Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Ale

Brewed by Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Style: Kölsch
Houston, Texas USA

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with robanion, thanks Ray!) Self-proclaimed as a Kölsch, I’m beginning to think that breweries are using the term to make their macro-like swill sound special. This beer is not special. It is not fancy. It is not good. It’s not technically macro swill either, but now we’re getting into semantics. This pale yellow beer has no character. It’s lightly grainy and sweet, with hardly even a hint of hops. And the nose is awful! Funk and light grain, but mostly just funk. Thin body, watery finish, mildly carbonated. Pale yellow color, slightly hazy, with a few carbonation bubbles rising slowly through the beer. Small white head quickly fades away to nothing. Dreadful stuff.

yellow, unremarkable slight hop aroma. Taste is typical macro but with a tinge more of sweetness i didnt care for. Dont like it. Not a style of beer i expected to love either.

Yellow pour with what amounts to no head. Honestly, it looks like just about every other american made cheapo beer. The taste is certainly not overwhelming, and perhaps I’ve overrated this beer, but I’ve had much much worse.

As far as Kolsch’s are concerned, this is an average example of the style. However, I am not a big advocate of the style, and the Crooked River Kolsh is the best I have sampled to-date.

2004 bottle from Walt, thanks! Pours a light yellow-gold with medium sized bubbles rapidly surfacing in to a foamy white head, with good retention. Aroma of light hay, coppery/earthy hops, with light bitterness and a faint touch of yeast. Light malt is also perceptible, just a bit of honey. Flavor begins with pale and pils malt, light biscuit notes (very faint) with some soily hops, light earthiness/hay and a good dose of mineralesque flavors. As it warms, a light yeast flavor is apparent (rusty, lightly sour). Body is light but not watery, carbonation is just right (IMO) and adds a good crispness without being sharp or biting. Though it’s an ale, this one tastes much like a pale lager and seems better suited to be compared to beers in that style. As a kolsch, it is a very light example (though still well-done, I think).

I feel a bit let down. This is a fine beer, maybe i should have saved this for lawn mowing. Nothing special, tastes more like a light.

Not a bad beer by no means, but not the best Kolsch I’ve ever had. Light and refreshing on a hot day.

A sulphury, wet dog aroma. Zero hopping. Starchy, watery, some mild tartness in there somewhere. Chalky. Sulphury aftertaste which fades into a toasted impression. On tap at Flying Saucher Houston. Not bad, just not good.