Kölsch Lagered Ale
Steamworks Brewing Company

 

Retry: Pours slightly hazy, smell is a bit sulphuric - otherwise bright and light. Taste is somewhat sour and astringent, almost vinegary. I didn't notice the sour taste the first time I tried it. Interesting and mild, need to try it again to get a more in depth flavour profile. Some unique and desirable creaminess in the flavour. Significant hop expression. However it does to a very subtle degree have this weird decaying floral note that the majority of steamworks brews i have tried seem to have, and it doesn't always work well. Fortunately their lions gate lager doesn't have this taste but the john oliver lager definitely does in a bad way. It is less prominent in the Kolsch, but it reminds me of the worst part of the john oliver lager.

 

Appearance - Pours a straw gold with four fingers of bubbly frothy white head.

Smell - grassy, leafy, and herbal noble hops, bready malts, cereal grains, lemon, and earthy yeast.

Taste - grassy, leafy, and herbal noble hops upfront. The lemon, cereal grains, and bready malts come through next. The brew is rounded out by the earthy yeast.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes crisp and dry with the lemon and cereal grains lingering.

Overall - A crushable kölsch that delivers on the flavours reminiscent of the style. A true summer patio beer.

 

Pours a hazy gold no head to speak of. This is like a great combination of a kolsch and a malt forward Pilsner. Very refreshing and easy drinking.

 

 

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a short bright white head that died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles on the surface and a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of cracker malts are present in the nose along with some hints of green grapes.
T: The taste follows the smell, but has a better balance between the flavors of cracker malts and green grapes. A light amount of bitterness is present.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation and dryness in the finish.
O: This beer is a rather good Canadian representation of a German beer style.

Serving type: can

500 ml can from the LCBO – served cold in a pint glass.

Appearance out of the can is slightly cloudy golden colour with short (

Had this brew as part of a lager tasting flight. Poured cloudy but very bright. Plenty of herbs on the nose.

Has a different character in comparison to the common lager or lagered ale with the presence of european hops and malts. Refreshing and worth the drink.

Canned from the LCBO.

 

CAN
Platinum with white film + bubbles. 4
Flowers + clean grain. 4
Dough, tart lager hit, some hay, a touch of honey, and some very light grass. 3.5
Bit watery, light, crisp, fizzy. 3.75

Celeia, Magnum, Tettang

Clean, but is it just a lager? Missing the Kolsch complexity - smooth + flowery. Dies on the end, too. Dumb and easy. 3.5

 

No one's ever going to rave about a kolsch, but this is really--nearly--as good as the style gets. Crisp, clean, grainy character, only slight bitterness, some cracker and pilsner malt . . . It's not a big beer, or a complex beer, but it's a lovely, balanced, easy-drinking summer beer.

Given that Steamworks makes (arguably) Canada's best pilsner already, I'm not shocked to discover they've pretty much nailed the milder, ale-ier sister-style as well.

 

Medium-light colour from a 500ml can. Crisp and clean tasting typical of Kolsch style. Very tasty and drinkable. Reasonably priced too at C$2.29. Highly recommended, especially if you want a quality alternative to the trendy over-hopped modern microbrews.