Let me start straight off this review by saying that Kolsch is not even close to my beer favorite style. I will almost always skip over these beers (generally at the top of a beer list) for the bolder tasting ones further down the list and so it was challenging for me to even pick this beer for a review.
I tried to clear my head of my previous prejudices towards this style and sat down with the beer and began my review routine:
- my notebook and pen to my right
- a clean glass, bottle of beer and opener to the left
- pop the top, enjoy the CO2 cloud escaping the bottle and start the pour down the side of the glass until about half full then straight down the middle to raise the head.
It had a wonderful pour and a thick white head that did not die down releasing subtle hop aromas throughout the beer. There is a slight hop bite making it a crisp drinkable beer and pushed the bitterness scale to the right. Even though the IBU’s are quite low in beer the hop bitterness stands out more because there isn’t a lot of malt in this beer to balance them.
This beer is just outside of the IBU guidelines of a Kolsch. It is much closer to its name (Brewhouse Blonde) which is 15-28. In addition to the base grain, the grain bill included wheat malt and Vienna. Wheat malt can be added to increase head retention and add a light straw color. Vienna malt is used to add a little extra body and add a little extra malt flavor.
If you are familiar with Kolsch or if it is one of your favorite styles this beer may be a bit disappointing. It is much closer to the blonde ale style guidelines as its name implies rather than a Kolsch which is how BJ’s categorizes this beer. If you are a bumiloors (Bud/Miller/Coors) drinker then this is a great “gateway beer” (a beer that seduces you to try other craft beers) for you. Before you know it you will be skipping the top of the list just like me!
Published by permission. Visit Curtis' blog at http://hopheadsaid.wordpress.com/
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