Brewers Alley Kölsch

Brewed by Brewer’s Alley Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Kölsch
Frederick, Maryland USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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It doesn’t get much better than this. Served on tap in Frederick area restaurants associated with Brewer’s Alley and at Frederick Keys games. A smooth, creamy style beer that is easy to drink, and yet tastes worlds better than other mass produced "easy to drink" beers. Has a distinct taste that is unlike anything this novice beer drinker has ever experienced, and is highly rewarding. If you ever find yourself in Frederick, do yourself a favor and go to Brewer’s Alley and have a Kolsch.

This beer rocks. The aroma is of malt and just-baked sugar cookies. It has a dark golden hue and the flavor screams MALT MALT MALT. Not sweet, perfectly-mildy hopped. The finish is a touch complex in that it is a bit fizzy yet ends up silky (great mouthfeel) one second later. Awesome beer.

Pour from bottle, typical clear golden color, steady carbonation, head a little less than impressive given the fresh tap pours that are normally excellent in this style. The aroma was grainy, some fruit. The flavor followed with an added grassy hop touch in the finish. Amazingly fresh tasting Koelsch for a bottle, probably my best stateside example in a bottle.

An outstanding representation of the style and a go-to slammer for me. Brilliant, clear, deep warm gold colour with a soapy white head. The nose is clean and malty with pleasant cereal grain, and sweet bready, light malt. The flavour is lightly malty and quenching with a barely-perceivable floral hop character and doughy light malt finish. The mouthfeel is on the full side for the style, yet still finishes dry enough to make you want to re-coat your mouth with is quenching, sweet malty goodness.

For the style, this is a big winner. A great thirst quencher for the summer months. Crisp and clean, this is the lager you want not that other shit.

Pours a nice light to medium gold with nice carbonation and a fluffy white head which fades slightly. Aroma is doughy malts, but also a slight cara-pils malt sweetness which I dont particularly like in a kiolsch- light herbal hops as well. Flavor is crisp and clean with a bit of sweetness, light ale fruitiness, bready, light toasted bread, and a clean hop bitterness. Very refreshing, just a touch too sweet, and not enough pils malt breadiness.

Aroma was grainy with slight ester. poured golden with white head that dissipates to thin covering on the edges. Flavor was complex and each sip beckoned for another. grainy malt with hop balance. semi-dry. medium-lean body. excellent

UPDATED: JUN 22, 2009 Draft at the 2009 MD Spring Fest. Filtered orange-tan color. Creamy, yeasty, this Pils taste. Quite nice fresh. There is some light fruitiness true to style. This one could actually hang in Cologne.

This one impressed me from the first sip...not with its complexity but rather with its balance and smoothness--no objectionable qualities. Very pleasing malt. I would not say this is true to the style, however. It’s not bitter enough...tastes a little more like a Vienna, not a strong enough hop profile. I would appreciate a bit more dryness and bitterness, but this is enjoyable as-is. It’s a sweeter beer, and if you approach it as such you’ll enjoy it more than if you come in expecting a more hard-core German-style brew. But for what it is, I found it is very pleasant to drink.

pours pale yellow with some brown hues and a small white head. sweet grainy aroma combines with some fruit, grass, light yeast and floral. the flavor shares the same qualities... with the addition earthy hops and spice on the finish. there’s a bit of grass, grain and yeast in the aftertaste but that quickly disappears and leaves a clean palate. good easy drinker with some body and richness to it.