Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/857596
56 | M A C O N M A G A Z I N E A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 Briefs ABOUT BEER IT'S SUMMER TIME, LET'S DRINK SOME COLD BEER! The choices are endless, but did you know there is a little-known category of beer called lawn mower beer. What is a lawn mower beer, you ask? It's any beer that is low in alcohol content and also highly quaffable; a style of beer you would want to drink after working hard in the yard on a hot summer day. Usually a crisp, pale lager or ale with moderate to high carbonation. Sometimes with fruit added and it must be well chilled. Lawn mower beer examples include American light lager, pilsners, kölsch, gose, berliner weiss, cream ale, blonde ale, wheat beer, wit beer and radler. For my review I chose Billow's Hoppy Kölsch from Burial Beer Company located in Asheville, N.C. Kölsch (pronounced coal-sh) is a traditional German beer that originated in Köln (Cologne), Germany. This style of beer is top-fermented with a bright, straw-yellow hue that is quite clear. It's similar to other beers brewed with a majority of pilsner malt. Kölsch is a hybrid beer, meaning that it is warm fermented similar to ales. The difference is that it is cold conditioned (lagered) for an extended period of time, which is way different than ales. Much like many other beers by Burial Beer Company, which just so happens to be one of my favorite breweries, they take a classic style and make it their own. The appearance of Billows Hoppy Kölsch in my traditional stange glassware is light gold in color, verging on sun-bleached blonde that screams summer to me. Traditional kölsch beer has very high clarity, however, due to dry hopping with copious amounts of mandarina bavaria and centennial hops. This beer is slightly hazy, kind of like the Macon skyline after a warm evening storm has blown through. The beer shows off with a low-to-medium white head that dissipates after a few minutes. The nose is delicate fruit, which is a by-product of fermentation more so than the grain bill or hops. The classic pilsner malt aroma is actually quiet low. Although a traditional kölsch will have a low noble hop character, this beer is proud of its distinct tangerine and lemon/floral flavors provided by the dry-hopping. The kölsch yeast strain also provides a nice pear flavor as well as a low winy or sulfury note. Billows is medium-light bodied with good carbonation. The beer is well attenuated, meaning that there is little sweetness, creating a smooth crisp mouthfeel across the palate. The flavors are a slightly unbalanced and pleasant hoppiness that is slightly offset by a soft cracker-like malt flavor and low fermentation sweetness. Slightly dry finish with no overly harsh aftertastes. Hop flavors are uncharacteristically high for the traditional style but that's what I love about it. The beer is very clean and easy to drink. But wasn't that the definition of a summer lawn mower beer that I talked about at the beginning? To be honest, the uneducated may be inclined to pass it off as a light lager. The bottom line: Burial Beer Company is among the best breweries in the South and anything you can find by them is worth drinking. However, Billows Hoppy Kölsch is the one beer that I highly encourage you to seek out during the dog days of Georgia summer. Find it, buy it, put it in the fridge, go mow the front and back yards, grab a can, go to your front porch and drink it. You will be glad that you did. Cheers, y'all! - BRIAN WHITLEY IS THE CO-OWNER AND HEAD BREWER AT PIEDMONT BREWERY & KITCHEN IN DOWNTOWN MACON. HE IS A CRAFT BEER LOVER AND A BJCP-CERTIFIED BEER JUDGE, WHICH PRETTY MUCH JUST MAKES HIM A CRAFT BEER NERD. kegerator.com