Gaffel 1396

Brewed by Privatbrauerei Gaffel Becker & Co.
Style: Kölsch
Köln, Germany

Bottled: Deep golden color, poor head. Fresh and dry, fruity and malty, with some hops in the end. Quite o.k.

Light hoppy and dryish aroma. Yellow body, small white head. Weak flavor, some hops, thin, boring and quite uninteresting.

Bottled. Yellow coloured with a white head. Aroma of malts and corn. Aroma of malts and corn with hoppy notes.

Bottled. Golden coloured. Sweet and malty with notes of apples in the flavour. Quite nice.

(bottle) Clear copper colour with a medium frothy, slightly off-white head. Hoppy aroma with a blend of malts and caramel. Dry and malty start with a nice fruitiness and a short but tasty soft bitter finish. Looks and tastes like an Altbier-Kölsch hybrid, but it is anyway very interesting. This brew was established at first in 1996 when Cologne celebrated the 600-years-proclamation of the pre-democratic medieval city constitution ("Verbundbrief" of September 14th 1396). This constitution was a manifesto of political balance between the craftsmen guilds, on the one hand, and the tradesmen on the other, organised in “Gaffeln”, and it remained in force until the political reorganisation during the French occupation in 1798. Thanks pivnizub for the sample.

Bottle. I just bought a couple of new glasses, and this one looks amazing in it! It’s dark golden with a medium head, which quickly settles to almost nothing. Aroma is qite powerfull with both malts and hops. Flavor is quite dry, with a fruity palate. A bit thin mouthfeel, but all in all pleasant.

Bottle: light amber to dark golden coloured; fruity, spicy notes in the aroma, some traces of caramel, floral hops in the background; fruity (peaches?), sweetish beginning; light malty body, moderate, but distinctive bitter-sweet aftertaste, longer lasting; not bad, but the aroma promises more than the taste can prove.......

BottleVery slight spicy and herbal aroma. Yellow golden, low visinle carbonation, head dissipates fast. Fat and fruity entry, but looses it a bit after that - light spicyness retronasal. Soft mouthfeel, bitter finish. Despite the temerature recomendation of 6-8C on the label I think it gets far more interresting as it warms up.