Ella Slow Roll
Aurora Brewing Co.

a kolsch dry hopped with ella, a cool hop choice for the style and i was excited for this one, but it ends up really unrefined, even messy, and was for me the least impressive of the beers we had here at the brewery last week. its served in the right glass, but it almost looks like a hazy ipa, an inch of white head on a soupy dense base, not what i have come to expect visually from the style. the aroma here is nice, maybe a tad unclean on the ferment, but the soft floral and grassy ella hops really stand out. some german character to the grain, sturdy for the style but fresh to me, weird on the yeast, not quite crisp and fast. the flavor is a little jumbled, overly malty, slightly soapy on the yeast, a curious estery thing, but the ella hops are great, distinct, southern hemisphere vinous elements, would be awesome in a better base kolsch, but this seems sloppy now, more and more as it warms too, subtle lemongrass, lemon curd, and green tea. some bitterness late, more body than i want from one of these, and frankly a beer that would benefit from a little more attention to detail and cleaning up, but ella hops in a good kolsch seems like a great combination!