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Beginner's Kolsch


ICzed

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Hey everyone, just thought I’d give anyone who’s interested an update on this brew.

 

It has been bottled now for around 8 weeks and I am down to my last few tallies. It’s an OK drop but there are a few characteristics off it which have me confused:

 

1. It turned out quite dark for a Kolsch which surprised me because I used an Ultra Pale LME and as mentioned I followed a recipe from BYO magazine. The photo below will give you an idea.

2. The beer turned out very gassy and this isn’t something I’ve noticed in any of my brews before. I just used carb drops as usual. When poured you get a ‘one finger’ head which quickly disappears but there is no lack of carbonation in the beer itself.

 

When I was drinking this beer I compared it to a number of examples from Aussie breweries:

 

- 4 Pines Kolsch

- Quiet Deeds Kolsch

- Red Duck Kolsch

- Sail & Anchor Lark’s Foot

- Green Beacon Cross Knot

 

What I noticed in a number of these beers is the presence of a pilsener back bone which my homebrew lacked. When I get around to brewing another Kolsch I’ll probably use a recipe like this:

 

1.7kg TC Pilsener tin

500g LDM

250g Light Munich Malt (mash)

250g Wheat Male (mash)

Motueka hops for aroma

Kolsch yeast

 

The 4 Pines offering is head & shoulders above the rest and their late addition of Motueka works really well.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Cheers + beers,

Mark

 

kolsch.jpg

 

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Hi Mark.

 

Merely as a suggestion for your next attempt at this beer, if wishing to use a kit base why not keep your recipe simple.

 

The TC Pilsner kit could certainly make a good Kolsch style beer at normal ferment volumes if only a tad bitter for the style. You could increase ferment volumes to lower that bitterness but then can have issues with thinning flavour & having to re-balance that etc..etc. so why torture yourself. pinched

 

A Kölsch is often referred to as a "Lawnmower Ale". Coincidentally Coopers have a reference to this in the DIY recipe section being the "Lawnmower Lager". I'm not suggesting you brew that recipe, but perhaps make a European twist on it for your Kolsch.

 

The Coopers European Lager kit is ideally suited as a base (I feel) for what you are looking to produce here. Using this kit instead of the TC Pilsner will alleviate the need for mashing Munich malt grain as there is most likely some Munich or Vienna grain as part of the kits make up. The Euro kit is also bittered lower right in a good spot for the Kölsch style that would allow for a little late aroma hopping if you wished.

 

For a kit based brew of this style, this is probably the recipe I would brew...

 

Coopers European Lager 1.7kg

Light Dry Malt Extract 1kg

CaraPils 200gms (to aid with head retention/mouthfeel etc.)

Wyeast 2565 Kölsch yeast

Brewed to 23 litres

Ferment around 15-18°C.

 

The recipe may look like you are simply brewing the European lager recipe, but it is the Kölsch ale yeast that takes it in another direction. wink

 

A nice article on brewing the Kölsch style can be found HERE.

 

I hope you find the info useful.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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G'day Icee

 

Fantastic starting point for your first Kolsch. I'll have to remove my digit and try one in the not too distant future.

 

I have also experienced the "perceived" over gassiness you speak of. I say perceived because it doesn't seem to be related to head retention, nor does it look as though the beer is overcarbonated when it's in the glass. But once in the mouth, it feels really effervescent. Soething like the sensation of dissolving a fruit tingle in the mouth without the taste. Is that what you were talking about?

 

It looks as though you have done your usual thorough research in ingredients for your next version. The ones I've seen obviously vary considerably, but a typical mix of grains is:

Pilsener 71.4%

Wheat 19.0%

Carapils 4.8%

Munich 4.8%.

 

In terms of hops, it looks like Saaz (already in TCS Pilsner) and Hallertau, though I'm not suggesting you replace the Mortueka with Hallertau). Again, a common hop schedule for a 20 litre batch is something like:

14 g Saaz @70; 14g Hallertau @60; 14g Saaz @30; 14g Hallertau @20; 28g Saaz @10

 

I'm just wondering whether you might like to consider increasing the % of wheat in relation to the Munich, however, I haven't run these figures through IanHs spreadsheet so I don't know the quantities needed to make it to the style of the 4 Pines.

