| Kölsch is a local beer speciality, brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German lager beer, Pils. Furthermore, Kölsch is a top-fermented beer (an ale), meaning that it is fermented at 15 to 20°C (60 to 68°F) and the yeast tends to collect at the top, as opposed to bottom-fermented beer (a lager) fermented at much colder temperatures. Kölsch yeast is often confused with a bottom-fermenting lager yeast because of its relatively low fermentation temperature. Although Kölsch ferments colder than most ales, its yeast is definitely an ale strain. |
