Karnival Kolsch - Stoudts Brewing Co.

pvsob

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Crystal clear, pale gold color with a one inch head that fades slowly and leaves average lacing.

S- Noble hops, dry grass, lemon zest, malt, crackers, and hints of fruit (melon/green grapes).

T- Spicy hops and light maltiness upfront. Finishes crisp with touches of lemon. Well balanced and extremely "chuggable".

M- Light to medium feel with a medium level of carbonation. I really like the way this beer feels in my mouth.

D/O- Morning to night drinkability with this one. Flavorful enough to please a beer geek, but still easily approachable to craft beer neophytes. Just another great German style churned out by the brewers at Stoudts. Highly recommended. Prost!

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2010 00:46:11 | More by pvsob

jkot79

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Excellent example of the style. Nice head when poured from the growler. Nice lacing left in the glass. Not overly bitter with a nice crystal malt undertone. This is a most drinkable beer especially with the weather turning warmer. Highly recommended.

Serving type: growler

03-18-2011 23:00:37 | More by jkot79

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A 12 ounce bottle picked up at Abe's. Poured into my nonic pint glass. Appears a clear golden yellow color with about an inch of pillowy white foam. Nose and flavors are of white grapes, green apples, peach, lightly toasted bread, grassy, a touch of lemon. Light to medium bodied with quite lively carbonation. Finish is prickly and spicy on the tongue. Very clean and drinkable, worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2010 02:58:16 | More by ClockworkOrange

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sampled on tap at Kraftwork.

Pours a golden yellowish ripe banana color with lighter golden yellow hues when held to a light source and a 1.5 finger frothy white head with good retention, slowly fading into a lasting cap that leaves sheets of soapy lacing behind.

Pedestrian aroma with subtle hops and hints of peppery spice, light fruit and bready yeast.

Surprisingly chewy, full body with a nice crisp earthy hop presence up front along with some peppery spice that flows into a creamy mid palate with hints of grass, straw, light fruit notes and bready yeast. The dry hops linger throughout over the bready yeast, subtle malt and apple, banana and pear fruit notes into a dry finish. Much more complex and flavorful than expected. Quite a nice surprise. Recommended!

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2010 09:23:20 | More by corby112

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle - $2.49 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a clear, yellow-hued body with a goodly-sized, fluffy, white head.

Smell: Subtle, refined scent of light pale malts along with notes of everything from flowers to wheat dough to lemon peels to wine.

Taste: Mild taste of pale German malts with a faint sweetness. The thin hint of a single, solitary Wheat Thins cracker. Fresh floral, grassy hop character with sufficient bitterness. Little gulp of white wine with a lemon twist. Dry on the back half with a subtle spiciness gliding into the crisp finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-high carbonation, keeping things brisk and active.

Drinkability: Crisp, refreshing and light without being entirely devoid of flavor. Recommended for good ole Summertime drinking.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2010 21:50:52 | More by ChainGangGuy

JunkYardJake

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle to pilsner glass.
Pours a crystal clear pale straw color. White fluffy head lasts a long time and laced well. Smell is grainy and yeasty with a a bit of lemon. Palate is clean and balanced. Cracker malts and bready yeast are balanced with a touch of floral hops. Mild bitterness with a spot-on dry mouthfeel. Very easy drinking and true to form kolsch.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 02:59:33 | More by JunkYardJake

bum732

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

S: Spicy hops, slightly fruity with some apple cider notes. Just a touch of sulfur, very minor.

L: Crystal clear straw yellow, dusting of foam with some retention.

T: Pils malt sweetness with a firm spicy hoppiness. Medium spicy bitterness leads to a fairly clean finish. A nice noble hop bitterness persists throughout.

M: Medium light body, medium carbonation.

More pilsner than kolsch because of the excessive hoppiness, definitely an American interpretation. That said, i really enjoyed this beer, still had that recognizable Kolsch fruitiness.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2011 01:42:18 | More by bum732

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A-Pours a completely clear straw color. Body is light and glowing. Head is bright white and fizzes down to only a tiny skin above the body.

