Comments on: We have a winner: best British Koelsch Klone

By: James

James — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:18:50 +0000

I liked the bottled Kew Gold, precisely because of its slightly germanic style, but the version on tap seems more bitter. Is that possible ?

Saltaire is much better.

By: Boak

Boak — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:09:06 +0000

Sounds intriguing. I’ve never seen Glasgow in the daylight. We’re definitely due a visit sometime.

By: Gazza

Gazza — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:26:34 +0000

Go and try Clockwork Gosch up in Glasgow and then tell me that pathetic swill Youngs (sorry, Charlie Wells!) make matches up to it.

It doesn’t, I’ll save you the time… but Clockwork still makes some cracking beers, including the UK’s most gingery fluid, and if you’ve not been is well worth a visit.

By: Affer

Affer — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:27:38 +0000

I once lingered too long over a glass of Koelsch in the Fruh am Dom…about ten minutes. A waiter snatched it away: “Is now too old. You must have a fresh one!” – and slammed another 0.2 litre glass of fresh ambrosia in front of me. I love the whole thing of drinking Koelsch!

By: Bailey

Bailey — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:12:39 +0000

I don’t necessarily think Kew Gold is a great beer (although it’s a nice one) but it is a dead ringer for Koelsch. It’s hoppier than, say, Sion and Dom, but we thought tasted very similar to some of the more characterful examples.

Koelsch might not, on the whole, be one of the most exciting types of beer. A big part of its appeal is around the accompanying customs and culture (the little glasses, the nutty waiters, the beer halls) and how closely it is tied to its city of origin.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:07:25 +0000

Kew Gold is too hoppy to be a Kolsch. It has a solid whack of dry hopping with what I think are first gold hops.

Kupper’s Kolsch is pretty easy to find in London. The Bridge House on the grand Union Canal near Little Venice and The Goldhawk on Goldhawk Road both have it as a regular.

By: Knut Albert

Knut Albert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:34:01 +0000

That’s bland, not balnd. But I got the umlaut right.

By: Knut Albert

Knut Albert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:33:09 +0000

I’m sorry, but I tend to find Kölsch balnd rather than subtle, but it’s many years sice I had in on tap in cologne and Bonn. But I am quite mild about mild, too.

By: Zak

Zak — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:56:07 +0000

I don’t “get” Kew Gold at all. It’s a beer that everyone else seems to like, but to me just tastes a bit bland -pale, spritzy, faintly spicy hops It was Roger Protz’s beer of the month in June last year, fercrissakes!

I don’t get the Kolsch comparison either – I can’t find that delicate fruitiness in it, although I’ve never drunk Kolsch in Koln.

Oddly, I’ve probably drunk a lot more Kew Gold than I normally would have over the last year because of people recommending it – I keep buying it thinking “What am I missing here?”, but I’ve yet to find it. It’s not an anti-Young’s thing either – I think almost all of their other beers are pretty good.

Oh well.

By: Bailey

Bailey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:38:05 +0000

Koelsch is one of the few types of beer where we are boring enough to say that it only makes sense in Cologne, on tap. It really is a subtle (rather than bland) style of beer.