Bird Is the Word
Checkerspot Brewing Company

Poured from the can into a branded Gaffel stange glass.

Kind of dark for a kolsch, with a body appearance that's a light orange, slightly hinting brass yellow but with some decent clarity. Bright white three finger head with a good amount of retention and staying power, and minimal noticeable rising carbonation.

Aroma has a bit of slight bready to crackery malt, somewhere in between of dense and dry with a decent controlled sweet note. Faint banana ester strangely, and even a touch of almost orange like flavor.

Palate is lacking particularly with a very noticeable wet body. Watery consistence of light honey sweetness and almost metallic twinge finish. Papery flavors of light malt and mild carbonation that just makes the beer just lively enough to be passable.

There is really not much going on here which leads to quite a bit of disappointment from the nose and appearance. Drinkable but unfortunately comes off like a little bit of a letdown.

On draught.
A gold pour with poor head retention, no lacing.
Interesting malt profile, perhaps it’s the honey.
A little caramel, and zesty tanginess on the side of the tongue to complement the carbonation.
A slight nutty/lethery and grainy/citrus flavor that lingers on the finish. Bitterness is mild.

With baseball season starting this week, this seemed like the right time for this one, even if I think the Orioles pitching is too thin to seriously contend for the pennant this year. The honey is apparent in the nose and the flavor is mostly cracker and mild hops. Definitely brewed as a pairing with warm, outside weather. A little pricey for just a four pack of tall boys but not bad value at the game.

 

 

Large, short lived white head left sparce lacing over a clear gold body. Aroma of light grainy malt pitted against notes of honey. The taste has a light hop accent but maintains the solid malt footing. Honey accented sweetness lingers in the aftertaste. Modestly carbonated, light-to-medium bodied mouthfeel. Crisp finish.

Dark Gold with about an inch of fizzy white head that I wish lasted longer, good lacing. Smell is cracker and honey, along with slightly perceivable hop fruit and grass. Taste Is reverse; hop citrus and fruit are the immediate flavor, quickly followed by honeyed sweetness that spreads across the palate, and finishes with cracker and bread in the back of the mouth. The honey is quite pronounced, but not sickeningly so. In the background is a faint mead quality, the mixture of honey and slightly perceptible alcohol flavor must be responsible. For a Kolsch this is surprisingly creamy, likely due to the slightly higher than normal abv and added honey. However, the head retention leaves a lot to be desired. Not carbonated enough (and yes, this was canned only a month ago).

Overall a very satisfying Kolsch that drinks like a meal, a unique take as they typically are more light bodied. Just needs better carbonation. This beer is almost convincing me that an "Imperial Kolsch," style could work pretty well, especially with honey and a lot more hops.

 

8 oz pour on draft at the brewery. Pours a clear straw yellow with a sudsy off-white head. Aroma and flavor feature light bready malt, somewhat sweet, and a whiff of light hops. It's a simple and straightforward beer.