Kölsch

From El Segundo Brewing in Los Angeles, here’s a recipe for the impeccable Kölsch that the editorial team at Craft Beer & Brewing named one of their Best 20 Beers in 2025.

This recipe has been shaped by years of studying, drinking, thinking about, and brewing Kölsch-style beer. “This is as near to an authentic Kölsch recipe as you can get,” says brewer Corey Blodgett. “Unless you’re in Köln.”

It’s not just any blonde ale into which you pitch some “German ale” yeast. Corey Blodgett, noted Kölsch evangelist and longtime pro brewer, shares his advice on brewing a serious Kölsch-style beer that tastes like the stuff in Köln.

From Emancipation Brewing in Fairbury, Illinois, comes this recipe that local patrons have been enjoying in quantity at their occasional Kölsch Nights.

Big-city breweries and bars aren’t the only ones who can draw crowds with events dedicated to traditional Kölsch service. In rural Fairbury, Illinois, the locals have quite taken to Kölsch Night in the converted dairy barn at Emancipation Brewing. Cofounder and head brewer Lincoln Slagel explains how and why it works.

Want to dive deeper into Kölsch? Here are some observations on the culture of the köbes, plus tips on building your own traditional-style serving tray.

Kölsch-style ale is an American craft mainstay, and reverent Kölsch service is now a trend with broad appeal. Before we all get carried away, Ryan Pachmayer goes to Köln to consider the subject more closely, from how it’s served to how it’s brewed—and why its future is uncertain.

So, you put the lime in the coconut—or, better yet, add them both to secondary. Then you drink it all up.

Here are five of our favorite examples of this unassuming and elegant style, each managing ample character in addition to supreme balance and drinkability.

Courtesy of Josh Pfriem, cofounder and brewmaster of pFriem Family Brewers, here is a homebrew-scale version of the beer that won gold at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival.

Josh Pfriem, brewmaster and cofounder of pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon, breaks down their approach to Kölsch-Style Ale—an exercise in precision and a gold-medal winner at last year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Far from ordinary, the unassuming Kölsch is a unique beer with its own history and an identity firmly rooted in its city and rituals. Jeff Alworth has the story, with a fresh glass and a tick for your deckel.

The accomplished writer, certified beer judge, and our own contributing editor shares her beery highlights from a highly unusual year.

Courtesy of Jack Hendler of Springdale Beer and Jack's Abby, here is a homebrew-scale recipe for one of our Best 20 Beers in 2020. “Creating malt intensity without body or too much residual sweetness requires excellent process control from the brewer.”

While some think of beers as being either lagers or ales, there is a third category: hybrids. Let's examine how the beers in this category differ from each other but also how we can make recipe and/or process changes to make them the best they can be.

We reached out to brewers’ guild directors and asked for recommendations on light-colored ales (from a state other than the one they represent) that have tickled their fancy. Here’s what these proponents of craft beer reach for when they travel.

The biggest challenge in a Kölsch is building just enough malt body and character without going overboard.