Zunft Kölsch
Erzquell Brauerei Bielstein Haas & Co. KG

Pale golden color with a thin white head. Grass, fruits, and malt aroma. The taste is bittersweet, malty, hoppy, and fruity. A good thirst-quencher.

Pours a golden color with a bigger, stable head.

Smells of a soft, doughy maltiness and noble, prominent hops, providing a herbal characteristic.

Has a light and refreshing mouthfeel with a higher, fitting carbonation.

Tastes of grainy, rustic malts, with straw and fresh baked bread producing a nice depth, perfectly enhanced by slightly bitter, herbal hops. The hops produce a lighter resinous note, perfectly balanced by sweeter hay and a note of rich straw. Finishes a little sweeter, maltier with a late caramel note cutting through among lasting, soft and herbal hops.

Great Kölsch with a fantastic flavor range, establishing a refreshing interplay between well pronounced, herbal hops and sweeter, bready malts.

 

 

 

 

Review from notes taken in Koln in March 2016:

.5L brown glass bottle from the Biermuseum kiosk in Koln, Germany. 4.80% ABV. Branded pry-off crown cap. Green and white label.

Served cold into a pilsner glass. Reviewed live as a Kolsch per the name and label (appellation).

HEAD: ~2cm wide white cap. Somewhat frothy, though less so than most Koln-brewed Kolschbiere. Head recedes within 2 minutes, leaving no lacing. The consistency could be creamier, frothier, and more robust.

BODY: Clear clean yellow with pale copper hues. Looks rather ordinary for a Kolsch - not as vibrant as the best expressions of the style I've seen.

Carbonation seems off; the head recedes in the usual 2 minutes but the body is teeming with over-active carbonation bubbles.

AROMA: Muted, even a bit stale - the opposite of the fresh Munich & pils malt aroma you want in a great Kolsch. A bit grainy, nodding towards budget premium lagers.

There's no hop aromatics at all. This isn't seeming like a very good Kolsch, but maybe the taste will be up to par?

Aromatic intensity is low.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Stale Munich malt, stale pils malt, and off-putting graininess comprise the entirety of the flavour profile. No hops in sight here. The mouthfeel is anything but fresh, coming off stale, overcarbonated, and overly spritzy and fizzy on the palate. Not the soft, refreshing, light-bodied, crisp, clean, balanced Kolsch I've come to expect from beers with the official Kolsch appellation.

Build is quite poor.

O: This isn't the worst official Kolsch I've had thus far (that distinction belongs to Richmodis), but it's close. Drinkable, but disappointing.

D (2.13) / AVOID

On draft from Prost at Alefort. Freshly mown hay comes to mind, pale golden body, frothy head, minor hops bite, some mustiness. Pretty standard for a kolsch.

 

 

I'll have 500 ml, please. On to the beer:

A half-inch of soapy head forms on top this paler than gold beer. A few bubbles show beyond the body, little head retention on top as time ticks on. While the aroma is soft, it brings pleasurable notes of honey, hay, and some grass. Tasting it, the beer has a dry crackery character at the base. Grape and hay notes make small footprints to the base. The intensity of the overall flavor is strong for a kolsch, but not as smooth as others. That said, it is still satisfying, , even with little carbonation .

 

Never seen this one in my area before so I snapped one up from a newer specialty beer store. Best by July of 2015 on the label.

A -- Bright, clear gold with a very dense white head.

S -- Light, bready malts with a typical Kölsch light fruit quality back and light DMS.

T -- Very nice bready Pils malt up front that blends into a very light fruit character then to a mildly spicy, herbal hop bitterness in the finish. There's a sort of light grape quality in the aftertaste along with the herbal hop bitterness.

M -- Mouthfeel is soft to crisp with a light to light-medium body.

O -- A very fresh, tasty example of the style. I'll definitely look for more of this.

16.9 oz bottle with a best before Mar 15. Very deep golden color with a rich white head and significant lacing. Fruity smell and taste with good malt flavor. Good carbonation level. An excellent warm weather beer - I drank it at about 40F. This one has my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a great lawn mower beer that isn't some cheap American macro.

 

 

Poured from a 500 ML bottle into a pint glass. Aroma- Big malt and fruit smell. Appearance- Pours a crystal clear gold color with a thick white head. Taste- Malt and bread flavor with spices and hops, real good combo. Palate- A medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. Overall- A real good beer, definitely give it a try.