As it so happened, a friend gave me a bottle of Coast Brewing 32/50 Kolsch Style Ale not so long ago. This was a treat because this small Charleston, South Carolina brewer does not yet distribute its beers in Georgia. Not so long later, I bought a bottle of Zunft Kolsch from Germany shortly thereafter. I therefore thought it would be interesting to compare notes on the two and see how they stack up.

Kolsch, of course, is a unique style of beer from Koln, Germany (aka Cologne). It’s a soft fruity ale traditionally served in small, 33 cl cylindrical glasses. If you order it up in a bar in Koln, the waiters will keep refilling your glass until you tell them to stop. Now that’s service. The name “Kolsch” is an appellation controlee, meaning you can’t really call your beer a Kolsch unless it is brewed in Koln. This is why my bottle of Zunft says Kolsch, while my bottle of 32/50 says “Kolsch Style Ale”.

Here’s what Coast brewing says about their 32/50 Kolsch Style Ale:

Our take on a kolsch style ale that is soft on the palate with a delicate malt flavor. Balanced with a touch of wheat and honey notes .Dry and wine like with a flowery hop finish.

(4.8% abv) Brewed Year Round.

Ingredients: Pilsner*, Vienna*, Wheat*, Carahelle* and Carapils malts, Tradition and Halletaur hops.

Coast Brewing 32/50 Kolsch Style Ale pours to a pale golden color with a light foamy head of tightly packed bubbles and an appetizing nose of fresh, soft biscuit malt. There is a touch of herbal hop aroma in the nose as well, though the soft fruit that I like in a Kolsch is missing. I do so love the soft biscuit malt in the palate, though, so fresh tasting and thirst quenching. Very clean in the palate, too, and I get some wheat tartness before the drying hops kick in. They are rather grassy and slightly bitter, sharp hop bite in the finish, making this a very refreshing beer indeed.

An admirable Kolsch, and I can forgive the missing fruit because the malt is so delightful. How does it stack up to the Zunft Kolsch? In fact, the two are quite similar, from the crisp, biscuit maltiness to the grassy hop finish. They even have the same alcohol content by volume at 4.8%. The Zunft is definitely fruitier, while the Coast brewing beer has a drier hop bitterness.

You couldn’t go wrong with either one all the same, and I would gladly drink Coast Brewing 32/50 Kolsch Style Ale again.



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