Kulmbacher Gold
Kulmbacher Brauerei

Jan. 2006: 330 ml clear bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Pale golden colour, decent head. The "skunky" whiff when opening the bottle is actually the best thing with this beer - the longer lasting aroma is sweetish and grassy, notes of maize (corn) even though this is a Reinheitsgebot beer. Flavour is very bland, just a little maize-like sweetness and minimal hops. Kulmbacher have obviously been tempted to produce a beer for the younger crowd of swill drinkers, people who really don’t like the taste of beer at all. Shame on you, Kulmbacher - you can do so much better than this!

 

 

Found in a Moscow grocery store, the clear 33cl bottle has a gold and white label featuring the brewery's coat of arms above the name. Above the coat are two words, in English: Enjoy Mild. The purity law applies. Best before 8/23/06, I opened it on 3/11/06.

Pours a clear, fairly deep gold under a short-lived 1/2 finger off white head that manages to leave some collar, but no lace. The nose is strong of floral (and skunked) hops, with some bready grain hanging around. The mouth is well carbonated and semi-sticky. The taste is as advertised - mild. The malt is quite sweet, almost sugary, while there is very little hops presence at all. The aftertaste retains the sugary sweetness, with just the slightest dry bite. It's OK, and perfectly drinkable, but nothing to get excited about.