Dominion Kolsch
Township 24 Brewery

A- This pours a semi hazy (likely chill haze), light amber/golden color, with muted orange tones when held against light. The head, when poured fairly aggressively, is about one finger in thickness, but is dense, and is just a shade off of being pure white. It retains rather well, settling down into a pussy mass of a thick layer. I can see the carbonation through the haze, and it doesn't look like it is aggressive in nature, rather lumbering upwards in a nice uniform manner all throughout the liquid. The lacing is somewhat soapy, and most of it does in fact cling to the inside of the glass, creating a traditional, albeit broken up ring. Doesn't look too bad overall!

S- What I'm getting here is a nice blend of caramel malt sweetness, blended with fresh, ripe orchard fruits, such as Red Delicious apple, Bosc pear and Apricots. I am also detecting honey nut cheerios if that makes sense to anyone....very nice! The finish is dry and somewhat grassy, with a very low hop presence.

T- Well this is pretty much what I expected it to be.....light malt sweetness, dry grains and somewhat dry grassy tones. There are underlying tones of the aforementioned orchard fruits, but these are light in nature. Perhaps there is a tinge of sulfer in the flavor too.....the finish is clean and of dry leafy goodness....again this very light but it does leave behind a lingering flavor on the palate that goes back and forth between malt, raw grains and hops. Nothing overpowering but nothing offensive....I think this department is ok, if nothing but a little bit flabby.

M/O- Speaking of flabby, I was hoping for a lighter body than this provides, being more light-medium. I think the carbonation is perfect for the style, being very mild and just enough to provide a zing and burst of flavor. This is a very drinkable brew that would be perfect on a patio on a hot summer day. Inoffensive fare and while easy to drink, this isn't quite what a true German variety would offer.....Id still have no issue enjoying this again!

650ml bottle - if the brewery doesn't spell it with an umlaut, then neither do I, in case anyone was wondering.

This beer pours a mostly clear, medium golden yellow colour, with two fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly dirty white head, which leaves a bit of random peeling paint job profile lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, mildly underripe apples and pears, a hint of musty yeastiness, faint gasohol notes, and some plain earthy, weedy, and dead floral green hop bitters. The taste is grainy and crackery pale malt, saline solution, a muddled pome fruitiness, ethereal petrol fumes, sort of phenolic yeast, and more well-understated earthy, herbal, and musky hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly meek in its innocuous-seeming frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and not really that smooth, as an uncertain acridity makes a major dent in the surface sheen here. It finishes trending dry, the malt sort of bleeding out.

Overall - yeah, this comes off as rather amateur in its bearing, with nothing really wrong, but nothing really right, by the same sword. Kind of hard to enjoy, when you can't exactly put your finger on why it bugs you so much, I'm afraid to report.