Altstadt Kölsch

This beer was evaluated as a Kölsch (BJCP Style 5B). Pours a very slight hazy light yellowish gold with a large poofy white head of small bubbles that slowly fades to a quarter-inch disk of foam. The aroma initially is fairly grainy malt with a moderate black pepper spice character, hints of earthiness, and a faint note of apple ester. The flavor has a similar grainy/husky malt character with a bit of bread dough, moderate white pepper spice, and background notes of pear. Cleanly fermented, the balance is about even between malt and hop bittering, leaving a fairly dry finish. Medium light body and moderate carbonation with a clean and crisp character. This is a very refreshing and tasty beer, leaning slightly on the heavy side of hop flavor for the style. Start your pairing with Tom Yum spicy soup (not quite Thai hot, though!) and follow up with Pad Thai - the grainy character of the beer works well with the rice noodles.