So I decided to take a walk on the tame side, and write a recipe for a beer that didn’t have 18 adjuncts, 5 varieties of hops, and a tribal good luck dance. I went easy this time, and this is where it got us:

1.040 OG; 1.012 FG; 3.7% ABV; 30 IBU

Appearance: Slightly hazy golden orange with a foamy white head.

Nose: Slight grass and citrus, some fruity sweetness; overall very subtle and inviting.

Taste: Very balanced and refreshing. Some caramel and fruit sweetness mixed with citrusy hop bitterness. Toasty.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth, medium bodied. Leaves the tongue fairly dry.

Overall: Extremely refreshing while still having a nice malt heft to it. We’re both really happy with how the kölsch came out, and enjoy the subtly and the interplay between the sweetness and bitterness.

I’m glad I scaled things down a bit and just tried to conform to a style. Ray thinks we nailed it, but I have slight reservations after comparing with a bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch, which is supposed to be a standard example of the style and is much lighter colored and crisper than ours. Our version is probably darker because we use malt extract (an all-grain version probably would have been lighter), and I think lagering the beer for a month or two would have also put us closer to the reference beer. Nonetheless, I know Ray has been enjoying it, and Steph and Tim paid it high compliments this past weekend. Can’t beat that!

I just realized we didn’t take a picture of the kölsch, and both of us are already half-way through our pints. Hopefully you’ll forgive me and I can post a picture later … maybe an action shot!

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