 

Irrespective, all the best and keep drinking!

Phil

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Thanks for the feedback guys, great stuff.

 

Lusty - I like your thinking behind using the European Lager tin. And that article is very helpful & quite interesting about the history of Kolsch.

 

Phil - The gassiness is a little bit like a fruit tingle but I find it more apparent once it hits the back of your throat, causes instant beer burps too. Nothing I can't live with though.

 

I'll keep reading up and report back before I start round 2.

 

Cheers + beers,

Mark

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  • 1 month later...

Hi guys.

 

I'm planning a Kölsch styled beer for this coming weekend's brew day with a couple of twists. wink

 

I have a pretty good source close to the right people @ Stone & Wood & have a recipe suggestion for that brew that he kindly offered. I've also brewed Scottie's Styx River Pale Ale a couple of times now, making a few experimental alterations last time around mainly to do with trying to understand how best to use the Galaxy hop as a bittering prospect. And then there are my thoughts on how this might all work in with some rye malt & a Kölsch yeast.

 

Imagine Pacific Ale meets Rye, meets Kölsch! biggrin

 

Pacific Kölsch Ale:

 

Coopers Light Malt LME or Briess Pilsen Light LME 1.5kg

Light Dry Malt Extract 1kg

Ale Malt grain 200gms (added only to boost ABV%)

Rye Malt grain 200gms

CaraHell grain 200gms

Galaxy 10gms @ FWH

Galaxy 10gms @ 5 mins

Galaxy 60gms dry hopped

Wyeast 2565 Kölsch yeast

Create 2 litre starter, then pitch.

Ferment @ 15°C

Brewed to 21 litres

OG = approx. 1.048

FG = approx. 1.010-1.012

EBC = 8.1

IBU = 20.1

Bottled ABV = approx. 5.1%

Kegged ABV = approx. 4.7%

 

I feel this recipe could potentially produce a really interesting beer. cool

 

All thoughts welcomed.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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Just treat the yeast as you would for any other; there shouldn't be any other requirements. So, look at the instructions that come with the yeast, and normally it's better to ferment at the lower end of the stated range. Many of them will suggest 18 to 21C, so if you can keep the temp toward 19C you'll be doing a good job.

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I have a fridge with an STC-1000 controller so that's not a problem. Was more a question what to do temperature wise once primary has finished. Normally with a pale ale etc. I would bottle and sit them in a storage container in the bottom of my cupboard for about a month @ 22deg.

Would this be any different? Would this be too warm?

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Firstly, that recipe of yours looks like a cracker Anthony. Be sure to report back with a photo once it's time to drink ;)

 

Tanman - if you're planning on using the Wyeast Kolsch strain it's rated as a low flocculation yeast so if you want to produce a nice bright clear Kolsch it's recommended that you cold crash the brew for a week before bottling.

 

Cheers + beers,

Mark

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Thanks for the kind words on the recipe Mark. smile

 

Unfortunately brewing it will have to be shelved for at least a week. I couldn't get hold of any 2565 or Galaxy hops before this weekend! Nor could I get my hands on any Bravo hops for another recipe I had as a backup plan, but that's another story! devil

 

So I thought I should probably brew a light/midstrength beer for my father, as I haven't done one for him for a little while now. innocent

 

Something simple with some PoR for bittering & maybe a little bit of Chinook & Cascade near the end of the boil/dry hopped.

 

I'll be broadening my search for the Kolsch ingredients early next week to make sure I have them to brew with the following weekend.

 

Cheers & good brewing,

 

Lusty.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update for the thread on the recipe I listed in post#31.

 

A few alterations based on what I could & couldn't get hold of ingredient-wise.

