Pioneer Groovy Brew

Bottle. Golden, clear body with a frothy, white head, rapidly diminishing. The aroma leaves the impression that the beer is going to taste sweet: Notes of bread, hay, cookie, toast, grass and herbs. The flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Light to medium body with a watery texture and lively carbonation. Slight peppery notes. This was a promising kolsch that fell apart with vegetative, corn juice tastes in the finish. Too bad.

12oz bottle. Hazy orange-tan color. No real head. Sweet malty aroma. Medium bodied, crisp but finishes malty sweet. Pleasantly balanced by it’s crisp hops, It doesn’t really manage to capture much of the Kolsch subtleties. Not bad by any means, and a little harshly underrated. Easy drinking session stuff, probably best fresh in Wisconsin.

Bottle from Beer Geek. Hazy orange gold color. Not much head. Rather grassy/fruity aroma. Medium body with mild carbonation. Flavor is fruity/grass, not at all sweet. Near astringent. Like typical lager ingredients were used with ale yeast. Nothing really stands out. It is light and fruity, and refreshing. More flavor than many Kolsch I’ve tried.

12 ounce bottle from a friend. Thanks! Pours a clear golden color with lots of visible carbonation. Medium white frothy head shows good head retention and good lacing. Musky grain aroma with some grassy hop notes as well as some fruitiness. Taste is grain, grassy hops, melon, and a bit of a cheesy finish. Medium bodied.

Bottled. Good to see Kölsch popping up as a summer style in America. This has a clean wheaty smell upon opening, though some adjunct seems present. Pours a slightly dark yellow, like a hearty pilsener, under a thin head with minimal lacing. Taste is slightly malty and wheaty with some citrus zest, and a just a bit of German hops. This doesn't match up to Goose Island Summertime, the only other Kölsch I've rated, but it's a nice, light ale. And as the list of top Kölsches to the right demonstrates, it's a hard style to make an exceptional example in.