No love for Kolsch?

It's a long way from being on of the best. And bottled Kölsch doesn't really work.

 

A Kolsch beer is a beer of beauty; pleasant bready malt backbone with a nice subtle white wine flavor from the Kolsch yeast.

My favorite Kolsch is my homebrewed version.

I discussed a few Kolsch beers in past New Beer Sunday threads: Sunner Kolsch, Victory Kuhl Kolsch, Sierra Nevada Kolsch and Straub Kolsch.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-532.287689/#post-3606946

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-535.295478/#post-3680840

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-539.305745/#post-3788974

Cheers!

 

Never had a Kolsch from Germany, but have enjoyed this one a few times.

 

One of only a handful of traditional German ales. Kölsch is the local brew of the city of Cologne. It is one of the palest German beers made. It is Germany's answer to the British pale ale. I have not had a lot but really like what I have tried.

 

I love the art of brewing and after reading many post on this thread I was wondering if anybody here as any recommendations for Kolsch brew kits?

 

Is it worth trying bottled Kolsch, or stick to draft only? ( note I have only tried two - on draft from Capital City, my local brewpub, which was okay, and bottled from Harpoon, the craft beer I liked least since I began rating at the beginning of this year )

 

That's because the country which invented it (and also invented lager by the way) call it an obergarige lagerbier by virtue of its being lagered.

Point is lost on many drinkers. It's pure fraud for an American brewer to pass off any beer as a Kölsch.It just simply isn't one.

The Germans do not consider that they brew any ales , if it's top fermented they call it just that. They regard ales as one of the Engilsh families of brewing. I quote, of all things, the BJCP:
Germans think of ale as a type of English beer, and lager as a method of conditioning beer. So Germans would typically speak of Kölsch as a top fermenting lager beer, not an ale

 

I love 2 of the WY Kolsch style brews, both on draught only. One from Lander, one from Luminous.

 

Sour, BA stout, and IPA on this site only. Nothing else matters. Extreme flavors or it's not a beer.

 

+1 (or 4) on the SN Kolsch and I'm a big fan of Harpoon's Summer Beer. There's also a kolsch from Down the Road Brewery here in Mass that I'm looking forward to trying.

 

Love me some Schlafly kolsch and Reissdorf. I also just got Mango from Clown Shoes and it was delicious. I haven't heard a ton of great things about it, but I thought it was really refreshing and pretty balanced... and inexpensive

 

had a kolsch called kold one from millhouse in Poughkeepsie

 

I have never brewed with this kit but: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/kolsch-all-grain-kit

The aspects that I think are critical to brewing a quality Kolsch:

· High quality German Pilsner Malt (and/or the Kolsch Malt that Northern Brewer sells)

· A Kolsch yeast strain (e.g., Wyeast 2565)

· Some cold conditioning (lagering) to ‘smooth out’ the beer

Cheers!

 

Thank you, I didn't know that. However forgive me if I just can't come to believe that the waitress is saying lager because she knows about "obergarige lagerbier" and so forth.

 

The malt base and spice complexity of real Kolsch is unique, brewery to brewery, and the subtle nature of the style is fun. It is understated and perfect!

 

Yup, a properly brewed Kolsch in good condition is indeed a beer of beauty!!

Cheers!

 

Fear of mispronouncing Kölsch?

 

I have my friends from germany bring me a 6 pack when they visit. Only recently has it become more widely available in the US, that is the german imports. More and more US brewers are starting to make it seasonally.

 

Not having been quintuple hopped to the point of collapsing your head, nor aged for six months in used oil barrels, Kölsch is not likely to gain a major following in the States any time soon; but it's a personal favorite of mine. If you enjoy subtlety in addition to/instead of boldness, definitely give it a go. I've enjoyed Sünner on tap (the Holy Grale does a Wednesday night "Hot Sünner Nights" in their GraleGarten at which the Köbe replaces your empty Stange from a Kranz, Cologne style, until you place your coaster atop the glass) as well as Früh, Gaffel, Reissdorf, and Sünner from the bottle. I'll leave it to others to recommend the finest example, I'll just encourage beer drinkers to try this (and other) under appreciated style(s).

Like too often with central European styles, the craft brewing examples I've tried have fallen short; mainly due to an unnecessary attempt to "amp-it-up".

 

A number of German brewed Kolsch beers are imported to the US: Früh, Gaffel, Reissdorf, and Sünner. The ‘trick’ is to find them fresh.

I am fortunate that beer bars local to me frequently have German brewed Kolsch beers on draft and every time I have drank them they were in good condition (fresh).

A bottled German brewed Kolsch that I really appreciate is Freigeist Ottekolong. I have posted about this beer previously: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-524.265571/#post-3384577

Cheers!