McNeills Kölsch

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Kölsch
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Lord, could I drink this in large batches! A snappy, crisp Kolsch, grassy hops, lemony!!!! Slightly bitter, perfectly melded with the most incredible buttery malt. This whole bit might be more sharp than style dictates (only a guess here), certainly it is more fresh and haylike than Reissdorf. Wonderful - takes the crown from my previous and retired fave, Blimp City Blonde. This is a fantastic beer. Thanks Muzzlehatch!

July 01. A fine example of the style, though the style isn't my favorite. Slightly fruity/yeasty aroma, very light and clear with no head to speak of. Dry, slightly bitter; if you like the type, go for it while it's available.

July 03. Oh my GOD did I underrate this! I did not know the glory that was Kolsch, and now I understand, at least Ray McNeill's version of it (yeah, I gotta get to Koln). Very complex nose, grapes caramel and lemon all working for your love, adn a wonderfully dry but juicy (sounds contradictory but so what) flavor profile, old and papery, leather and melting butterscotch. Among McNeill's best, and that's saying a lot. My new Summer standard fallback beer.

Poured a cloudy pinkish gold with a small white head, with big bubbles and light lacing. Lemony malt, dry earthy nose. God damn thats a nice Kölsch! Very subtle in every way, hops, tart citrus, doughy, dry finish... simply awesome. Quite refreshing.

Hazy golden yellow. Puffy rocky white head. Lemon grass nose. Citric and grassy. Very refreshing, pleasantly bodied, a great kolsch all the way to the bank. Pale malts, buttery, hay, wet grass, parchment, dryness. I love the mouthfeel, and just about everything else about this beer. A great rendition of the style. Finishing with a juicy citric hop bite. This is very very nice Ray!

(22oz bottle) Pours a large, frothy white head - the best yet for shaving. Good lacing on the glass as it slowly falls in a lumpy cloud. Body is a highly active golden body. Nose is lemon, acidic and slightly lactic. Tart, grassy and lemony flavours. I could imagine that this is more quenching than Gatorade! Thanks Muzzlehatch for this fine beer!

Another excellent outing from McNeil's. I have taken to Kosch brews as my summer favorite, and a November day like this one deserves one last summer quaff. Nice gold (not yellow) color with steady bubbles. Well-carbonated, not too little, not too much...which can be a problem with some of the McNeil's small-batch bombers. Good hop aroma but not overly bitter. Mouthfeel is clean with a refreshing malt flavor. Good German hops finish. Recommended.

8/6/04 - 22oz Bottle: Pours hazy light yellow straw color with a very small white head. Very light carbonation in my bottle, light body, crisp, watery mouthfeel. Aroma is subtle - flowers, toffee, horse blanket, peat-like earth. Taste is crisp, refreshing, and also light. Notes of earth, lemon, hops, dough, hay. This is a damn nice beer. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the degree of subtleness to this beer and style when I first got into beer. Big is not always better, sometimes it can be just as good to enjoy a simpler, laid back beer. Probably more difficult to brew too.

Hazy gold color with smallish head (shared bomber) so maybe the pour wasn’t so good. The taste is what stood out though. Not my favorite of styles but this was very good. I think McNeills is awesome because he hops up everything he makes. That makes this quite enjoyable.