Big Time Kölsch 45

Draught pint at Redbones on 11/23/07
Great presentation, with an almost completely clear, straw yellow body with just a slightly darker maize tint. White, foamy head is medium and shows moderate retention, strong lacing.
Fruitiness in the nose stems both from esters and liberal aromatic hopping, and comes off clear, crisp and fairly strong. Rich, but yet well attenuated pale malts soften the hop livliness, but add their own crispness in turn, towards the finish, where they are met by a clean and, if somewhat underwhelming in strength, authentic kolsch yeast. No flaws or alcohol noted.
When cold, as it was served, the beer definitely comes off (at the start) as more of a hoppy golden ale and it leaves you wondering where the kolsch went. Perhaps the liberal hopping (though it isnt high alpha hopped) pushes the kolsch-notes aside and you are left with plenty of lush, moderately bitter hops and a seemingly very clean, crisp finish full of clean grains. But with warming, the kolsch-yeast notes definitely emerge. Strong minerals and the tell tale esters never dominate, or get close to it, but they’re certainly there, enough to satisfy me. Definitely more highly hopped than something in Germany and maybe slightly sweeter (though definitely not too sweet), but still a wonderful, drinkable, clean beer with a lightly effervescent carbonation and strong, malty texture to give depth.

(Draught) Sampled at the brewpub in Seattle on October 20, 2007. Light white head with a highly carbonated, clear golden body. Nose of grain, 7-Up and tonic water. Flavour of cardboard and mildly metallic. Pretty average.

Golden and bright. Thin head. Slightly grassy aroma with a hint of lemon. The lemon carries through with a slightly husky/grainy breadcrusty pale malt character that sticks into the finish (ie far too long). The bitterness is dull, lacking the snap of a fresh Sion or Fruh. All in all, I find the finishing hops too soft and the yeast too clean. OK as a golden ale but no Kolsch.

Light fruity hoppy aroma. Hay colored. Highly carbonated. Nice subtle malty flavor. Very drinkable. A great session beer. Having lived in Cologne for a time and having consumed every possible form of Kölsch in the Cologne city limits, this beer is spot on and a very loyal interpretation of an often misrepresented great German ale.

Light orange with a white head. Nice malty kolsch, fruity in the finish with a balanced bitter finsih. Smooth and refreshing, but light and subtle. I just think this style lacks unless its really fresh then the flavors can shine more, its just hard to get a really fresh sample.