Mike Loves Beer

Name – Karnival Kolsch
Country – United States
Type – Kolsch

Ah spring has arrived.  Well for some maybe more than others.  For me in South Florida I am dreading the not too distant arrival of summer.  It’s going to be hot and so humid.  My air conditioned house will be my sanctuary for many a days coming up.

And after a long afternoon of cleaning around the house on Saturday it just felt like summer already to me.  So I searched my fridge for a beer that will refresh me.  And luckily I had something that looked like it might fit the bill.

So that brings us to the review for today in Stoudts Karnival Kolsch.  The light, refreshing style of a kolsch sounded like exactly what I needed.

I poured the mostly clear yellow brew into my pint glass.  A bubbly white head formed on top but was gone pretty quickly.

Grains, mild hops and lemon zest fill the nose of the beer.  Simple, subtle and very inviting.

The taste is really a lot of the same.  The flavors all come together in a nice light bodied and crisp drink.

Was I refreshed?  You betcha.  Is this a ground breaking beer?  No, but it’s not suppose to be.  The kolsch style is pretty straight forward and Stoudts nailed it.

The only problem with this beer is that I didn’t have more.  I only ended up buying one at the store when I got this.  So I am going to have to get more the next time I am in.  Especially since this weekend calls for yard work.  I will definitely need a couple of these after all that.

Grade - B+

Name – Reissdorf Kölsch
Country – Germany
Type – Kolsch

Appearance – Pours a very clear yellow with a small bubbly head that disappeared quite quickly.

Smell – Not a whole lot hits the nose but some slight grainy smells.

Taste – Very light body with slight grain taste and a little bit of malt.

I’ve only had one other kolsch before and that one was light as well so I believe it is just the style that makes it so very light.  It is a very crisp and clean finish that is very refreshing but not a whole lot going on in the flavor and smell department.  This would probably be a pretty good session beer considering all that and that it is only 4.8% ABV.

Overall Grade – C