Reissdorf Kölsch

Brewed by Privat-Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf
Style: Kölsch
Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Bottle: Very clear gold and without much head. Malted grain aromas with some very faint lemont notes that bring you closer. Crisp malt flavours to begin with some quick, sweet bready notes and juicy lemon/apple background chords that linger delicately. This really finds its life in the palate; cool, crisp, and refreshing despite the lack of overt hop presence. Very nice.

Hmm... well I have a pretty low regard of Kölsch in general, so I guess this is a perfect representative of the style (in fairness Mühlen, Päffgen and Pfaffen were a lot better, but still pretty boring.) Clear gold, alright head. Steamy, corn chip yeast aroma, some grainy malt and honey - smells like a typical cheap German pils, only without any hop character. Nice, soft pils malt character which becomes slightly caramelly but there’s just not much where the hops should be. Very slight metallic bitterness, some broccoli and a slight heady alcohol character. There’s nothing actively wrong with it, but I can’t really see any reason to ever drink it again.

Bomber bottle. Clear amber with a huge creamy white head that was lasting and produced good lacing. Heavy grass citrus hoppy aroma. Medium body with a slick texture. Well balanced flavor with a medium bitter finish of average duration. Refreshing brew.

Medium golden, spongy white. Very disappointing aromas of a dead, dry lager. Late nuttiness. Mild bitter hops with some balance, but ending sour and grassy. Very few saving graces. I wish I could find a date on my bottle...

<font size=-4>Bottle purchased at<a href= http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/elmh Sal’s Beverage World, Elmhurst, IL<font size=-1>

Pours very pale yellow with a slight haze. Small, coarsely bubbled white head quickly dissapates. Herbal and grassy aroma along with cereal/biscuity malts. Herabl/grassy hops continue into the flavor, making for a light flavor and a nice, clean finish. Light bodied and effervescent. Not bad, though I need to explore the style more to make a completely fair assesment.

Very clear light straw gold. Thin white cap of loosely placed foam sits on top. Keeps a thin collar and very light skim. Lacing is lightly placed in a spotty pattern. Nice aroma. Pleasingly clean, crisp, and malty with a favorable grassy herbal quality as well as a good bready notion. Kinda sweet underneath with a bit of gummi/chewy dough and melonness. Taste is about right for a kolsch. Crisp, clean, semi malty, semi sweet, mildly present with those aspects at first then picks up a good nudge into the finish where more of the herbal grassy hops and mixed grain maltyness takes a welcome turn adding to the overall palate as it goes. Finish really pulled it through for me. Quite a nice bunch of flavors there. Feel is super clean, intially crisp, malts grasp within the main part of its character. Body is light but malt laden and plainly adequate in carbonation. Even though the malts make for nice flavors and character, they don’t seem to help add that extra edge of body you think it should and just comes a bit short for me. Although it does tend to carry a light creamyness to its middle and finish. Finish also has the nice touches of herbal grasses and grains as the malts still hold there place. Overall a pretty solid kolsch. I’d have another no prob and is quite an easy drinker and very sessionable if need be. Better for those warmer days, but works any Ol’ time too.

Draught at Gasthaus Bruno, Cologne, 300ml, Filtered. Pale yellow gold with lasting head. Sweeter, malty, perfumed Kolsch, quite thin and flavourless. Proably not as fresh as those being served in the big brewhouses.

I have yet to experience what my gf will agree is a ’real’ koelsch. What ARE they supposed to taste like? The ones I’ve liked she’s said are not authentic, and the ones neither of us like she says are just plain bad. So what DOES a quality, authentic koelsch taste like? I may just have to hoof it to Koeln to find out. This was light-bodied, spritzy, bitter ended, and slighty citric. The malt was unremarkable and it was an incredibly pale, clear yellow.