It may be new to Canada, but kölsch is a beer so old and traditionally German that it comes with an umlaut over the only vowel. It also comes in a pale blue tall-can that has been vacuumed off of local liquor store shelves.
For Pacific Western Brewery (PWB), their maiden test run of the kölsch has already been a sellout. The Prince George brewery added this title to its Pacific family of beers, which already includes their popular pilsner and schwarzbock brands and cousin-brands Traditional BC lager and Canterbury dark lager. All are the wheelhouse beers of Europe, but one was missing until this week.
PWB brewmaster Henryk Orlik calls his version of kölsch "an ode to Cologne" because under German beer-making protocols none but the eight brewers of that city may use the word, akin to how vintners may not refer to their sparkling wine as champagne unless it is made in that region of France. But outside of Germany, the term is available to brewers who are true to the Middle Ages recipe.
Orlik was born and trained in Germany. He has been the PWB brewmaster almost for one year and he put a personal priority on crafting kölsch in Prince George.
"Other than pilsner, kölsch is the second most popular beer style in the entire world," he said. "We [PWB] have a very good pilsner already, so this was a really big opportunity, and for me personally it is my favourite beer to drink and my flagship beer to make. Since it is a beer for myself, I wanted to do the best job possible, after all my years making it at other breweries."
The beer has a 4.5 per cent alcohol content, making it a bit lighter for the drinker. It also has a clean, casual taste with a lot of natural bubbles but less carbonation. It is best served, said Orlik, at a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees, cooler than the room-temperature pilsner many Europeans (and Canadians) like when savouring a summertime glass of suds.
"It's a basement beer, because it's cooler down there in summer," than upstairs in the pantry. "It's at-the-lake or on-the-deck beer. It's not too sweet, not too heavy, the only problem is you can drink down a few of them quickly if you aren't paying attention so you have to be prepared to stay where you are" or ensure a ride home in advance.
The test run of PWB's Pacific Kölsch sold out at retailers in about one week with no advertising to sway the consumer in advance. It was the signal Orlik needed to fire up the kettles as soon as possible for another batch.
The Kölsch Könnection
- Aroma: Unlike the aroma found in Pils malts, the Hallertau hops used in this beer give it a subtle hint of stone fruit and mildly tart aroma.
- Appearance: Pale gold and cloudy due to it being unfiltered, this beer has a clean white head that dissipates, consistent with the traditional style of German Kölsch.
- Flavour: A soft and rounded body is met with a balanced malt flavour and subtle peach sweetness before ending on a mild tart dryness.
