Beer reviews: TF Kölsch and Bewilder Atta Boy Ingy
Simple and delicious light ales for the holidays
By Mike Riedel @utahbeer
TF Kölsch: Believe it or not, this German-focused brewery has never made a Kölschbier before. Given the amount of detail that goes into the other TF offerings, I found myself expecting a true-to-style Kölsch.
It poured a nice golden color that took on more of an orange hue when held to the light. Nearly three fingers' worth of fluffy, off-white head stayed until the end and left lots of patchy lacing behind. The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness, with some fruity yeast being the first to show up; it imparts a nice apricot and stonefruit-like aroma that's pretty nice. Up next comes a slight spice note, followed by the malts, which impart some pale, light biscuit and sweet malt-like aromas.
The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, starting off with a slightly lower amount of medium sweetness and the fruity yeast being the first to show up—but it's a good amount, lighter this time while still imparting a little bit of an apricot-like aspect.
Up next comes a light spice flavor that goes into the malts, which impart the same aspects that they did in the aroma, though this time there's also a cracker malt-like flavor. On the finish there's no bitterness, with some sweetness taking its place, having a biscuit and cracker malt-like aftertaste.
This is a nice and fairly true-to-style Kölsch: smooth, crisp, clean, slightly refreshing, on the thick side of being light-bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. This beer has a mouthfeel that works well with the whole.
Verdict: I thought this was a pretty nice beer and a good example of a Kölsch. It had everything that I look for in the style and I thought the fruity yeast made it just a little unique from others of its kind. This beer has good drinkability.
Bewilder - Atta Boy Ingy: This new beer from Bewilder is named for Connor Ingram. If you're not familiar with Mr. Ingram, you will be soon, as he is the starting goaltender for the Utah Hockey Club. This beer also features a new yeast from Escarpment labs called Elysium, which is said to be a strong producer of pineapple esters.
It pours hazy gold with a slightly opaque appearance. One finger of off-white head left great foamy lacing coating the sides—a solid-looking pour. It smells like a DIPA or a fresh-hopped IPA, featuring tons of citrus, peach and piney hops with lemon zest, pineapple, grapefruit, mango and fruity candy like gummy bears. Some crackers and toasted grains emerge, too, so this one has a lot of flavor at 5.0 percent ABV.
The flavors follow pretty closely to the aroma—very fresh-tasting, light and quaffable. More orange and tangerine appear in the flavor and the malt backbone brings wheat bread, crackers and toasted grains to the party for perfect balance. Light pineapple and floral notes linger and leave a lightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is light, crisp and slick, with a light-to-medium body, average carbonation and a slightly bitter aftertaste with zero trace of the ABV. An excellent beer overall.
Verdict: Bewilder has a knack for pale ales like this. They're always utilizing the toys in the box, and I enjoyed getting familiar with this new yeast strain. The pineapple esters add a lot here without hammering you over the head.
You can only find Atta Boy Ingy on draft at Bewilder. I had the standard pour, but should have gotten a stein. TF's Kölsch will likely be an intermittent offering, and should be around (on draft) for another couple of weeks.
As always, cheers!
About The Author
Mike Riedel
Local boy and pilot of City Weekly’s best gig, The Beer Nerd column since 2017. Current photojournalist at KSTU TV (Fox 13) and host of the Utah Beer Blog and Beer Nerd Radio on KUAA 99.9 FM radio.
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