The Kolsch revival

The German’s have been brewing Kolsch since the 17th century and while it hasn’t quite been brewed for that long here in Margaret River, we've been brewing this popular, refreshing style since 2016.

Though certainly not the first, our Kolsch has comfortably become one of the region's most popular and celebrated beers, helping to push the revival of this once forgotten style.

The Kolsch style is unique – even for the modern craft beer world – being a ‘hybrid’ of sorts that utilises techniques coming from both the world of ales and lagers. Kolsch has a ‘best of both worlds’ disposition as a result and relies on just one malt in the brewing process, striking a balance between malt flavour, noble hops and yeast to create a beer that is flavourful but still light, clean, and delicate.

At Margaret River Beer Co., our brewers have fine tuned our Kolsch to produce a beer that perfectly exemplifies the style, and in 2023, it took home the trophy for Best British or European Style Ale in the Australian International Beer Awards. Our recently appointed head brewer, Ryan Allen explains why it’s so good!

‘Kolsch is a crisp and highly drinkable style of German ale. It differs to other styles in that it uses top fermenting ale yeast but is finished off at cold temperatures like a lager to get a lighter malt-driven beer.’

‘There is a tendency in the craft space to try and rush through these more traditional styles of beer that really require time and patience to get right. We cold condition our Kolsch for 2 weeks prior to filtration and condition for another week prior to packaging. This gives the beer its crisp finish and allows for a complex flavour profile to develop.’

Over the last seven years of brewing our Kolsch, we’ve expanded its distribution to include cans for all Western Australians, along with being a staple offering at our Margaret River Brewhouse venue, of course. We’re excited to be able to push that distribution even further in 2023 expanding our production volume with our recently commissioned 100hl production brewery, allowing us to produce even more award winning Kolsch so even more people can enjoy it!

And the timing couldn’t be better, with the style itself growing in popularity over the last couple of years.

While we’re stoked to see many more examples of the style being made and drinkers getting behind it, we know our Kolsch has and will continue to stand the test of time, being a reliable go to for anyone with a thirst for good craft beer.

As head brewer Ryan says, it really is a beer for everyone.

I'd say drinking it is the most enjoyable part of creating our Kolsch, It's the best to beer to have after you knock off! Our punters seem to agree with us brewers, as it's the most popular beer that we make here. It just tastes awesome and it’s refreshing, simple.