Sierra Nevada Kolsch Style Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Kölsch
Chico, California USA

Tap at Blind Tiger. Pale straw-coloured beer. Thin white head. The nose is a bit crackery. There is a kiss of light fruit on the back along with some nice minerally/spicy hoppiness. Lean body but the beer itself has a nice integration of light clean malts and soft hops. Delicate and quite lovely... unlike most beers that call themselves kölsch, this one actually bears some resemblance to the style.

From the tap this pours a bright yellow body with a creamy white head. The aroma is honey sweet with a light bitterness of freshly mown grass. It tastes of honeyed bread with a grassy/herbal bitterness that grows as you drink. This is a good candidate for a refreshing lawnmower beer.

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Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 6/7/07
Clear, apricot and golden body is minimally bubbly, with a small, white head perched atop precariously. Lacing is marginal.
Sharp in the nose, with a strong fruity hoppiness of apricot and unripe nectarine. It melds with a cereal-like grain quality to give more of the flaky, crisp aroma I would expect from a kolsch, but yet, there is still some of the fruitiness lingering even with warming. Some acetyldehyde, perhaps? It shows brief interludes of vanilla-cream-like sweetness, but manages to end with enough kolsch yeast bite and more of the odd, fruity acidity. Strange, but not altogether unappealing. Probably just some weird melding of aromatics between the hops and the malt. Medium aroma strength, no alcohol, possible acetyldehyde, though more likely just some other yeast bi-product or even hop fruitiness.
Lighter bodied than the Fishermans kolsch (which I had prior to this) but still with lots of sugar up front. It is rinsed from the palate by a very grainy, nearly tannic malt dryness that combines with some mineral notes and too much toasted malt acidity to really bite at the palate. I still can’t shake this slight notion of yellow fruits and apples that is slightly unsettling and seems to distract from the crispness and cleanliness that the style dictates. Still, the attenuation and body are its strong points and this is able to carry it past the slight shortcomings in flavor.

Draft @ HDG. Clearish yellow with decent head retention. Taste is crisp and lighly sweet with a nice grain flavor. Finishes clean. Really tasty without being too watery or sweet.

Clear yellow gold beer with a small white head. Smells light and sweet with a little fruityiness.The finish is a little bitey with a little ale sweetness as well. Essentially this tastes like their summerfest with ale yeast.

Tap at Sunset Grill - clear golden pour, with a foamy, two-finger head - distinctive, pilsner-like, european noble hop aroma, with some grassiness and light honey - mild bitterness and herbal qualities up front - very clean and smooth - gradually, a light sweetness builds up, tasting of honey and some grain - the hop character fades, and the sweetness couples with a prominent, but clean maltiness for the finish - a refreshing and well-made kolsch.

(Draught at Bishop’s Arms, Vasagatan, Stockholm, 23 Oct 2009. 5.4%) Greenish yellow colour with frothy, white head. Malty, slightly yeasty nose with tropical fruit and grass. Malty taste with notes of tropical fruit, grain, a touch of yeast and dry, gassy bitterness in the finish. Fairly light body, mainly dry. Refreshing and tasty.

Tap at Blind Tiger: Light golden pour with a consistent white film of head. Zesty aroma with a peppery saaz hop character and crackery clean pils malt. The body is creamy and soft body. The flavor is nice and dry with a spicy hop presence and a crackery clean malt base. Has lots of grassy bitter noble hop character. A very clean Kolsh, pils like. Very nice session.