K97 yeast ferment time

[Lab Cat]

Anyone brewed with this and can offer some experience?

I'm brewing a kolsch type beer and this yeast is often recommended for this, but is also used for other German styles. Mine is simple - Cerveza, BE2 some malt and a decent amount of Hellertau, fermenting at 15.5%. OG was 1049 for a projected finish of 1013. 4 Days of ferment and I'm still sitting on 1038., with a still thick and very glossy krasuen, as seems typical of this yeast. My first though that a cooler ferment means a slower one, but welcome any experience brewing with this stuff.

[jamiek86]

did you mean 15.5 degrees?

[Lab Cat]

Yes

[jamiek86]

ok so kolsch yeast ale at lager temps probably better off waiting for someone else but if at lower end of temp rang probably stalled or not as effective as 18 degrees i think that's more kolsch style same as original series lager with supplied yeast on 18 would be a kolsch?

or ig it is a lager yeast at those temps it is a lager not kolsch until on 18 or 20?

Edited November 25, 2020 by jamiek86

[jamiek86]

I mean so if is lager yeast will take longer you said its active with krausen 

[Lab Cat]

The pack says the ideal temp for the yeast is between 15-20C. It's a cool fermenting ale yeast. It's a Safale brand yeast. Coopers don't supply Kolsch yeast with any of their kits.

Edited November 25, 2020 by Lab Cat

[jamiek86]

as far as I'm concerned a kolsch is like a draught in a bottle. its just another name they give it. so a kolsch yeast is just an ale yeast and there are some that can ferment lower like Nottingham or whatever your using now plenty out there. but I wouldn't panic as you already said its active and your right at the bottom end of the scale. I bet at 18 degrees you would still be making a kolsch but would have a lower gravity.  I was actually thinking of a steam ale when I asked if a lager yeast brewed warmer.

back to my point about yeast you could almost say a lager can with ale yeast brewed at 18 was a kolsch style? depends how technical you want to get i suppose I dont think.the yeast packet needs to say kolsch to make it one its just another ale yeast that you can ferment little lower.

Edited November 25, 2020 by jamiek86

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

How many packs did you use? Have done a few kolsch's with K97 at 16c. From memory they were not the fastest to finish off and I was doing starters rather than a packet. 4 days for 11 points is pretty darn slow.

[Lab Cat]

1 hour ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

How many packs did you use? Have done a few kolsch's with K97 at 16c. From memory they were not the fastest to finish off and I was doing starters rather than a packet. 4 days for 11 points is pretty darn slow.

Just one pack for 1.5kg fermentables, but only about 700g of that is malt.

[Hairy]

I have used it a few times in the past in some hoppy German wheats. 

My ferment wasn't slow but I fermented around 19 degrees. There was definitely a thick, shiny krausen though.

[Cassius]

Never used K-97, but I have used Lallemand Kolsch a couple of times at 15 degrees. Even with rehydration (which I don't usually do unless it's a lager) it was slow to kick off. I didn't take a reading until day 10 but my notes say that I didn't even have a krausen until 60 hours after pitching and that there wasn't solid airlock activity until day 4.

I would maybe give it another day to see if it kicks off and then maybe raise the temp a degree or two if it hasn't started moving properly.

[Lab Cat]

This one took a full 2 weeks to ferment and got down to the predicted 1013. I then crashed it for a few days and bottled. Had to scoop the krasuen off before doing my bulk prime, that thing wasn't ever going to go away. Best brew I've had in quite a while. The Hallertau is the hero here, and it's a light bodied full flavoured beer.