Pioneer Groovy Brew

Brewed by Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Kölsch
Black River Falls, Wisconsin USA

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hopdog, thanks Steve!) Goovy label, but not a groovy brew. Seems to me to be another one of those beers that is called a Kölsch, but isn’t a very good example of a style. This one is bready and somewhat sweet, with little else in the mix to balance the beer, and it’s definitely not hoppy at all. Kölsch? With how sweet and bready this beer is, how about a golden ale? The nose is sweet and bready as well, but there’s also an aroma that vaguely reminds me of mushroom brown gravy. Sufficiently carbonated, medium bodied, but too sweet and bready and it quickly tires out my palate. Light golden in color and hazy, but I can still see through the beer well enough to read the Pizza Port logo on my pint glass. The head is small and off-white in color, and it fades to a tiny ring, leaving no lacing on the glass. Not a bad tasting beer, but I don’t think this is even close to being to style. But I think bready and sweet can be take too far, and that is the case with this beer. I mean, come on, at least balance it with a moderately bitter and flavorful hops.

Don’t know their official definition of groovy, but this isn’t it. Unless you like euro-skunk, more power to you. Split the bottle with Pailhead and still had enough to quench the drain.

Bottle: Courtesy of Styles. Skunky Euro-lager aroma with some grassiness. Pours an orangish-gold with a touch of haze. Lightly sweet Euro-lager flavor with a hint of yeast. Light grassy hops in the finish.

This is groovy like Pat Boone is groovy. This is a kolsch? Light gold, a bit cloudy. Smells somewhat fruity, bit grassy. Flavor is a bit artificial-fruity, like someone added a hint of cherry syrup. No real hops, which I think tend to exist in most kolsches.

Not a very good smelling beer, which is enhanced by the fact it doesn’t tast that good. Drinkable, but not good.

On tap at the Clark Street Ale House in Chicago. Poured a light gold with some cloudiness. The aroma is light and grainy with hay and carrots. The taste is light with celery and a bright freshness. There is also some apple core. Not bad. Tried this again in the bottle. I stand by my previous rating, but it is slightly better on tap.

Not a bad attempt at a kolsch. It poured a brownish gold with an unstylistically short-lived head. The aroma was grassy with a bit of peppery spiciness. Medium bodied, the malt tastes are accompanied by a bit of tart fruitiness and some white pepper spiciness. Crisp finish. Not bad at all.

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Bottle: Straw hue wuth a fizzy and fading head and no lace. The aroma as a perfumy and grassy note, pale malts and bready, a touch of apple but not much there. The taste has light notes of tart fruits on top of bready malts and very subdued hops. The feel isn’t much better, fizzy and watery. This is a gimmick beer with a neato label, that is all. Don’t waste your time.