Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Kirby's Kölsch

Kirby's Kölsch is an Ontarian Kölsch-style ale brewed with a measure of peach juice. From Bracebridge's Muskoka Brewery, the stuff is gently hazy, straw gold, and topped with an extensively fluffy white head. Sold in bright orange cans containing 473mL of the 4.6% suds, this beer has a relaxed motif--there's a hammock and a lake right on the can.

The beer has a potent grainy aroma that only hints at the inclusion of peach juice in the brew. This beer really didn't taste as I expected it to. I was anticipating a juicy, artificial peachiness. However, I underestimated the skill and subtlety of the brewers at Muskoka. Instead of saccharine and overpowering, this stuff has a peach flavour like a barely audible whisper. Instead, the grainy kölsch flavours are the driving force, leading to a crisp, sensible finish, built around just enough hops to keep things balanced.

This beer is the antithesis of a pubescent teen layering on spritz after spritz of noxious body spray--it uses peach juice sparingly and with a disciplined hand. A little sweet early on, but not worth complaining about. This beer won't necessarily enter my regular repertoire, but I'm confident that I'll revisit it before the warm days are gone, and I'll hope to see it again next summer.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

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