Can for $1.75 at JR's. Pours clear pale yellah. White head fades. Mild fruit and metallic nose. First taste is refreshingly wow, lacks the sharper bitterness I normally incur with the domestic examples of kolsch. Good level of carbonation and its a bit laid back in fruit essence, but its pleasingly there, well balanced. In the middle, that kolsch bitterness is there but its hiding in the background. Steady, harmonious and level headed. Man this is much better than expected, maybe I'm just thirsty on this hot summer day but its amusing, engaging and rewarding for the price I paid. On the finish the bitterness does somewhat rise, but it remains gentle, elegant, and restrained, providing just enough snap to balance the beer's soft, slightly grainy-sweet malt, leaving my palate dry and refreshed rather than lingering or biting. Right up there with the better local kolsches and Privat-Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf Kolsch as well as Helios.

Draft at the source. Crystal clear golden color. Aroma of white pepper and hay. Taste is peppery.