BEER

Before small American craft brewers began making lagers by the barrel, they embraced the kölsch. Fermented with ale yeast and cold lager temperatures, this hybrid is both fruity and crisp, and well-made examples are prized for their subtlety.

The style has its origins in Cologne, Germany, where it is brewed to precise specifications and falls under the Reinheitsgebot, or brewing purity law. It is a beer meant for gathering and comradery and in the city of its creation there are rituals involved with its consumption. Pubs and breweries that will serve round after round to patrons, making a tick mark on