A few years back when New Glarus released its initial batch of Kid Kölsch, my first thought was, “Oh good! Glad to see New Glarus brewing a Kölsch again. It’s been a while.” They do that – brew a fantastic beer and then leave you hanging the next year when it’s nowhere to be found. For example, Coffee Stout and Cran-bic are simply great beers that we deserve to have every year but they seem to come and go at the whim of a capricious brewmaster. Much to my chagrin, I soon discovered that their previous Kölsch was like Sinbad’s Shazaam – it didn’t exist and was merely a false memory.
How did that happen?
Perhaps recalling (correctly, by the way) that they had brewed an altbier (Don’t believe me? Here’s a link for proof.), I just mistakenly assumed that Dan Carey and Co. had also brewed its cousin from downriver, the Kölsch. I mean, if you’re going to brew one Obergäriges (top-fermented) Lagerbier, you might as well brew both, right? On the other hand, my mental lapse may have been a sign of encroaching senescence.
Disturbingly, it was déjà vu all over again a couple weeks or so ago when I was writing a review of Bierzeit, the Kölsch from Lakefront, another brewery that’s been known to lager a beer or 2 or 20 and was brewing the style for the first time. I noted that -
SPOILERS!
…we here in Madison are blessed with some fine Kölsches including the one by New Glarus. I went to make a link to my review of Kid Kölsch but found that I had never actually written one. (Ooh! I guess this makes for déjà vu x2.) It would appear that I am making a good argument for senescence here. Since I didn’t have a review of Kid Kölsch and the odds are good that it would come in handy in the future, I resolved to write it. And so here we are.
I adore the Kölsch and it’s a regular in my refrigerator as the temperatures start climbing in the late spring. The style is a native of Cologne where it is served .2 litres at a time in a tall, thin cylindrical glass called a Stange. At the breweries there, the servers, who are called köbes, dress up in blue jackets and carry a bunch of Stangen on a circular tray called a Kranz. Some of them are apparently quite surly and will likely appeal to patrons of Ed Debevic’s. Nonetheless, they keep fresh, cold Kölsch in front of you. I once asked my wife to don a naughty köbes outfit and give me some Kölsch service. She too was rather testy and all I got out of it was a black eye.
Kid Kölsch is a lovely light yellow and slightly hazy. I think that the Kölsch is supposed to be clear as per the Kölsch Treaty of 1986 (which ended the Great Kölsch Wars) but I am certainly not going to complain as Kid Kölsch was double frickin’ decocted for extra malty goodness!
!!!!
I managed to get a lot of foam in my Stange which was white and firm. There were many bubbles in the glass and they seemed smaller than normal. The aroma was just delightful with a bit of straw joined by some cracker as well as a touch of pear and a hint of something floral.
Those smaller bubbles seem to have generated a milder fizz while the decoction regimen made for a very tasty cracker flavor with definite bready overtones that carried some wheatiness with them. Despite all of the luscious grain flavors, it was quite light-bodied. Lurking underneath was a spicy hop flavor and a bit o’fruitiness that was pear-like but also had a berry thing going as well.
The malty flavors and that dash of fruit faded quickly on the finish to be replaced by a spicy-earthy hoppiness that, along with the fizz, gave a medium level of bitterness and dryness. There was also an astringency here but it gave a gentle bite and left no marks.
When it comes to Kölsches from Cologne, I am a Reissdorf kind of guy. They just do the crackery malt flavor with a touch of fruitiness and just enough hops thing perfectly and their beer is the touchstone of the style for me. Kid Kölsch does the same thing but is much fresher. It looks like New Glarus introduced it in 2019 and I believe they’ve brewed it every year since, but don’t quote me on that. Going to buy that first six pack is my newest spring ritual. When I see Kid Kölsch on the shelf, I know that warmer weather, road construction, and mosquitoes are on their way.
Junk food pairing: Kölsches go well with cheese puffs and you can’t go wrong pairing your Kid Kölsch with Cheetos White Cheddar Puffs.
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