S-Quite bread and zesty. Smells quite clean and tight. A little floral a little citrusy. A bit of spice too.

T-What a crisp, clean flavor with an interesting finish. This beer starts off like a buttered biscuit then it morphs into some surprising grassy bitterness. A bit spicy and lemony. Great finish that is both drier and more bitter than I anticipated it to be. Tastes like animal crackers.

M-Light and super crisp. Far from watery however. Excellent carbonation. Superb feel.

O/D-A great beer from a style I am not very familiar with. I really enjoyed this. An awesome warm-weather beer. Light but boasts plenty of flavor. Cool, cool, cool.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 23:10:05 | More by VelvetExtract

Kendo

New York

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Mowed the lawn tonight, so here we are -- drinking a light, summery, "lawnmower beer" from Stoudts.

A: Poured into a pilsner glass, the body is clear light golden with bubbles rising throughout. White head, 1-finger in size, leaves behind loads and loads of lace. Nice looking summery-type beer.

S: Nose isn't terribly strong, but there's cereal grain and some floral and grassy hops.

T: Starts out a bit like sourdough bread. Grassy, slightly minerally hop bitterness at the finish provides a nice drying feel. After a few sips and an adjustment to the bitterness I notice some generic fruity sweetness -- at times I do think white wine-like grapes (more Pinot Grigio than Chardonnay), but bitterness and crispness is still there at the finish.

M: Light bodied. Good crispness, finishes clean.

D: Very good. Goes down easy. I could drink a few on a hot summer day/night.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 02:47:59 | More by Kendo

ngeunit1

California

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a clear golden-yellow color with tons of bubbling carbonation and a half finger of crisp white head. The head fades fairly quickly down to a tin layer leaving some nice lacing behind.

S - Aroma is a mix of some light sweet caramel malts and a bit of floral hops as well. There is also some light citrus and honey as well.

T - Starts off with some light sweet caramel malt and lemon flavors. Through the middle some floral hops and honey sweetness come through. The finish is a mix of sweet caramel and citrus that lingers nicely.

M - Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. Very light and crisp without being watery. The sweetness and citrus flavor that lingers is really crisp.

D - Very drinkable. There is enough flavor and complexity to keep the beer interesting without every feeling watery or empty. The beer is super crisp and smooth and a nice balance of flavors. The light hop addition is really nice.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2011 01:02:23 | More by ngeunit1

WakeandBake

Michigan

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

. A clear golden straw color pour with a small frothy white head , jagged lacing, lively carbonation . Aroma of citrus ,honey ,bread dough and spicy hops . Flavor is peppery , citrus ,and grassy hops , honey candy sugar and bread dough , crisp clean mouthfeel , short hoppy dry finish , light to medium bitterness , light body , quite sessionable and good , a nice try and a good beer .

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2010 23:57:58 | More by WakeandBake

confer

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pale yellow with a small head and lost of bubbles.
S- Smells like a wheat beer with lemon.
T- Dull hoppy koelsch taste, refreshing.
MD- This is a very good Koelsch style beer. Extremely easy drinking. Makes you want to take a trip to Cologne and get the real thing. Thanks to DonH for the sample.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2010 14:58:20 | More by confer

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A-Brilliant golden yellow with a medium bright white head. Head reduces to a thin cap that never disappears and leaves a surprising amount of lace behind.

S-Nice zip of floral hops with a touch of herbal perfume and some zesty lemon rind. Very light biscuit malt in the background..

T-Surprisingly flavourful with a nice pop of floral and lemon rind hops A lightly sweet underlying biscuit malt base does a very nice job in balancing things out.

M-Medium-light bodied rather sharp and crisp, quite pilsner like. Nice zing of carbonation and good lingering lemon rind bitterness.

