I don’t know a lot about the Westminster Brewing Company of Westminster, Colorado. Dale Roberts could probably tell you a lot more than I; he lives in Colorado and it was through his good graces that I received a can of Westminster’s 12 Apostles German-Style Ale to sample and enjoy.
Before popping the can, I was quite curious about that “German-Style Ale” tagline. The Germans, of course, mainly brew lagers, but they do brew a few styles of ale: Hefeweizen, Gose, Berliner Weiss, Kolsch, Altbier, etc. Which could this be? After pouring, the color of the beer told me this was a Kolsch.
First, though, a little about Westminster. They say on their website:
Westminster Brewing Co. offers several styles of craft beer available for sale through their Tasting Lab and commercial accounts year-round. These include keg style and "cask-conditioned" versions. Craft beers sold for on-site consumption at the Tasting Lab are in 4 oz. taster, 10 oz. "half-pint" and 20 oz. "proper pint" sizes. For off-site consumption, customers may purchase 64 oz (half gallon) growlers, "we-fill-your-own" 5 gallon (or 1/6 BBL) kegs and 15.5 gal commercial kegs.
So, mainly a draft brewery, but they do can their 12 Apostles Ale. 12 Apostles Ale has an alcohol content of 6.1% by volume and is made with water, malt, hops and yeast. Reinheitsgebot compliant in this, the year of 500 years of the Reinheitsgebot. We’ll be celebrating with German beers and German-style beers all year long.
Westminster 12 Apostles German-Style Ale pours to a pale golden color with a medium sized creamy head and a rather non-descript nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a light maltiness up front though it’s not really crisp or bready like a Kolsch should be. It has more of a caramel flavor up front, though with a hint of vinous fruit. Not getting really any hops in the finish, it ends bland and slightly sweet. A poor Kolsch and, sadly, not a great beer hedonistically either.
I was surprised that this beer wasn’t all that authentic and, though I can’t buy it locally, I probably would not buy it again, at least not in cans.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft