Northbound And Down
Wild Ride Brewing Co.

awesome idea for a beer here, a kolsch style with wet hops, centennial at that, really unconventional, but really good. you always see the wet hops in a pale ale or ipa, never in styles like this, if its lighter beer, generally, its a pils type, so this concept is totally unique to me, and its really nice. i think it allows for the hops to be more subtle, less in your face, than they need to be to push through the grain in a bolder beer. this is about as soft an expression of centennial as i have known, no hard edges, no bite, not even all that oily and intense, its mellow and it actually works really well with the kolsch yeast in this beer, a little limey note, some grassiness, similar bitterness to a classic kolsch with noble hops, but a little more flavor it seems, really pleasant and surprising. the beer is super light, minimal on the grain side and dry and bubbly. the hops compliment the base beer well, but this is a good kolsch even without that element. one of the best beers i have had from these guys to date. i believe they do a wet hop ipa under this same name, and i was not able to track that down, but this kolsch was a highlight of wet hop season for me, a really nice beer, mild, especially on a palate that had been drinking ipa all day, but highly distinctive too. great combination of old and new world styles and techniques and ingredients!