NY Times article on Kolsch

[midlifecrisis]

A friend of mine who I just finished brewing up our second batch of Bee Cave Kolsch with on Saturday sent me a link to the following article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/dining/kolsch-a-summer-beer-worth-the-fuss-the-pour.html

I love the quotes "American craft brewers, who have resurrected many obscure genres, seem a bit reluctant with Kölsch. Partly, that’s because it’s a demanding style to make well, but also there’s a sense among brewers that its subtleties will not resonate with consumers." and "Because Kölsch offers little in the way of powerful flavors to hide flaws, it is difficult to brew well without a lot of experience. “It’s so straight up and delicate, it takes a really fine touch,” said Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, which does not make a version. “Bottling such light beers is a technological challenge, and the breweries in Köln have been at it a long time.”

Given how popular the Bee Cave Kolsch is here I guess a lot of us here on HBT have the "fine touch" (or maybe were just 'touched" in the head).

 

[BigEd]

Kolsch is a great beer style. IMO it both gets overlooked in this day and age of over-the-top beers as well as often bastardized by craft and homebrewers alike. A simple beer yet enjoyable on so many levels. It says a lot about the current level of beer appreciation that an article about a still mostly unknown style among the general public gets an article in a large, mainstream publication.

 

[thegerm]

good article.

 

[zgoda]

We had Kolsch as a category in competition this year and from this perspective i can say: yes, this style is really hard to get right. It's hard to brew then hard to ferment: a mere 2 grams of hops makes noticeable difference, a little glitch in mashing will make this beer either totally flat tasting or too full, little slip in fermentation temperature and it will be too fruity, too much munich and it will be too dark - too small amout and it'll lose the character. Everything with this beer is hard to get right: color, foam, mouthfeel, taste and aroma.

Of course, if you don't plan to enter any competition with this beer, nothing should stop you from brewing one, even for plain challenge. It's relatively easy to brew fantastic beer, yet still be far from formal style, the question is should it still be called "Kolsch" or just "summer ale" or better "altdeutsches helles"?

 

[Revvy]

Good article. It is funny that they mention how "unpopular" it is to brew, even outside of this place it seems a lot of homebrewers are into brewing them. My nephew, who is more of a winemaker than brewer, and who brewers only a couple times of year brews them exclusively.

And I know a couple brewpubs in Michigan, including Dragomead who does them.

I've not had too much exposure to them personally, I've tried dragomead's, it's a little too light for my tastes.

 

[motobrewer]

all i can say is.....


where the f**k do i get those HB kolsch glasses?????

 

[Homercidal]

all i can say is.....


where the f**k do i get those HB kolsch glasses?????

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/kolsch-glass-source-16523/

 

[RedGuitar]

Big Boss Brewing here in Raleigh, NC makes a Kolsch style, called "Angry Angel". It has pretty decent flavor, but in my opinion is over carbonated. In fact, just yesterday I was at a "tavern" at the mall waiting for SWMBO and was brought an Angry Angel by mistake (I had ordered a pale ale by another local brewery). It took me a few good swigs to figure out what was wrong with that pale ale.

 

[motobrewer]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/kolsch-glass-source-16523/

yeah, i've seen that tread. I certainly don't want a dozen, lol.

also i'd like the 0.2l mark. HB logo isn't necessary, but not...not....necessary

 

[HokieBrewer]

It's the cyclical nature of what's popular. Extreme beer is more and more passe, and "session beers" are coming back into vogue. Watch Beer Advocate - beer geeks are the early adopters and the rest of the mainstream follows around a year later. IPAs became much bigger with the general public, and you're starting to see more and more press around sour beers. My money is on bitters and low grav IPAs next.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Part of the problem is that a good Koelsch is hard to find. Reissdorf is probably the most widely distributed of the imports, and while it is certainly not bad, it's also not the best (at least in my opinion). Suenner and Gaffel are very good beers, but they have very limited distribution.
In the U.S., more often than not beers are called or described "Koelsch" that really shouldn't be (and not just because of the protected name), like that Sam Adams abomination or BJ's Blonde. And, of course, many U.S. breweries do respect the appellation, and call it something completely different, like the article points out. So many people will have had something Koelsch-style, but aren't aware of it because it wasn't labeled as such.
Finally, it takes a pretty decent palate to really tell apart the nuances between a Koelsch and some of the German lagers, because the ale notes are so subtle in a good example of the style.

Overall, it's a wonderful style, but I neither see it in need of "rescuing" nor becoming a very common beer in the U.S. (or outside of the Rhineland in Germany for that matter).