Tonight's Sunday Night Suds review looks at Saranac Kolsch Ale. The good folks at the FX Matt Brewery make this brew in limited quantities and throw it in their Beers of Summer Mix box. For those looking to broaden their beer appreciation and try new styles, mix boxes are a great thing. Saranac does one for the summer and a different mix for the winter. Sam Adams also makes a great summer box. Their winter box, well that's another story - you get two bottles of Old Fezziwig (possibly the best brew ever produced by the Boston Beer Co) and two bottles of Holiday Porter (also a great beer). Unfortunately, you also get two bottles of Cranberry Lambic - possibly the most foul brew ever created by man.
One of the other advantages to mix boxes is that when you buy beer in Pennsylvania, you don't have to get 24 of the same kind. In Pennsylvania, the beer stores can only sell beer by the case (usually 18-24 bottles/cans per case). If you want to buy six or twelve packs you need to go to a restaurant or bar. This past Friday, I was driving to visit my brother in PA for shabbos and I wanted to get beer. I stopped in a local store that looked promising and picked up a mixed case of Redhook which had four different styles. Without the mix box, I would not have had any beer for shabbos as 24 of one type is just too much for me, even when drinking it over a few months. (Yes I have four 12 packs of Honey Moon in reserve, otherwise I could have gotten the Blue Moon summer offering).
Saranac indicates on its label that the Kolsch is intended to "pay homage to a 1000-year tradition rooted in Cologne, Germany. Clear, crisp and easy to drink, the Kolsch of today is lighter than the "House" beer that was served in Cologne 200 years ago - the city that made Kolsch famous." Personally, I find the beer to be a lot like a Pilsner, and that's not a good thing. The beer itself is extremely light in color and flavor and would go well with almost any kind of food, if you wanted something that had little more kick than water to drink with dinner. I hate to say it, but I am glad that Saranac does not do a six pack of the Kolsch since I can't imagine anyone drinking six of these brews. Still, if you have a visitor who wants a beer and does not want a beer taste (or as the old commercial goes, if you need something to wash your dishes with) the Kolsch is not a terrible option.
Saranac Kolsch Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Vaad of Detroit as are all beers brewed by Saranac. For the experts' take on Kolsch please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/23154 .
As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.
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