I’ve just had Tempest’s. It’s been added as a Kölsch. I did a search and those beers with Black Kölsch in their names seem to be an even split between having been added as Kölsch and those added as a Schwarzbier.
I was wondering… what would German Admins do with a Black Kölsch’s style designation?
If we follow German Law it´s probably none of the above.
Kölsch is per definition and law a clear golden brew. So not in this category. But as we at Ratebeer call the category Kölsch / Kölsch-Style and have many way too hoppy American Kölsch styles in here it´s okay to put in there.
Schwarzbier is nowadays bottom-fermented, so no Kölsch in here. But looking back in history there have been Schwarzbier that were top-fermented as most of the beers dating back to the middleages and before Louis Pasteur.
I personally would put it to Kölsch-Style and as if we dont already have too many styles this would nee to be splitted to Kölsch - Traditional and Kölsch - Modern/Black.
If we need to be purist, no beer brewed outside Köln should be allowed to be listed as kölsch. So there should not even be a thing like black kölsch. Is it just a black “pale” ale? Why should it be a kölsch?
Have you tried it - if it is “just” a coloured Kölsch, then Kölsch-style would be ok for me - but if it tastes dark - with roasted malts in the taste, then it is no Kölsch-style any more - probably Alt oder Dunkel… A Kölsch or Kölsch-style beer shouldn’t have roasted flavours in them…
(just to name the first few)
–> What should we do? re-classifying most of them as “Dunkel” as they don’t fit into the taste of a classic Kölsch-style brew?? A Kölsch is some kind of Golden Ale with its unique taste - which isn’t there anymore if roasted mats are used - then we have a classic Brown Ale / Dunkel / etc… (in my eyes).
I would rather argue that Alt and Kölsch are both top-fermented beers beeing fermented at cold rather than warm temperatures which distinguishes them from most top-fermented beers (like Brown Ales). I would therefore temporarily categorise Black Kölsch as Altbier, especially as IBUs often vary within modern interpretations of styles.
Thank you.
But since we’re in the DACH subforum, I thought some Colonian breweries began to brew Black Kölsch.
(One thing is sure, at least one brewery from Cologne brews an Alt.)