Cherry Kolsch
Woodhouse Brewing Co.

Appearance: Poured with a hefty three fingers of head that produced ample lacing and stuck around. The body is mostly clear off color yellow with kind of a pink peach hue. Pretty much the hue is the only detraction here, as it's not quite as opaque red as I would expect nor clear yellow.

Smell: There is a strong cherry flavor here, but almost bordering into cough syrup/candy territory. I wouldn't go so far as to say it smells artificial, but I think the malt or some kind of honey note is causing this effect. I think I'm catching a bit of bread malt in the background, but predominantly this is almost too sweet cherry.

Taste: That sweet cherry note starts us off but it is well reigned in by bready malt that keeps the sweetness down, then it takes a jerk of a right turn to kolschville as suddenly lager malt and pepper come forward and erase the cherries. The two then battle a little bit in the aftertaste, but it's clear the Kolsch part of this beer got the drop on the cherry.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is nice and sudsy, but the transitioning is so staggeringly poor it seems to come full circle. It certainly isn't misnamed, as it's cherry to start and then kolsch to finish, with no real shift between them, it's kind of impressive in a weird way but it comes across as like a mob hit. Like Kolschy Kolt came by and told me that cherry weren't around no more...and that was that. It mean you get maybe some whispers of cherry in the aftertaste, but it's very much Kolsch pepper dominated with a hint of dryness.

Drinkability: I means, it's very much on the side of light bodied and exceptionally easy to get down, and that little bit of dryness at the end coaxes you to come back and try to dig up that short lived cherry note, but he disappears as fast as he came. I mean I'll give it this, it went down fast despite it's strange dual personality.

Final Thoughts: When I bought this beer, I thought "I wonder if cherry and pepper go together? I mean lemon and pepper do, and cherry can compliment lemon" and I initially thought "No they don't" but as I drank it more and more I thought "Actually maybe they don't, I don't honestly know now. This is two isolated flavors and I'm a bit flabbergasted at how no blending of them occurred." This is a weird one, and if you like weird beer this will be up your alley. This strikes me very much as a beer you will either like or hate, but not love.

Tastes nothing like cherry. Reminds me of expired cough syrup. No flavor just absolutely awful. Stay away from this crap.

Review from notes. Served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - orange with a pinkish hue and mostly clear. Head is off white but somewhere in the orange/pink spectrum.

Smell - Bready aspects, with other grain and a kiss of honey and a couple of kisses of cherry.

Taste - Pretty much like the nose, largely grainy with a little more sweetness than usual and cherry in the close and aftertaste. Doesn't quite work for me, but could see how many like this.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied with crisp carbonation. Slight drying sensation to close.

Overall - A brew that I didn't really enjoy but can appreciate how delicate the balance between cherry and the graininess of a Kolsch can be. Worth a try for anyone really.

Dull peachy yellow with a reddish hue. Moderate head settling to a full film, credible lacing. Not as full and juicy on the palate as.most kolsch's, subdued cherry flavour. Fruity nose with a cherry edge. Strikes me as an odd sort of marriage as I've come to think that a flavoured is a hard thing to pull off. Drinkable if just a little odd.

Pours a picture perfect dark gold, a bit pink colour with a beautiful thick head on top. Light cherry flavour on the smell. This beer tastes like cough syrup or lozenges. Very artificial flavour. Smooth mouthfeeL
Sept 11 2022

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated May 23 2021 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a clear golden-orange colour with a slight pinkish hue; seated atop is nearly a finger of smooth, creamy, off white-coloured head that seeps off within two minutes or so. It leaves behind a full, even coat of lace as it recedes down to a tight collar of foam and a filmy cap - lookin' good. It smells mostly of biscuity, bready malt sweetness, with very slight hints of honey, earthy hops and sweet cherry.

It tastes a fair bit like a real German-style pils or lagered ale, with the cherry being more of an accent vs. the main focus. Grainy at the forefront, with bready, biscuity pale malt sweetness and a touch of honeyed dough developing by mid-sip; just a suggestion of cherry juice throughout the rest of the profile. Finishes with a touch of earthy, herbal hop bitterness that fades into a barely fruity-sweet aftertaste that fades within a moment or two. Medium-light in body, with average carbonation levels that give a bit of crispness to this brew's smooth mouthfeel. Well-balanced and satisfying - I could drink a sixer of these with no fuss whatsoever.

Final Grade: 3.88, a B+. Cherry beers are very much a hit-or-miss affair for me, with Woodhouse's Cherry Kölsch being a pretty solid hit. Part of that may have to do with the fact that the cherry fruitiness is restrained - I never felt like I was drinking a 'fruit beer', as the German-style malts and noble hop flavours are robust enough to carry the drink all by themselves. In fact, I could totally see someone on the opposite end of the spectrum complaining that there isn't enough cherry juice flavour for their preferences. To each their own, I suppose - if you're a German lager fan looking for something a little bit outside of the box, this is well worth a pick-up, and I'm sure I'll be returning to it a few more times over the coming summer.