Second Street Brewery’s Kolsch is a German-style ale brewed in Santa Fe, and it won a bronze medal at the 2025 World Beer Cup in a category of 116 entries. It is also the lightest beer in the brewery’s year-round lineup, which makes it a natural first pour for anyone new to Second Street, or new to the style.
It is a popular one, too. Untappd has listed the beer since 2011, and it has been logged there more than 2,800 times by over 2,500 people, which puts it among the most-checked-in beers Second Street makes.
- Style: Kölsch (German-style ale)
- ABV: 4.6% per the brewery (Untappd lists 5%)
- IBU: 17
- Brewery: Second Street Brewery
- Where to find it: Santa Fe, on draft and in cans
What is Second Street Brewery’s Kolsch?
Second Street describes its Kolsch as a straw-colored ale in the German tradition. The brewery says it ferments the beer cooler than it would a typical ale, which gives it a clean, bubbly finish, and that German noble hops lend it a floral aroma. Noble hops are a small group of traditional European hop varieties prized for gentle, spicy and flowery aromas rather than sharp bitterness.
The numbers back that up. The brewery lists the beer at 4.6% ABV and 17 IBU, with an original gravity of 1.042. Original gravity measures how much sugar is in the unfermented beer, and a figure in the low 1.040s points to a light-bodied beer of moderate strength. IBU, or International Bitterness Units, measures hop bitterness; 17 is soft, well below the 40-plus of a typical IPA.
On Untappd, the beer appears as Kölsch, with the umlaut, at 5% ABV and 17 IBU, and it is marked as in production. When the two differ, the brewery’s own spec sheet is the one to go by.
Rod Tweet, Second Street’s president and brewmaster, summed it up for the Santa Fe New Mexican after the 2025 World Beer Cup as “light, hoppy and very clean.”
What is a kölsch?
Kölsch is a pale beer style from Cologne, Germany, whose German name is Köln. The word simply means “from Cologne.” It is one of a handful of German styles that sit between the two big families of beer.
Here is how a kölsch is generally made and served:
- Ale yeast, cool fermentation. It is fermented with top-fermenting ale yeast, but at the cooler end of the ale range, which keeps fruity yeast flavors in check.
- Cold aging. After fermentation it is conditioned cold for several weeks, the way a lager is. That rest smooths the beer out and helps it clear.
- Pale malt, restrained hops. Expect a pale gold color, a light body, a delicate malt sweetness and just enough hop bitterness to keep it crisp.
- A tall, narrow glass. In Cologne it is traditionally poured into a slim cylindrical glass called a Stange, which holds about 200 milliliters.
In Germany, the name is protected: only breweries in and around Cologne may call their beer Kölsch. Brewers elsewhere often write “kölsch-style” or drop the umlaut, as Second Street does. That is general style knowledge rather than a tasting note for this particular beer, but it explains why a beer made in Santa Fe can sit so comfortably in the tradition.
A 2025 World Beer Cup medal
The World Beer Cup is an international competition run by the Brewers Association, where panels of judges taste entries blind and score them against written style guidelines. The 2025 edition in Indianapolis drew 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries in 49 countries, according to KRQE.
Second Street’s Kolsch took bronze in the German-Style Koelsch category. The brewery’s awards list and the New Mexico beer blog Dark Side Brew Crew both record the medal as bronze, and Dark Side Brew Crew counted 116 entries in the category. It was one of three medals Second Street brought home that year, alongside golds for its Vienna Lager and Brown Ale, as covered in our Second Street Brewery review.
Light styles are hard to win with. A kölsch has little malt or hop intensity to cover a flaw, so judges reward precision: clean fermentation, a bright finish, balance. A medal against more than a hundred other entries says the brewery got those details right.
Where to find Second Street Kolsch
Kolsch is part of Second Street’s regular lineup, so it is a dependable pour at both Santa Fe locations:
- Rufina Taproom, 2920 Rufina Street, where Second Street brews and cans all of its beer.
- The Railyard, 1607 Paseo de Peralta, next to the Santa Fe Farmers Market.
Drinking it at Rufina means drinking it a few steps from the tanks it was made in. If you would rather take some home, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that all three of the brewery’s 2025 medal winners are sold in cans at local retailers, and the brewery’s beer finder shows where to buy them.
Is a kölsch a lager or an ale?
A kölsch is an ale. It is fermented with ale yeast, which is what defines the family. Because it is then aged cold like a lager, it ends up with a crisp, clean finish that many people associate with lagers, which is why it is often called a hybrid style. Second Street’s description reflects both sides: an ale, fermented cooler than usual.
Who is Second Street Kolsch for?
It suits anyone who likes a light, easygoing beer: pilsner and helles drinkers, people who find IPAs too bitter, and anyone looking for a lower-strength beer to go with a meal. At 4.6% and 17 IBU, it is the gentlest beer in Second Street’s core lineup, and both locations serve full food menus to go with it.
Plan your pint
If you have only ever had kölsch in Germany, or never had it at all, Second Street’s medal-winning version is an easy way to get to know the style without leaving Santa Fe. Find both taprooms, along with dozens of other New Mexico breweries, on the New Mexico Breweries map, and line up a designated driver or a rideshare if you are making an afternoon of it.
Beer details from Untappd.
