Bedondaine et Bedons Ronds Agace-Pissette

Pale, clear gold color, perhaps not as effervescent as its Köln brethren. Crunchy euro hops aroma, fresh lettuce, light honey. Goes down easy, smooth, with warm malts. Very well crafted. This is going to end up as one of my highest kolsches, which is fine, but truth to be told I’d take one of those over this any day.

Wheaty nose, whitish colour with foamy head. Perfect carbonation, as they get spot on throughout the lineup. Medium and soft mouthfeel. Some sweet fruit in there. Drying. Listed as 6% on the menu. Not what I expected for a kolsch, but a very good summer beer.

Light golden in colour, long lasting thin white coloured head, great lacing. The aroma is floral, very herbal, fruity, lots of pale malts, soft and slightly sweet. The flavour is quite floral, herbal, perfumy, light caramel, bready, some soft caramel. Creamy mouthfeel, medium/light body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes with a fairly good length, some leftover floral hops co-mingle with some herbs. Still new to the Kölsch, but I am really liking the softness of this.

Draught at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=4231 target=blank>Bedondaine et Bedons Ronds in Chambly, Quebec on December 28, 2006.

Robe blonde claire surmontée d’une mousse blanche épaisse en dentelle qui s’estompe. Arômes de céréales. Saveurs de céréales, de houblon aromatique, de levures et de fruits.

Draught pint at the brewpub on 1/28/07
A fluffy, large, white head tops a well-conditioned, unfiltered, light goldenrod colored body with light carbonation and a high clarity. Head is well-retained and laces moderately.
Authentic Kolsch yeast is immediately recognizable in the nose, with flowery, soft hops sitting behind it. Pale malts further soften things and add mounds of honey. It still manages enough crispness on the end, however, due to a bite from the yeast and moderate hop bitterness. Definitely fresh-smelling, unpasteurized and all, and importantly, very clean. No flaws of any type, not a touch of diacetyl. Warming produces light doughiness and some sweeter, and perhaps slightly more soggy pale malt apparency. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma, with no alcohol noted.
Upon first sip, the texture is immediatley perceived as very generous. Low carbonation, but very engaging/tight, provides a near creamy mouthfeel. Plentiful maltiness; white bread, honey, light dough, all set in on the palate, giving way, somewhat to a fantastic kolsch yeastiness on the finish, dotted with peppery/herbal hop bitterness and light mineral-like sourness. After a few sips, it’s definitely apparent that while the beer is highly flavorful and carefully brewed/lagered, the attenuation level is noticeably too low. It gets a little too chewy-sweet, especially towards the finish, where you would expect more crispness to emerge. Warming just exacerbates the problem.
In my mind, though it certainly goes against the goal of a kolsch (drinkability), it’s not a mortal flaw and one that is easily correctable in subsequent batches. What is impressive is the quality of hop, yeast and malt flavor alongside a flawless presentation. Not a hint of corn/vanilla/apple/butter.