made slightly more interesting then generic lager by the mildest pepper note, but is a fundamentally clean drinker meant to be consumed on a hot day. It's decent, for that purpose and no other.

12 oz can into a Kolsch glass.
L: SRM 4 Pours lightly straw butterscotch caramel color with a 1/2" soapy white head that recedes to frothy edge foam, some steady large carbonation bubbles, almost no lacing.
S: A hint of bread dough, grains, a touch of pear.
T: Light caramel, apple, pear, it has a lightly sour note, a hint of pastry dough, not much aftertaste.
F: Smooth soft medium bodied mouthfeel with a moderately fast lightly dry finish.
O: This beer lacks or rather needs more flavor. The feel is flat but is soft. It's okay in its style.

I got a tall boy can of this beer from The Beer Store in Fort Frances, Ontario whilst there for my son's hockey showcase. It poured a clear golden with fizzy white head that dissipated quickly and did not leave much lace. The scent had subtle grain and cracker notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base with grain and biscuit presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

On draft at Gunflint Lodge, MN. Poured a clear, straw-yellow color with a small, white head of fluffy foam. It left sudsy trails of lace. It smelled of bread crust, caramel and floral notes. Sweet caramel taste with a hint of citrus and a mild bitterness.

 

 

 

Can label says brewed in Warroad, MN & Lakeland, FL. Must be a contract brewing arrangement down in FL. Who knows where this can was actually brewed. Golden brew with a slight chill haze. A dense white head forms and settles to a thick cap with heavy lacing left down the glass. Aroma and flavor are extremely clean, almost too clean and makes me think they used an American ale yeast instead of a Kolsch yeast. No hops whatsoever which I think hurts the score. Needs some Noble hop character. The body is where this beer really shines. It is so smooth and creamy for such a light beer. Like what those slow pour pilsners try to achieve. Maybe if I was drinking this outside on a hot, sunny day, I may want a crisper carbonation but right now it feels amazing.

Lakeside Kolsch pours a hazy golden color, with a small, but long lasting head. Aroma is mellow, buttery notes. Flavor is also mellow, but there, buttery creamy flavor. Good body and fell. Overall, its a nice Kolsch, a little sweeter and creamer.

Appearance: Pours a clear, medium golden color with a soft white head. SRM of 7-8. (3.75)

Aroma: Mild to moderate aromas of wheat, hints of orange, yeast, and some earthy bread and cream notes to finish.

Flavor: Mild to moderate flavors of wheat upfront, this follows briefly into a sweet orange citrus flavor before the sweetness evolves into a cream and bready, smooth malty finish.

Feel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Very soft on the palate and finishes smooth.

Compared to Defiance Brewing Kansas American Wheat 6/6/21: Pours a slightly darker color. Smaller head. Milder aromas. More wheat, orange, and cream. Less tart fruit, and Belgian spice. Softer and smoother.

Compared to Orangeboom 7/5/21: Similar, but slightly lighter pour. More bread malt, cream, and honey. Less subtle earthy Munich malt. A larger body and sweeter.

Overall: This is a good German lager, but I'm not sure that it fits the Kolsch profile exactly. It has a strong wheat, yeast, and bready flavor, some orange citrus notes in the middle, before a strong and earthy German bread note.. Extremely bready and smooth. Drinks more like a bready German lager than a Kolsch. Still, nice flavors with a good mouthfeel.
(Final Rating: 3.78)

 

4-pack from Mason City Hy-Vee after second vaccine. Would be best enjoyed lakeside. But nice easy drinking second beer any time. Surprisingly opaque.

Lakeside Kolsch is clear and pale amber in color. It's sort of the color of straw with hints of lemon peel. The head is cloudy, bone white, and has decent retention.
Malt aroma comes through first giving me initial sweetness followed by soda crackers, white bread, and lightly toasted grains. Grains are followed shortly by faint hints of fruit ester. After sniffing my beer for about ten and a half minutes, those fruit esters smell most like ripe pear. The finish is clean and crisp.
Lakeside Kolsch is smooth and rounded, offering an initial softness that seems a combination of fruit sweetness and the softness of freshly baked bread. This quickly switches to a well attenuated dryness. Fruit sweetness seems to be mostly pear with just a hint of the tartness of a ripe, green apple. The finish is dry and lasting, a combination of grain and peppery European hops.
Easily worth a 7.5 out of 10. The flavors and aromas are light, crisp, and well developed for the style of beer. Lakeside Kolsch has the appropriate malt and fruit ester aromas. The flavors are well attenuated, rounded, balanced, and overall refreshing. I think a very good example of the style, especially given that it's a new world example of an old world beer style.

Pours a clear golden color. 2 finger white frothy head.
Nose is minimal. Slight malt aroma.
Taste. Light, malty, a bit of honey.
Light bodied. Crisp.
Not the biggest fan of the style, but it's tasty.

 

 

473 ml can served into a pint glass. Thanks to Adam for this gift from Northern Ontario.

Appearance - pale gold in colour, slight bit of haze. A finger plus of loose and fizzy white head is poured. Modest retention and no lacing with a plethora of bubbles within.

Smell - Some corn like sweetness, not too different from many other adjunct lagers. Nothing offensive either, but doesn't have the depth of aroma of some other kolsches.

Taste - A touch vinous, mostly grain and fairly sweet with corn being most prominent. Nothing offensive here.

Mouthfeel - Thin and fairly light bodied, lots of bubbly carbonation.

Overall - Not a super refined kolsch, but easy to drink and certainly accessible for newcomers to craft. Worth a try, but don't expect to be blown away.