D-Wow! I certainly was not expecting much from this one and turn out to be very pleasantly surprised! A near perfect summer session beer. Plenty of flavour without an heavy feel makes it easy to drink. A really good beer to have in your frig for the summer to have when you want "a beer" or to offer that knuckle dragging BMC drinking neighbor or brother-in-law when they ask you for a beer! Well done Stoudts thanks for doing such a nice job with this old world classic!

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2010 20:58:04 | More by Deuane

chcfan

California

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle into Rare Vos glass

Stoudt's makes a great Pils, and while technically a Kolsch is quite a different beer, this reminds me of it.

Karnival is mildly hoppy, with a somewhat fruity (apple?) in the nose. Taste still has the hops, but almost no bitterness. I'm always impressed to taste such subtle, delicate flavors in a beer that's technically an ale. This is such an easy drinker that you can just throw them back and be four deep before you even know it. It's a welcome addition since it's such a perfect warm weather beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2010 01:03:24 | More by chcfan

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

"Everything being a constant carnival, there is no carnival left."

--Victor Hugo

Haystack yellow with corn silk edges and a crown of sheep's wool white. Lots of farm references there. The head has a cottony texture that looks good as it fades, all the while leaving small chunklets of sticky lace on the sides of the glass.

The aroma has the musky, grassy, spicy quality of German nobles. Probably Saaz and at least one or two others. Malt makes very little olfactory impact, which is par for the style course. Hints of skunk (which is odd given the brown glass bottle) aren't too much of a negative.

If Karnival Kolsch is truly a spring seasonal then this bottle has held up remarkably well. It's still pretty hoppy and the finish is crisp and tight. Tastes like it was brewed no more than a few months ago.

The flavor profile is fairly simple, as expected, but that doesn't make it bad beer. On the contrary. There's a pleasant backdrop of cereal grains and bread crusts, then come top notes of bitter grasses and a wee twist of lemon peel. If this bottle is 8-10 months old then Stoudts has made a brewing deal with the devil.

The mouthfeel is quality through and through. Plenty of size for the ABV, good lift and creaminess, dialed-in carbonation. Check, check... and check.

Stoudts Karnival Kolsch is an outstanding lawnmower-type ale. It has an abundance of flavor and isn't as simple as it first appears. The brewery should seriously think about a year-round release. Hey, those of us in the Midwest need snowblower beers too.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2011 12:05:03 | More by BuckeyeNation

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Karnival Kolsch pours a clear golden with fine clarity and some bone white fizzling head. Aroma of some hops and pale malts backing. In the flavor, nice crisp green hop presence, giving a nice herbal spiciness to the beer. Base beer is of crystal malts and a nice even grainyness. Grassy and slightly citric hops are there the whole way through. Mouthfeel is clean and light. Overall, a nice kolsch brewed to style. Refreshing and would be a good summer beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-18-2011 04:51:40 | More by Stinkypuss

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pale yellow body, touch of haze, a few bits of carbonation streams, topped by a big snow white densely headxm of micro-micro-bubbles.

Light but enticing aroma of lemon and fresh hay.

Sweet but nowhere near cloying. Lemon follows. Then a crisp hop nip at the swallow. Light lemon/hop mix carries through a short aftertaste.

Good firm mouthfeel for a beer this light.

A nice tasty hot day beer, better than a lot of other summer kolschs out there.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 18:10:19 | More by RonfromJersey

Neffbeer

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This has long been a favorite summer beer of mine.
12oz bottle into a pilsner glass.

A: The body of the beer is a light straw colored yellow with perfect clarity. There was bubbly two finger head that displayed moderate retention and left behind a great deal of lacing.

S: The nose is incredibly balanced with a toasted malt presence, some cracked wheat, and a healthy dose of Hallertau hops. The hops are very earthy and floral reminiscent of a wild meadow in full bloom.

T: The earthy aspects come rushing forth with dank floral and herbal notes, followed by a distinct mineral-like finish. The toasted malt and wheat subtly enter mid-palate and provide a delicate sweetness to support the hops . It finishes dry and herbal.

