Days Like This Kolsch Style Ale

[Clint Yeastwood]

I finally found a beer with "Kolsch" on the label. Is it a real Kolsch? No idea. Only thing I could find. The brand is Days Like This.

I had read that Kolsch could be a lot like lager, so I wanted to check it out.

It was very light in color and extremely clear. It was impossible to get any kind of head on the beer. Right after I poured it, all I had was a thin layer of bubbles.

The flavor was sort of like Miller mixed with Sprite. I like low-alcohol beers that go down easy, especially if they're quality beers made with quality ingredients. I even like Corona and Superior. This stuff...no. I don't get it at all.

Much like Donny in The Big Lebowski, I have no frame of reference. I don't know if it's a perfect Kolsch or something a questionable brewer slapped together to snare people who drink Kolsch, but I poured most of it down the sink. Either this is not a great beer, or Kolsch is not for me.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have to add a disclaimer. I think coronavirus may be playing games with me again. Tonight I had an Old Rasputin imperial stout, and it wasn't that great. If Old Rasputin doesn't taste great, there is almost certainly something wrong with the person drinking it.

I guess the effects of coronavirus can come and go until it's finally over. I feel great, but more like 99% than 100%, so maybe my senses are going in and out of tune. I will buy another Days Like This ale when things get back to normal, and I will post my findings.

 

[Brewsmith]

“Real” is a difficult word here. If you are talking about the real authentic beer, unless it comes from a few breweries in and around Cologne, Germany, no, it’s not.

Very little of this beer makes it out of Germany. It’s been several years since I’ve had a real one here in the US, but it should be superficially like a Pilsner. It is grainy, light colored, and crystal clear. There’s a good amount of bitterness, but maybe less than a German Pils. It’s made with an ale yeast, but processed like a lager. It has some ale esters, but should be cleaner than your typical blonde ale.

Your sensory difficulties aside, if it wasn't fairly crisp and dry, grainy, with a moderate bitterness, and you didn’t wish you could just drink a dozen more, it probably wasn’t a good example of the style.

I’ve had a few craft versions that were excellent, but most should have just been called blonde ale.

 

[Miraculix]

I finally found a beer with "Kolsch" on the label. Is it a real Kolsch? No idea. Only thing I could find. The brand is Days Like This.

I had read that Kolsch could be a lot like lager, so I wanted to check it out.

It was very light in color and extremely clear. It was impossible to get any kind of head on the beer. Right after I poured it, all I had was a thin layer of bubbles.

The flavor was sort of like Miller mixed with Sprite. I like low-alcohol beers that go down easy, especially if they're quality beers made with quality ingredients. I even like Corona and Superior. This stuff...no. I don't get it at all.

Much like Donny in The Big Lebowski, I have no frame of reference. I don't know if it's a perfect Kolsch or something a questionable brewer slapped together to snare people who drink Kolsch, but I poured most of it down the sink. Either this is not a great beer, or Kolsch is not for me.

Sounds wrong to me.

My last kölsch was Früh Kölsch and it tastes almost like a Pilsener with a slight fruity ale undertone. But you really have to look for the undertone.