Katherine's Kolsch
Manor Hill Brewing

Bright gold. Subdued aroma, mostly bready with a light hops. Clean, pilsner-like flavor with a touch of fruitiness, Not especially crisp, though. Decent kolsch, but muted flavors.

 

Just found my old Magic 8 ball so I'm going to use it to help me rate this beer. ALL the answers are verifiable 8 ballers. In fairness, I let the 8 ball set in a cereal bowl filled with the beer. Me=M and 8 ball=8.

M...Pale gold appearnce, large white head, decent lacing. Agreed?
8..."As I see it, yes"

M...Pleasant aroma of grains and floral hops.
8..."Concentrate and ask again"

M...Flavor reflects well on the style.
8..."Cannot predict now"

Oh crap, Mr 8 ball just stopped working. Must have got some suds in its base. Will sell cheap if interested
. Wait, one last quote coming thru: "Outlook not so good"

 

Saw this and was in the mood for something light and drinkable so here we are. Great clarity and short lived head are par for the course. Bread and butter joins noble hops in the nose. Starts okay and attempts a little complexities with some citrus and fruit notes and a hint of spice, but there is some watery graininess in the back half that hinders this from being an outstanding example of the style.

 

 

Appearance: Despite a fairly hard pour I was unable to produce much of a head; the slightly hazy amber liquid seems lonely with the cap lasting only a few seconds

Smell: Bready with a faint lemon tone and some pithy bitterness

Taste: Bread forward with a fruity element building; hints of lemon and grapefruit through the middle and a slightly fruity finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with low carbonation

Overall: Rather disappointing as I really enjoyed their Grisette

 

Poured from the can into a Gaffel stange glass. Sprouted on September 23rd 2016.

Nice unfiltered if slightly dull body, lemon yellow ith a bit of apricot darkness to it. Lots of sudsy carbonation coming up, the whole glass is practically roaring with it. No surprise a big head, but more surprisingly in control. Fluffy and bright white with big bubble bath foamy appearance of three fingers. A surprising amount of retention as well, but eventually does settle nicely.

Good solid aroma. Hop forward a bit but there's a touch of lemon and fruity senses but has that good decent chewy malt and dough bread character. There seems to be a touch of possible American hop in here as I am getting a bit of grapefruit also. It does pair well though and doesn't go overboard at least. Pretty solid on the nose.

Palate seems to go a bit more American in style. Hop forward with quite a bit of citrus and tropical notes in the middle. IPA like flavorings of grapefruit and pineapple very noticeable, also with a very juicy like body to match in the mid palate. Hits slightly herbal in the finish, but also has that new age juicebox IPA character. Solid body, not even fizzy but noticeably playful.

A decent brew but the flavor is more akin to a hopped up new American style take. It will certainly keep the hop heads happy, but looses a lot of Kolsch character in turn unfortunately. So that manages a little bit less in enjoyment for myself.

It's appropriately straw colored, but far too hazy - a kolsch-style beer should NEVER be hazy. The aroma brings appropriate lemony qualities, but also a strange hint of marinara sauce. Frankly, the nose is quite witbier-esque, yet with a stronger spice quotient (and of course, the omnipresent marinara sauce). It tastes better, however. Lemon flavors are clustered at the front, with strong coriander near the back. There are even some hoppy hints fluttering around. It feels light and crisp - refreshing even - but it's not clean like the style demands. Overall, this is tasty enough taken in a vacuum, plus it does grow on me after a while. Still, I'm docking points because this really isn't like a kolsch at all. I probably won't buy it again.

2.88/5: Hey Katherine, this seems like a witbier...

 

I really wanted to like this. Very local for me. I like Kölsch. Many years ago I had one in Cologne. But I don't like this. Not that it's a drain pour, but I'm disappointed. Costs a small fortune, so maybe that raises the bar too high.

The head is literally over the top. Huge bubbles, requires a painfully slow pour to fit into a glass of normal size to accommodate other heady beers. It's just weird.

The aroma and flavor are citrusy to a fault. Too much.

It's almost like a wheat beer. Which I also don't like.

If that's what a kölsch is supposed to be like, then I defer, but It's not what I remember.

Again, it's not a travesty or anything. Just doesn't seem right.

Lovely label though, and comes in cans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz can, dated 5-17-16, poured into pint glass

A- A super hazy bright yellow with a three finger white head.

S- Some sweet bread, some wheat, a hint of grape/lemon tartness, nice earthy spice.

T- Pilsner malts, some wheat, touch of sweet bread, some light fruits, nice earthy spice.

M- Light body, crisp, smooth.

O- A nice and tasty beer for 4.6% ABV, great summer beer!