 

Pacific Kölsch Ale:

 

Briess Pilsen Light Liquid Malt Extract 1.5kg

Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract 1kg

Ale Malt grain 250gms

CaraHell 200gms

Ella (14.3%AA) 12gms @ FWH

Ella 10gms @ 10mins

Ella 60gms dry hopped

Wyeast 2565 Kölsch yeast (1½ litre starter)

Brew to 22 litres

Ferment @ 15°C

OG = approx. 1.044

FG = approx. 1.009-1.011

EBC = 5.8

ABV = approx. 4.4%

 

About 30 odd hours in after pitching & the yeast is really chewing through the wort & expelling C02 at quite a rate. Very impressive for an ale yeast at this temperature I reckon. cool

 

I'll update on the brew further down the track. wink

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

 

 

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Hi guys.

 

My Kolsch brew is now at the beginning of week two. All is going well, bar one small aspect that slipped my mind when using a true top cropping yeast. I haven't used these yeast strains a lot due to the fact that in the cases of those I have used, they do produce a very thick & firm krausen that persists & is reluctant to drop to the bottom of the FV, unlike the bulk of the yeast strains I do use.

 

The 1318 yeast I use for my Amber Ale recipe is a top cropping yeast & behaves in much the same way, but the krausen does eventually drop out on it's own. This 2565 Kolsch yeast krausen doesn't look like it's going anywhere. Very thick & with something resembling the consistency of pudding! lol

 

I need to begin the dry hopping phase of this brew & in its current state that is not possible. I've already given the outside of the fermenter a good hiding in an attempt to dislodge the krausen, but to no avail. sad

 

Should I...

 

a). Wait a little longer to see if the krausen drops on it's own?

 

b). Physically remove the krausen with a sterilized spoon.

 

c). Place the fermenter back in my brew fridge & CC it in an effort to force the krausen to collapse.

 

Any knowledge on the best way to deal with a stubborn krausen would be appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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G'day Lustrous.

 

Don't know how much help I can be, but I'm happy to post a few thoughts. I've only used 2 top cropping yeasts; WLP023 which was a screaming success, and WLP022 which was a screaming failure. (The latter I can't put down to the yeast though. I posted a thread in AHB called "Split Brew Day" and recently rounded off the thread with my results -- if you want a good laugh and see what an abject failure I am you can read it there).

 

If you actually do want to top crop from yours, I'd get out the sanitised ladle (preferably 'cos it's easier) or spoon. Remove the krausen/yeast etc and then dry hop. Unless you also want to keep some of the trub as well to wash and step a starter from it as well. In that case, I'd rack it to another FV and dry hop that. I know some here are against racking to secondaries, but with care it's unlikely you'd have a problem and I've done it quite a few times without issues.

 

If you don't wish to keep any of the yeast, I'd ignore the krausen and just dry hop in the primary.

 

By the way, from the 2 times I've both top-cropped and washed trub from the same yeast, and reused them, I get really significantly more active fermentation from the top cropped version. Just my thoughts.

 

Cheers

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Kick it up the bum and tell it it is banned from the TV for a week next time it does it. lol

 

I think Lusty is using the yeast harvesting from starters method these days, so saving yeast from batches of beer may be redundant in this case. However, that process, whether the yeast is saved or not, would be beneficial here to remove the krausen for the addition of dry hops.

 

I am one of those who are against racking to a secondary, but not 100% of the time. If it's just one of those "I've always done it that way" kind of things for no real reason other than someone recommended it 400 years ago, then yeah, I believe it's a waste of time. It doesn't provide any benefits over simply leaving it in the primary for an extra week and bottling/kegging from there. If there is a good reason behind it such as mentioned here, then I don't disagree with it. As I've said numerous times, I rack to a secondary for bulk priming purposes. cool

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

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Thank you for the replies gentleman. happy

 

Like Otto Man notated, I did indeed use his harvest from starter method prior to beginning the brew, so I have no need to be precious with the yeast in the FV. I think I'll remove the krausen with a sterilized spoon tomorrow & begin the dry hopping phase from there.

 

On a side note, I did take a rare venture over to AHB & took the time to have a read of your "Split Brew Day" thread P2, & the problems you encountered with the Essex Ale brew.

 

I would suggest the problems you ran into with that brew are because of a possible underpitch. Your brew is detailed for a 40 litre volume @ 1.053 & I feel the amount of yeast you gained from the process of portioning off from the starter prior to pitching, may have reduced your needed initial count by too much. It certainly would help explain the sluggish ferment.

