Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Outdoor Winter Tippling Tips
Stay safe from the pandemic and stay warm with these winter patio drinking tactics. Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. archives »

Beer Reviews

Kölsch

Summit Brewing Company
St. Paul, MN
USA
http://www.summitbrewing.com/

Style: Kölsch

Eddie’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
There is no other more delicate style than kölsch, the appellation ale hailing from the ancient brewing center of Cologne, Germany. You could argue pilsner, but you’d be wrong. Kölsches are light and clean, dry but with a tickle of fruitiness from the ale yeast. A well-made one is an always welcome, refreshing brew, enjoyable in the dead of winter almost as much as on a hot summer day. A poorly made one is like a heavy macro shit brew. That is the line a brewer walks when undertaking a kölsch.

The latest Midwest brewer to rise to the challenge is Summit, and their kölsch represents the first in their Unchained Series of one-off releases.

Summit’s take on the style pours a beautiful clear gold, with a towering snow white head. The whiffing off of this pillowy monstrosity yields a big spicy nose of yeastiness, rounded out by soft malt undertones. Subdued but still enticing.

The first sip is a welcoming, wonderfully soft mouthfeel amid some restrained carbonation. Bready malt sits up front, tickled with hints of fruitiness, holds a beat for a dry, biscuity middle, then gives way to a dose of spicy, acidic hops. The result? A clean, Mojave-desert dry finish.

Not only is Summit Kölsch a spot-on, damn near perfect take on this world style, but its spicy hop finish even lends it a bit of unique character, the calling card of great brew. This is one of the most thirst quencing beers I’ve had in awhile, and a great one-off from one of the Midwest’s great, somewhat underappreciated breweries. Pick up a sixer if you can. Worth every penny.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on November 3, 2009.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...