No love for Kolsch?

Then I really don't understand your repeated objections, since large numbers of US brewed Kolsch style beers actually do say "Kolsch Style" or "German style" on the label and all beers brewed in the US, under US law, have to clearly identify either the physical location of the brewery or the US based location in which the brewers do business. So effectively there is almost zero chance of confusion of a US brewed Kolsch style beer with a German (or UK brewed) Kolsch style beer for anyone who cares.

 

Ok, a few people who set it in stone and then did not want it to develop. But to me, that is not how cuisine and taste should work, or how it works normally when not confounded by rules. Beer styles change and develop organically, and the state of Kölsch in the 1980ies was removed from the "traditional" kölsch style. When you always say "the fathers of kölsch",it sounds like a long long time ago some merry old founding fathers brewed a beer in their backyard and said "this is kölsch". but no, the state of Kölsch in the 1980ies and the conditions under which the Konvention was developed were characterized by the Kölner Brauer Verbund and such, ergo conglomerates of also bigger businesses. And as we all know now, that did not help them from being taken over by even bigger ones.
See IPA as an example, how would you feel if now, some americans made a law which says that an IPA has to be over 6%abv and has to contain c-hops.......

 

Nobody was telling anybody what to brew.Just what it should be if it carries the name.
It's done with Stilton cheese, Champagne,Parma ham and countless other products.Doesn't stop others making blue cheese , sparkling wine or ham in any way they want.
Yes, beer in general is constantly changing. New varieties of malt and hops, public taste, tax laws and even motoring legislation (DUI limits) all work to bring about change.But there's no reason why an individual beer shouldn't remain as it was if that's what people want.And apparently that's what the citizens of Koln like.

 

It's not an ale either, not really that much to get worked up about.


Love kolsch, took a keg of kolsch homebrew to a float trip this weekend and a bunch of mostly BMC guys happily took it down.

There are some really good ones being made in the U.S. now. I really like Coast, Magnolia Brew Pub, Lancaster, and others I'm not thinking about.

The one thing about a kolsch is it can have a ton of range, basically if you ferment with kolsch yeast, use any continental hop, and don't get to crazy with the grist it's a kolsch. So there are definitely polarizing examples flavor-wise.

 

I feel the comparison with champagne does not work. The soil, the microclimate etc in the champagne region makes for grapes which are different than the ones you grew in Alsace, in the Loire valley ,germany or luxemburg. So although all other regions mentioned make "cremant",which means the same method of conditioning and vinification than champagne, it still will taste different and be a different product.With Kölsch, i see no reason why 100km away from Köln you can't make a beer with the same yeast culture, the same hops and the same malts.
A regional beer should remain, yes. But in case of franconia for instance, this works well without strict laws which limit variety and individuality of the end product. Yes, there are broad protected terms like "Bayerisches Bier" or "Hofer Bier", but they do not apply to color, filtration or abv.

 

this is the best and most important post on this thread.

 

I love the Kolsch style. Proper German only please. Delicious crisp and sweet lager. Cheers. For those of you in CT Myplace Taproom in Newtown always has Reisdorff or Gaffel Kolsch styles flowing on tap.

Sierra Nevada does a Kolsch style ale? I'm not sure what that's all about.

 

Of course you can.Just as an artist can copy a Rembrandt using the same canvas and paints.Just don't try to pass it off as genuine though.

 

Nope, no love for Kolsch. Not from these quarters, anyway. But to each his own!

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/sierra-nevada-four-summer-seasonal-pack.255920/

See SN Bill's post about half-way down page 1. It's Americanized, but it's very well made.

 

But the law in place now which says what is genuine and which is not is kind of questionable.
See, like Zunft Kölsch, brewed in Wiehl,50km away from cologne, can be called Kölsch.
Stuff like Bönnsch Na Klar, Troilsch, Gemünder Obergärig or Lahnsteiner Obergärig can't be, though some of them are closer to cologne.

The Rembrandt comparison aigan doesn't work for me......
Its more like some artists in a region paint in a specific style, but one isn't allowed to label or market his art as the specific style, because some others made a law which limits the use of the term, although regarding technique , style and materials, its the same. worse yet, they also made a law that says that there may be no furhter refinement of the style and that it has to be painted the way it is for all eternity...

 

I've never had the opportunity to try a Kolsch but I would love to. Lager styles don't get the kind of love that they should!

 

Have some Metropolitan Krankshaft in the fridge that I am enjoying. Easy to get and year round here in Chicago.

 

My favorite is Mühlen.



As others have said, Kölsch is best drank at the source. It's a wonderful experience.

The homebrewed Kölsch I've been drinking lately is one of the better ones I've had over here.

 

A beer brewed in Missouri called a Kolsch!?!

Cheers!

 

@brother_rebus

 

All due respect to @marquis (and he is due considerable respect), it seems to me that the German Kölsch "purity" law is little more than protectionism.

Having said that, the tarting-up of the name by American brewers adding all manner of adjuncts, over-hopping, etc., is somewhere between comical and shameful. I keep waiting for the IPK...

 

Please - please - please! Be careful what you wish for (or what silly bug you put in some brewer's ear...)!

 

Ithaca Brewing has already made an ‘Imperial’ Kolsch: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/651/155410/

Step 1: Increase the ABV (already done)

Step 2: Increase hopping amounts

Step 3: Profit!

Cheers!

 

It's more like a form of patenting which is of course protectionism.Coca Cola is very much copied but beware the manufacturer who infringes the name.
Yes, tarting up is all very well, but I remember in an art class the tutor saying "Know when to stop and if it seems OK resist adding extra touches"