Fruhling Kolsch
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

(Served in a nonic)

A- This beer has a crystal clear clover honey hued body with a sticky white head supported by a gentle carbonation of a few bubbles.

S- This beer has a soft green pungent note that is a pretty clean. There is a field corn note that increases as the beer warns and is slightly sweet.

T- There is a smooth taste of pale malt with a dry cream flavor aswell. The pungent hop finish has a lemon note and a soft sulfur quality. As the beer warms from its arctic temps the hops bitterness really grow and grow.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with no alcohol heat at all.

D- This is a pretty clean beer except for the big hop bitterness that is a bit of a kick in the teeth and not supported by much hop flavor. The corn flavors and aroma were a bit off and not really my favorite in a kolsch.

On tap at the Pub. Served in a nonic glass.

Kölsch is my favorite summer time style so I was quite excited to try this.

A finger of white soapy head sits on top of a glowing straw colored beer.

The nose is full of fruity yeast, bready malt, some spicy hops. It's a little more amped up than the usuall kölsch.

The first sip is tasty! Crackery, bready malt, hops, light notes of sweet fruit. There's also a sweetness I can't put my finger on. The abv is a little high for the style so I'm thinking they used a beefy malt bill for this one which would explain the sweetness. Honey malt, maybe?

A very drinkable summer treat from Flossmoor.

on tap @ Flossmoor Station

Pours a very pale yellow, with a nice head, about 1.5cm, white, decent lacing, fair retention. Looks about like a kolsch, but looks can be a bit deceiving. There's a lot in the smell, some that should be there, some that I didn't expect. It starts up with lemon zest, not too unusual, but not what I expected, then moves to a bit of grassiness, more normal, then I get a kind of tart cherry smell, which wavers between normal and abnormal for the style I'd say. Then it moves to medicinal smells, almost, which could be abnormal part of the cherry, which is quite out of the ordinary, and it's backed with quite a bit more sweetness than I'd expect. In some respects, it's like a kolsch, mixed with something thick and syrupy, like a belgian golden. In the taste, the tartness makes a comeback, which I like. There's a bit of grassy, herbal hoppiness, and a bit of a nice powdery pale malt presence. All expected in the style. But there's an incredible amount of sweetness, a bit too much if you ask me. It's interesting, all of the components are there, but it lacks the dryness I expect. This one is very full bodied - too full bodied. There's a nice zip to the carbonation, which I like, but it's just too syrupy and strong. I enjoy what's here, but not quite a kolsch. It's good, and I drank it rather quickly. I would probably order it again out of interest, but when it carries a name that implies light, dry and drinkable, I'm not sure that this delivers. I'm not sure how I feel about an imperial kolsch.

Pours a light yellow color with one finger of rocky white head.

Scent of light fruit, citrus, lemon zest, a hint of caramel, and hops.

Taste of grain, weak malts, and a hint of citrus. Fairly unimpressive, I will stick with the better local Kolsch.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with good carbonation.

I had this on tap at the Flossmoor brewpub. The server's notes: "A clean, crisp, delicately balanced beer with very subtle fruit flavors and aromas. Subdued maltiness throughout leads to a pleasantly refreshing tang in the finish. To the untrained taster easily mistaken for a light lager, a somewhat subtle pilsner, or perhaps a blond ale."

The beer is pale straw color, clear with a 1-finger white foam that settled into a thin protective film. The aroma is appropriately muted, light malts and maybe a hint of esters. The taste is very good for the style, subtle and sweet, not as much gentle funk as I get from Gaffel or Reissdorf but very nice. The light body helps to keep this moving, it would be easy to over-indulge at 6.5%.