Fort Collins Renos Retirement Ale

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Kölsch
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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UPDATED: MAY 31, 2006 Beer pours a clear, pale, gold with a tiny head and a little bit of lacing. The aroma has a beautiful, sweet malty overtone and notes of honey, straw and lightly roasty grain with a trace of grapefruit and green apple. The flavor is mild and very sweet with an average-length lightly bitter finish. The palate is light with a watery texture and a lively carbonation.

Bottle courtesy of Ernest. Pours golden into a kolsch glass with a nice big foamy head that takes a few minutes to subside. Smells of straw, grapefruit, early autumn wet grass, and appley. There are also some straw like qualities present on the nose. Taste is orangey with some very nice appley notes. Some herblike tastes also stick out and last on the palate. Finish is long lasting with a bittersweetness to it. I wish I had another bottle.

09.19.05 12oz bottle thanks to Ernest. Pours a clear and lively gold coor with a lingering film of white head. Vibrant aromas of peach, lemon custard, honey. Flavor is rich but the body is crisp and refreshing. Lots of grapenuts cereal, and underlying flowery/herbal/grassy note throughout is springlike and pleasant. Lingering flavor of banana Runts (holy crap I can’t believe someone else got that exact same flavor), and cereal. It’s like a little glass of breakfast. Nice one, thanks Ernesto.

Bottle thanks to rater #2971. Clear straw body with small, lazily ascending bubbles. Thin (but long-lasting) white head. The aroma is of sweat (seriously), lemon, and corn bread. The soft and ample carbonation really helps this beer out. It gives it a fluffy, full feeling without being over-tingly. Lime, biscuit malt, and stemmy, leafy hops in the flavor. Sort of a sandy, bitter finish. ’Ol Reno got a pretty good beer named after him!

Yellow liquid underneath soft white foam. Rich grains, lemon, herbs and Pinot Grigio in the nose. Dry and herbal character, with soft fruit flavors (Runt’s bananas) and well extracted grains. Quite good, really.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear light yellow with a fizzy white head that quickly goes to a thin film.

The aroma is floral hops, bready malts and some yeast with a little clove-like spiciness.

The flavor is sweet malts with a touch a citrus, then a subdued floral hop finish that is lightly bitter. It’s a nicely balanced beer. It is medium to full bodied (surprisingly so for a lighter beer) with a good texture.

Overall, a mild beer but very well done. I don’t normally go for lighter beers, but this is very well made and clean with no off flavors whatsoever.

Pours a clear, bubbley light golden with a large head that dies shortly. Complex aroma of grains, lime, leaves and earthiness. Immediate spiciness in the palate, balances out with malty sweetness and a full body. Great balance with the background mineral earthiness. Finish is slightly bitter, drys the tongue. Don’t know much about the style of Kolsch, but I like this beer.

UPDATED: APR 19, 2005 Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is clear medium yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (bread), moderately hoppy (flowers), trace yeast (dough), with a light note of kiwi, hint of honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Wow, a very nice and authentic rendition of a very delicate style. Best kölsch I’ve had in the US? Definitely. This is a hard style to make in an interesting and enjoyable way, but this brewery can do a lot with very little, as they’ve proved many times over. Heady, flowery nose (Hallertauer, perhaps?), and a sweet but balanced flavor profile that reveals very nice malt character and extraction (quite juicy, and not grainy at all). I expect I’ll have one of the highest ratings for this one, but for those who can enjoy helles and other somewhat spartan beers, you should be quite pleased.