Fort Point Beer Company | KSA Kölsch
There are many different things you can see and do while visiting San Francisco. Perhaps you take a tour to check out the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, or maybe while sightseeing, you are able to see Alcatraz Island, which was home to the infamous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. You could even spend time catching a cable car around certain areas of the city. While San Francisco offers a multitude of attractions and things to do, we want to recommend a place for you to visit!
Fort Point Beer Co.
After a long day of sightseeing and doing other touristy things, you are bound to be thirsty! One specific place to take a load off and quench your thirst would be Fort Point Beer Company.
Fort Point is known as San Francisco’s hometown beer company, focused on making beer and cider that hits that elusive sweet spot between “interesting” and “easy to love”, explained Christina Shatzen, Director of Marketing for Fort Point.
“Our HQ is a production facility in the Presidio, a national park in San Francisco, which faces Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge,” said Shatzen. Also noting that nearly everything Fort Point creates is inspired by San Francisco, from the designs on the cans, to the liquid inside.
Independent & Family-owned
A decade in, and Fort Point is still independent and family-owned. They sell 90% of their beer in the Bay Area. “We’re proud to be celebrating ten years in this business year and are commemorating the milestone all year long,” said Shatzen.
Earlier this year, Fort Point launched a “10 Beers for 10 Years” voting campaign, which invited their community to select their favorite past releases for Fort Point to bring back on draft in limited quantities ad their brick-and-mortar locations in San Francisco. “We’re three releases in so far, and it’s been a lot of fun to brew (and drink!) old favorites for the first time in years!” exclaimed Christina.
KSA
KSA is a meticulously craft Kölsch Style Ale from the fine folks at Fort Point. A traditional Kölsch would be mostly Pilsner Malt and a little Vienna. Fort Point’s grain bill is a little more complex. “We use Pale Wheat, Munich and Vienna malt–all from Weyermann in Germany, plus some Pilsner malt,” noted Shatzen. This blend ultimately creates a richer malt or grain flavor than the more traditional approach.
Fort Point also uses a Scottish Ale Yeast which is a big differentiator for KSA and has a big impact on flavor. “Our Director of Innovation, Mike Schenbeck, originally got a lot of guff from some industry folks for this choice,” noted Shatzen. Again, it’s not traditional, but it has a really wide range of character, plus the ability to ferment at cooler temperatures, which works really well for KSA.
The Crisp Is Real!
All of this talk about malts, hops and yeast has us thirsty! So, let’s tell you about how the beer tastes, while we’re sipping on a fresh KSA.
We feel as though the Kölsch Style Ale is a very underrated style of beer. If you haven’t cashed in on its unique crispiness on a hot summer day, then you don’t know what you’re missing!
KSA is very light and crisp, with a huge flavor profile to go with it. For such a light beer, it’s very rich and complex. Kölsch Style Ales aren’t exactly complex, but we found KSA to be just that. You get rich notes of a malt without it overpowering the light body of the beer. It’s extremely smooth while also providing just the right amount of carbonation and a hint of bitterness. There is also just a hint of floral notes that come into play on the back end that really accentuates the overall profile of KSA.
You could really enjoy this beer anytime. It wouldn’t have to be on a hot summer day, although it just hits different when those temps rise. We might even venture to say that KSA is the real San Francisco treat!
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