Kölsch is a foundational beer for Claim 52. Founder Trevor Ross had been fine-tuning his Kölsch as a homebrewer and stuck with it as he opened the brewery in 2012. It was the first Kölsch-style beer to achieve flagship status in Eugene and an early example of the style in Oregon.
Kölsch hails from Köln, Germany, and is set apart from Pilsner mainly by its unique fermentation characteristic. Brewed with heirloom German malt and gently hopped with noble German Tettnang and Czech Saaz hops, brewers tease light fruit notes from the yeast.
Typically, a special ale yeast is used, fermenting at cooler-than-normal temperatures for ales. We do the reverse, using lager yeast at slightly higher temperatures to achieve subtle pear and pinot gris esters.
