Zover ik deze geproefd heb en bij De Ranke kan nalezen http://www.deranke.be/nl/bier/simplex betreft het hier gewoon een hoppige “single” Belgian Ale à la Taras Boulba.
Ook al ambiëren ze de “karakteristieken en drinkbaarheid van een pils” zou ik toch maar voorzichtig zijn om deze ongefiltreerde Belgian Ale zomaar als Kölsch te classificeren - (wanneer toch, dan als “Wieß”).
Wellicht is het ook iets eenvoudiger &fairer m.b.t. oorsprong & terroir deze prachtige Simplex direct in de categorie Belgian Ale tegen Taras Boulba te laten aantreden.
Of mis ik vitale info over langtijdige lagering enz.?
In that case: bring it on @77ships! I’d be willing to become rather advocative about this not being anything near a Kölsch.
Us Belgians have already ruined enough non-pils by name, we don’t need to intrude upon the innocent Kölsch category with a new magnificent low-Abv Belgian Ale that happens to aspire to “lager drinkability”.
The official blurb says “Despite Simplex being an ale, it has all the characteristics of an old-styled pils.” So a lager made with ale yeast, which I think most of the time are cold-stored.
Many so-called ‘lagers’ in the UK are made with ale yeast for convenience, but despite me mentioning in the forums a while ago about how they shouldn’t technically be classed as ‘lagers’ due to the yeast used, admins at the time preferred keep them as they are rather than ignite a debate about what defines a ‘kolsch’.
I actually have a bottle of this in the beer cupboard, perhaps I should crack it open and have a taste!
Ok yes, have just tried this and I fully agree this has little in common with a kolsch, or pils / lager. Much too bitter, hoppy, fruity and does not possess the light, fresh body of a kolsch. Belgian Ale seems more appropriate.
Fijn!
Reading a US rating along the lines of “not a typical Kölsch” for this one really made my pedantic EU-terroir spine tingle…
Not to target admin decisions here, or to flog an already restabled horse, but just to riff on this a bit & ride my dada of a broader EU Kulturvergleich:
For me the difference with Taras Boulba is a categorical one. Moving Taras from Belgian Ale to Session IPA would be a matter of sheer marketing (cf Palm, De Koninck from spéciale belge to APA), regrettable though it might be: DLS has almost singlehandedly (well, along with De Ranke) reinstated the street credibility of drier, hoppier Belgian “simplex” ales in the wide new international playing field. Imho they do not need really the (Session) IPA moniker to thrive, even internationally. If anything, it’s a sign of provincialism to want to be part of a mroe faceless international movement that includes nations without a style pedigree.
De Ranke does not seem to explicitly market Simplex as a Kölsch, nor, technically, as a lager. They only refer to the drinkability/sessionability of long-gone, BE pilsners, part of their mission of reviving “olden days” bitter & lighter ales. I agree there is a similarity in terms of top-fermented & lagered…but much more discrepancies: filtration, malt and hop bills being the lesser ones.
Ergo: glad this revivalist Belgian beer has been technically reclaimed as a non-hybrid ale and is no longer forced to cross a EU national style border to prove a point (and make unsuspecting RB newbies land across the border in Cologne upon first encountering it).