M: Light to medium with a pleasant effervescence that borders on creamy.

O: This is my go to American Kolsch and always makes me feel like the season is changing. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 20:21:03 | More by Neffbeer

kylehay2004

Florida

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: half finger bright white head on a cloudypale golden body. Thick lacing.

S: musty malt, lemon custard, a touch spicey

T: very clean tasting with pale malts grains and a nice yeast character. The sweetness is again lemon custard late into the finish.

M: light body and moderate to high carbonation.

Overall: A very nice Kolsch. Flavorful, no off putting notes and nice body to this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 01:15:33 | More by kylehay2004

nickfl

Florida

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one and a half fingers of white foam on top of a slightly hazy, golden body. The head settles rapidly and leaves very nice lace.

S - An aroma of light, sweet malt and spicy, herbal European hops.

T - Sweet malt up front with some herbal hops and a touch of bitterness. Flavors of hay and honey in the middle with a bitter finish that is grassy, but balanced by a moderately strong malt flavor.

M - Slightly thick malt, moderate carbonatiion, and a lightly sweet finish.

D - Not bad, it is a good example of the style and while it won't win any points for complexity it is very refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 01:24:04 | More by nickfl

plaid75

New York

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a medium straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell featured a light lemon zest and a subtle grassy hop.

The taste was well balanced with a soft malt and moderate noble hop.
The mouthfeel was typical of the style.

Overall a good kolsch.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2010 20:33:13 | More by plaid75

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle into a stange.

Pours a clear gold, with 3 fingers of foamy bright-white head. This retains with rich cap of froth, which leaves behind a spotty cascade of lacing that quickly slides down the sides of the glass. The aroma is fresh in the nose, with a bright smelling pop of lemon zest, citrus peel, light spice, grassy hops, and some toasted malt sweetness underneath. Fruit and hops really push to the front of the nose here.

The taste is equal parts sweet grains and fruit, with some bitter citrus and lightly spicy hops giving this some zip on the tongue. Finishes bitter and dry with some lingering spiciness. The mouthfeel is light-medium bodied, with a mellow and soft creaminess to the carbonation, which keeps this very easygoing on the palate and very quaffable.

This was very good for the style, and while it maybe lacked some of the vinous and yeasty fruit character that I normally like in the nose, it more than made up for it with a surprisingly complex flavor profile and super easy drinkibility. Just really quaffable and tasty stuff here, just in time for the summer season.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2010 16:58:43 | More by Kegatron

Buggies

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a straw yellow. Crystal clear too. Quite pretty to look at. Aroma is quite nice also. Sweet malt aroma with citrus. Little bit of corn and straw there too.

Tastes great. Citrus mostly. Slight sweetness in the background. Nice crispness from the carbonation. Bitterness is spot on I think. It rides through the finish cutting away some of the sweet citrus notes.

I'm a big fan of Stoudts. So, to me this is another example of a good beer from a great brewery.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2011 03:15:48 | More by Buggies

JWU

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle poured into a tumbler glass.

A- crystal clear straw yellow with a white, fizzy head. Little lacing.

S- clean grains and cereals with a bit of ale yeast and a hint of spicy hops

T- starts with a hint of bitterness, which transitions into a defined smoothness with the sweet grains and cereal base. A bit rough on the back end (aggressively crisp on the palette), likely due to the ale yeast.

M- Crisp, smooth, and slightly creamy. Almost too crisp on the finish.

O- Almost like their gold lager, made with ale yeast. A very refreshing spring/summer beer, and would be a great gateway beer for macro drinkers.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 01:26:58 | More by JWU

drabmuh

Maryland

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Beer is yellow and crystal clear. Bright and clean. Huge white head, some lacing. Nice carbonation. 

Aroma is plain. A little sweet a little weak but good. 

Beer is wet and nice. It is clean and sweet up front. Nice crispness to the palate and the finish is great. I'd have this again. 

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 15:58:51 | More by drabmuh