Rock Bottom Chicago Kölsch Bier

Brewed by Rock Bottom Chicago
Style: Kölsch
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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An interesting take on a Kolsch that marries the requisite fruitiness with must malt character lending a earthy quality reminiscent of an old world brew. I guess they hit the nail on the head. Pours a lightly cloudy golden with a quickly receding white head. Initial aroma shows grassy floral notes with overtones of mildew and wheatiness. This comes across in the flavor as well. Light bodied, this beer is a substantial quencher ending in a long wheat infused fruity finish that still manages to come across as clean. Good American interpretation of this difficult style. Well done.

Poured a crystal clear golden color. Some fresh lite floral aroma and some hops. Smooth flavor, little grassy, lite body. Slick texture. Easy drinking.

very pale clear yellow, slight white head, lacy. nothing but air in the nose. flavor is slightly skunky maltiness, but still really mild, hint of grain. light bodied, mildly bitter finish. a good beer to drink cold while mowing the lawn, but otherwise pretty forgettable. on tap @ RBC brewpub.

Draft at the brewpub. I find it interesting that some of the best beers Crowley and his crew have made seem to be this more simple to drink, difficult to make subtle beers. I found this to be probably the best Kolsch made in Chicago... Pours a clear gold with disappearing head. Nose is a touch sweet, maize, mashing grain. On the taste, very clean and fresh, again there is maize there, super well balanced and an easy drink. Very tasty.

Draft... DLD’08... Clear, light yellow ale with a small, white head. Notes of orange blossom honey and pale cereal grains are the highlights of this one, but are so subdued that it’s almost not worth the effort put forth by my olfactory system to extract them from the glass. Light to medium-bodied and milky with diminished carbonation. Mostly sweet and grainy. Finishes butterscotch and toffee sweet. The style, and my palate, needs more of a hop bite.

In short: Tasty and sharp Kölsh. Enjoyable
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Partly cloudy yellow body with a medium white head
In long: Smooth cereals, yeasty notes, some bananas. Smooth, very smooth. Like drinking a fluffy shake. This beer felt like a cross between a Kölsh and a Hefeweizen. Kind of a thicker version of their bland Walleye Hefeweizen that I had 30 minutes before. Nope, definitely Kölsh beers and me are like feminists and muslim fundamentalists, we are just not meant for each-other.

4-23-08 tap
Clear yellow pour. Smells like smarties candy. Flavor is doughy and watery. Very thin palate! Overall, not awful but just not bold in any way.

Pours damn near clear as water. Smell is candy like sweetness and reminds me of smarties or powdery sweet tart sweetness. Taste is thin, watery and light malt. Lightly grassy hops. Too thin, and the carbonation is a touch on the light side, but it isn’t offensive and is perfectly drinkable.

Pours clear yellow with a thin white head. Very little aroma. Has a little bit of malt sweetness to it, but not a lot of flavor coming out of this one. It has a little bit of citrus in there...very average.

This pours a very pale yellow body with a decent enough head. The aroma is faint, honey sweet with a soft grassy bitterness. The flavor continues on with a sweet honeyed biscuit flavor, the hoppy bitterness intensifying slightly. Not bad for a lawnmower beer, but I was drinking it in downtown Chicago.

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