Herkules
Schilling Beer Co.

on draft at the brewery, served in stange glass

clear, light yellow golden in color, white head. good head retention. crisp and clean bready pale malt flavor. good balance. thin to medium bodied.

Chill fogged burnt gold, shy of amber, with a thin white head that quickly disperses to a ring.

Toasted cornbread, crisp, with a touch of almond in the swallow.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz can with no birth date. Pours translucent yellow with plenty of initial foamy head. Light carbonation with decent subtle sweetness. Not bad for the style

 

Single can from Half Time.
Clear golden color with a finger thick white head. Fair retention.
Herbal notes and a slight bitterness.
Light body with moderate carbonation.

16 oz can poured into a bearded iris stange glass

Translucent yellow liquid with numerous active big bubbled carbonation streams , no foam cap

Aroma is grassy, straw, hay, malts

Taste is malty, straw , hint of white grape

Sudsy mouthfeel, gentle hop bite that nicely lingers on the back of the tongue

Good beer

 

 

Can. Pours a has, but bright yellow color. Head grows then dies to essentially a thin ring of uniform white fuzz. No lace. Soft aroma but still a bunch to unpack. I almost get a faint hint of tartness from probably the yeast. Slight rustic quality. Semisweet malts. Grains. Flavor is definitely one of the best I have had from a Kolsch. Initially a bit sweet but it dries out. As it dries you get this incredible medley of dried grains, light tartness, yeasty nuance, noble hop and a bit of honey. The flavor really sprouts on the palate. Has a dry bakery pasty flavor. I could absolutely remove hundreds of these from existence in a sitting. Such a welcoming body, carb level, and aftertaste/feel. A 'wow' level beer in a style that is underrated but often unexciting.

 

A- 16oz can pours into a tulip glass with a clear pale golden body. The head ascends to one finger high and has good retention and a stable foamy consistency. A large sheet of lacing towards the top and some webs drizzled down below that.

S- Not super subtle as far as overall strength but well balanced and on point for the style. The vinous note is up front alongside herbal and spicy hops as well as pale crackery grains. A touch sulfury but it goes so well with the rest of everything. Light fruity esters. Approaching a Pilsner in some regards.

T- Balance once again struck between the yeast, hops and grains with the hops again taking a slight edge over the rest. Floral, herbal and spicy hops open up for vinous, crackery, grainy, pear and light sweetness.

MF- Light bodied and not quite creamy but does have a solid fluffy and frothy texture. Carbonation is at a medium level and it ends with an herbal bitterness.

Schilling just brews really solid beers of a lot of different styles. This Kolsch is on the hoppier side but never leaves the realm of what Kolsch is with vinous yeast and some Pils qualities. Crushable.

A: The beer is crystal clear golden yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that died down, leaving a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of green grapes and biscuity malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of green grapes along with notes of biscuit malts and hints of herbal hops, the latter of which also contribute a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels nearly medium-bodied on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is some dryness in the finish.
O: I really liked the light amount of dryness in this Kölsch, which seemed to give it an extra dimension.

Serving type: can

Sampling a cold 16 oz can poured into my mug. Excited to finally try a beer from this brewery and wish I could make the run to visit, but its so far from me in coastal Connecticut.
The beer pours a bright crystal clear straw gold color with several large-bubbled active streams of carbonation rising to the surface.
A frothy bleached white head of 2 cm foams up on the surface of the beer after the pour and fades to a scattered surface layer as I drink the beer.
The aroma on this brew is some bready malt and a light white grape character and hints of floral hop notes. Mild nse overall, but everything seems to fit for the style.
The first sip reveals a light bodied yet crisp textured beer with fine and gentle carbonation. The beer drinks very easy and my mug is empty faster than anticipated.
Flavor is some bread or scone like dough notes, a bit of light fruitiness, white grape mostly, and then some drying and crisp hop bite that reminds me of a black tea flavor.
the drying finish makes me want to take my next sip, combined with the high drinkability, this beer is certainly crushable.
Glad to have gotten this beer and would recommend to those that are fans of the kolsch style.
nice balanced brew.

 

Can dated 7/8:
Review on second can also pours quite clear and golden, i.e. looks close to, but a tad darker, than a beer that most of us in America grew up on. The head struggled a little even with a more aggressive pour than my first beer, but clings to the side to provide a slow-motion replay of the sip I just took. The light body with its clarity is refreshing to my eyes, though.

Nose is light, as expected, but maybe a little too light. I have to search for nuance, and there's some wet hay with hints of bread that seems to drive the aromas. Beyond that, a little light white wine grape, or maybe some apple flesh and some lightly floral hops (my excessive use of light is intended).

A light, near perfectly effervescent liquid greets my tongue. There's a good bit more bread in the taste - baked recently with hints of yeast. There's some apple and unripe nectarine high atop the malt flavors. The bitterness is typical for the brewery, in my experience - a grassy and somewhat dirty, with the stem of the flower that really doesn't want to participate in the taste.

I thought this beer, of all the beers I've had from this brewery, had the least amount of what I am thinking is a signature "metallic" note, which is obviously good. It was also most nuanced because of that.