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Over Pilsner? Make This the Summer of Clean, Crushable Kolsch

Clean Kolsch to Crush the Summer

Over Pilsner? Make This the Summer of Clean, Crushable Kolsch
Empty bottles move along a conveyor belt on the production line at the SABMiller Plc Alrode brewery and bottling plant (Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Cologne, Germany, is home to more breweries than any other city in the world, with the local staple style Kölsch being an intrinsic part of life. Having been brewed in the area since before 1300, it’s a unique hybrid style involving warm fermentation (at 59F or a bit above) with ale yeast, followed by cold conditioning (at roughly 10F) like a lager traditionally undergoes. While each producer approaches this hybrid brewing premise with its own proprietary methods, the resulting beer is generally meant to yield relatively low alcohol with a cleanly drinkable profile. If the ubiquity of Pilsners or helles lagers has made you jaded, the increasing popularity of Kölsch should perfectly scratch the itch this summer. Here are six great examples, from the old school of Cologne to the new school of America.

Reissdorf Kölsch

Considered by many the quintessential Cologne-brewed Kölsch and easily the most accessible old-school example, Reissdorf top-ferments for eight days followed by four weeks of cold conditioning. The result is a drink that can be imbibed in large quantities in one sitting, and is about as pristine-tasting as beer gets. Faintly malty and soft throughout with a nicely dry hop finish.

Gaffel Kölsch

Another Cologne classic brewed according to the German Beer Purity Law of 1516 (meaning brewed with just water, malt, hops, and yeast). This family recipe dates to 1908, and is famed for its particular freshness. A delicate and easy-drinking experience is finished by a pleasantly grassy hoppiness.

Früh Kölsch

Cologne’s third-largest Kölsch producer, behind Reissdorf and Gaffel, respectively, is Früh—and its offering of the traditional style is maybe the lightest of them all. It’s impossibly ephemeral, with innocent floral notes of grass and hay never overstaying their welcome on your palate. Look for tallboy cans when available, as they best maintain the beer’s generous freshness.

Freigeist Ottekolong

Freigeist is a new-school German producer that more often than not eschews the German Beer Purity Law (sometimes in an effort to brew beers even more traditionally antique than the 1516 line of demarcation allows). For its Kölsch, winkingly named Ottekolong (“Eau de Cologne”), it’s made something rather special. Packaged unfiltered—and recently released in cans!—it’s nicely bready, fruity, and somewhat tea-like.

Sierra Nevada Kölsch

America’s favorite independent grandfather of craft, Sierra Nevada—“100% family owned, operated, and argued over,” as the family themselves put it—tackles the Kölsch style as a summer seasonal. It’s brewed with citrusy American whole-cone hops, which lends a West Coast patina to the time-honored drink of Cologne. Gently bitter, beautifully crisp, and lightly sweet.

Surly Heat Slayer

While Midwestern favorite Surly might be most notorious for beastly, boozy beers like its sought-after Russian imperial stout Darkness, it also brews beer designed not for thinking but for drinking. This is certainly the case for Surly’s stab at Kölsch, Heat Slayer. Designed as a quenching offering for brutally hot summer weather, its gold hue and light body are just the ticket. Lemony, minty, with a hint of straw.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Rovzar at crovzar@bloomberg.net

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