One Barrel Brewing’s Commuter Kölsch

The craft beer Kölsch is a rare thing. Few American breweries make this style of Northern German ale. The few that do, rarely do it well. But there’s a local Kölsch pouring at Becket’s at the moment that’s excellent.

The Commuter, by Madison’s One Barrel Brewing, is just what a fine Kölsch should be. This is a pale-gold beer with a very subtle aroma that reminded me of ripe pear. It’s light-bodied presenting a grainy malt flavor followed by a mild, lemon-like hop flavor. The beer is exceptionally refreshing with a crisp finish.

This was the first beer I had yesterday after an afternoon of work around the house. I was parched. It was the perfect beer for that moment. At 4.8% ABV, Commuter makes for a terrific session beer.

One Barrel Brewing is a nano brewery producing beer on a scale that would have seemed inconceivable not long ago. As the name implies, they do it one barrel at a time. Since launching in 2012, the brewery’s distribution has been as limited as its production. Nearly all of One Barrel’s beer is reserved for sale over the bar at it’s pub. It’s great that we’re getting a taste of this in Oshkosh. Get it while you can, I doubt this one will hang around long.