Brewers Alley Kölsch

Brewed by Brewers Alley Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Kölsch
Frederick, Maryland USA

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.

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.

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

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.

Draught at brewery: Pale golden yellow, clear, with small bubbles visable quickly rising to the surface. I was impressed by the small white head that quickly fades to a small ring, but the small ring lasts for quite a long time. There’s not a huge aroma here, not that I was expecting one, but I get a nice sweet grain, malty aroma with a subtle hint of grassy hops. The taste is sweet, grainy, light malts for the most part with hints of grassy hops and clean yeast. Light bodied, clean and crisp in the mouth with slightly more carbonation than their other beers. Nice.