Draft at the 16th Annual California Brewers Festival. Hazy pale yellow pour with a white head. Light noble hop aroma. Near medium body. Quite nobly flavored. Could be from Koln.

(Draught at Bishop’s Arms, Vasagatan, Stockholm, 23 Oct 2009. 5.4%) Greenish yellow colour with frothy, white head. Malty, slightly yeasty nose with tropical fruit and grass. Malty taste with notes of tropical fruit, grain, a touch of yeast and dry, gassy bitterness in the finish. Fairly light body, mainly dry. Refreshing and tasty.

Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 6/7/07
Clear, apricot and golden body is minimally bubbly, with a small, white head perched atop precariously. Lacing is marginal.
Sharp in the nose, with a strong fruity hoppiness of apricot and unripe nectarine. It melds with a cereal-like grain quality to give more of the flaky, crisp aroma I would expect from a kolsch, but yet, there is still some of the fruitiness lingering even with warming. Some acetyldehyde, perhaps? It shows brief interludes of vanilla-cream-like sweetness, but manages to end with enough kolsch yeast bite and more of the odd, fruity acidity. Strange, but not altogether unappealing. Probably just some weird melding of aromatics between the hops and the malt. Medium aroma strength, no alcohol, possible acetyldehyde, though more likely just some other yeast bi-product or even hop fruitiness.
Lighter bodied than the Fishermans kolsch (which I had prior to this) but still with lots of sugar up front. It is rinsed from the palate by a very grainy, nearly tannic malt dryness that combines with some mineral notes and too much toasted malt acidity to really bite at the palate. I still can’t shake this slight notion of yellow fruits and apples that is slightly unsettling and seems to distract from the crispness and cleanliness that the style dictates. Still, the attenuation and body are its strong points and this is able to carry it past the slight shortcomings in flavor.

Tap at Sunset Grill - clear golden pour, with a foamy, two-finger head - distinctive, pilsner-like, european noble hop aroma, with some grassiness and light honey - mild bitterness and herbal qualities up front - very clean and smooth - gradually, a light sweetness builds up, tasting of honey and some grain - the hop character fades, and the sweetness couples with a prominent, but clean maltiness for the finish - a refreshing and well-made kolsch.