Favorite Beer Mixes At Home

At home, I have mixed Guinness with Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. It's not a bad mix; I wonder what others might think...

I'm a bit of a beer purist so I rarely mix beers. At Mexican restaurants, I always make it a point to have the bartender hold the lime when ordering Bohemia or Dos Equis. That reminds me of the old Miller Lite ManLaws commercial where Burt Reynold's and company conclude, "Don't fruit the beer." I think the addition of lime may actually improve Corona, but it's been 7 years or so since I downed one of those.

Schlafly (St Louis) makes a great Kolsch with Gaffel Kolsch yeast from Germany, if memory serves. It is reasonably priced and ideal for the situations you describe. So is Kentucky Ale's light, a Kolsch though not by name.

I like most all Schlafly's styles, including the kolsch but was not aware Kentucky Ale made one. Took me a little while but I finally picked up a six. Sure enough, I was completely put off by the kiss-of-death word "Light" prominently on the label. Lo, in smaller print it does refer to kolsch. It's a pretty satisfying hot weather beer with much more flavor than anything else I've had labeled as "light". I can't decide if they're smart to label it Light to draw the masses to a kolsch or if they're doing more harm alienating beer enthusiasts who normally make a wide circle around "light".

Ah, what's in a name? That which we call a Kolsch
By any other name would smell as hoppy
(with apologies to The Bard)

Lonnie, this has been an ongoing dilemma ever since we first started brewing Kentucky Light. You are right to wonder at the efficacy of its name. The main reason it is called "Light" results from the story behind the beer (every beer should have a story, right?) which is that Dr. Joe Power, who helped us formulate our Kolsch, was on the team of brewers at Peter Hand Brewing of Chicago that actually invented the process of making Light beer, which was then sold to Miller Brewing. So there's the connection in all its confounding glory.

In fact, our Kolsch is true to style and actually took home a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Currently, BoomBozz Westport Village, BoomBozz Taylorsville Rd, Bodega at Felice, and Butchertown Market all have it on draft. It is also available at the Kentucky Ale Tap Room at the KFC Yum! Center. Enjoy!