On tap at Burger Loft, fantastic light-bodied joy retains crisply soft-toned citric spritz above cracker-like pale wheat malt base and grassy hop musk. Brisk lemon-orange zest spreads across Bosc pear neutrality, juicy tangerine tang and mandarin orange tease in a simple, yet wholly effective, manner. Best Kolsch: 2015.
Sessionable pale-strawed dry body brings sour lemon-candied perk to sugary caramel sweetness, delicate lemony grapefruit tartness and soft grassy-hopped wheat base. Mild pilsner malting picks up light salted bittering.
Underdeveloped soft-toned ’14 summer seasonal in a can lacks appropriate Bavarian kolsch fruiting. Pleasant lemony orange mist picks up light peppery spicing, subtle hop bittering and mild corn syruping over biscuit-y sourdough base.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, caliginous grain-charred hybrid allows black patent malting and rye-smoked dark chocolate to override setback dried fruiting. Burnt toast acridity, cocoa powder dusting and mild coffee nuttiness reinforce mighty mocha influence.
Sour yellow-fruited Saaz hop astringency and meager white-breaded sourdough spine too thin for musty dry-bodied moderation. Murky lemony orange tartness picks up bubbly champagne grape esters and rotted green apple wisp over acrid straw-hay parch. Salty carbolic tingle underscores slim citric setting.
Middling kight-bodied summertime fodder splatters orange and grapefruit peel bittering across phenol hop-oiled astringency and soily earthen musk. Lemony midst picks up resilient fusel alcohol burn that may scare off softer palates.
Balmy golden-straw kolsch serenades citric hop spicing with creamy honeyed malting and salty herbal surge for well rounded moderation. Basil, thyme and ginger influence floral hibiscus-lotus-dandelion triage and wavering apple-brandied mango-pineapple-nectar-gooseberry fruiting. Serve as an alternative to herbal wine at family dinner.
Nondescript citric-snipped Kolsch styling envelops minor alcohol burn with sour grape, orange and lemon wisps. Coarse carbolic rigidity depletes initial fruiting and honeyed grain malting. Bland spring seasonal stays uninvolving.