 

I'll leave you to look deeper into that, but I did run some figures through Mr.Malty, & it certainly seems to be a possibility.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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Hoodles my Indonesian Neighbour, bir nafsu

 

You had me step back and check my yeast notes then and put it back into the calculator! But I think I was OK and underpitching shouldn't have been a problem. Since I didn't really explain the 3-step starter I used, I can see how you could easily think it, though.

 

With a 44 litre batch for an ale of that OG, approx 430 billion viable cells are needed. I didn't take a screenshot at the time I made it in mid March, but I just plugged the figures back in. I did a three step up to 2.5 litres over 4.5 days (according to the log) using 0.8 litres and 1.6 litres as intermediates, which if doing it now should give about 675 billion viables. Then 80% of that (I only pitched 2 litres and kept 0.5 litres) means it would have had around 540 billion.

 

Of course the error here is it automatically calculated the viability from todays date with these figures. So the viabilility in mid March would have been higher (I'm just guessing it could have been 65% or so at that time), so I probably pitched something like 650 billion cells.

 

Hope that makes sense, Lustre.

 

EssexYeastStepping.png

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Privyet my Russian bride smuggler.

 

I'm not for one second doubting any of the calculated numbers run through the yeast calculator highlighted in your previous post. Nor am I categorically saying that the problem(s) you encountered with the Essex Ale brew are even yeast related. I'm simply suggesting it may have been. I'll explain where my thought process for that possibility came from.

 

My main thought for this is actually based on a direct comparison between what you have done regarding stepping up & pitching, versus what the Otto Man appears to be doing, & at least to me, based on that observation, there does appear to be a discrepancy of sorts, though I'm more than happy to be corrected here if indeed there isn't.

 

When last I read the procedure Otto Man was following, it was stepping up a 500ml sample to a 3 litre volume, then pouring off 500mls for re-use & pitching a 2.5 litre starter into his 25 litre brews. This procedure appears to have come from information gathered from the Brulosophy site etc.

 

If I've understood your procedure through the Essex Ale brew, then you have stepped up to a 2.5 litre starter, poured off 500mls, & pitched a 2 litre starter into a 40 litre brew. I admit I don't know what cell count Otto man believes he starts with from his collected 500ml starting point, to what it eventually is at by the time he pitches his 2.5 litre starter into the brew.

 

Given Otto Man's 2.5 litre starter in a 25 litre brew vs P2's 2 litre starter in a 40 litre brew, on the surface at least you would have to agree that it would be easy to believe one appears to be drastically over-pitching, or one is drastically under-pitching.

 

Can you sort of see where I'm coming from here? unsure

 

On a side note, yeast is a living entity, & all the calculations in the world through yeast propagation calculators do not amount to an exact number equalling the physical yeast present in solution. To me, they are a guide at best.

 

Since switching to this method of harvesting yeast, I am very mindful of the possibilities of under-pitching in some circumstances so am monitoring my brews closely atm.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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I have no doubt that I'm over pitching, so perhaps p2 wasn't on his brew. I have slightly changed my approach to it now though. I have 800mL jars now, and I only make 2.5-2.7 litre starters and harvest .8 of them, so only around 1.7 ish worth of yeast left over is going into the batches, for ales anyway. I prefer using Kai's stir plate setting rather than Jamil's, which does result in a higher cell count, however from what I have read about it, it seems the more accurate one.

 

I basically estimate the cell count by taking the whole number of cells predicted from the starter, and then multiplying it by the percentage that 800mL is of the whole thing. In the case of a lager yeast starter I put on last night, which is 4 litres, I multiply the 622 billion cells it predicted by 0.2 and get 124 billion cells into the jar. Obviously I'm still pitching nearly 500 billion cells into the wort which is an over pitch by about 75 billion but I'm not terribly worried about this. I'd rather do that than severely underpitch it.

 

Since switching to this method of harvesting yeast' date=' I am very mindful of the possibilities of under-pitching in some circumstances so am monitoring my brews closely atm.[/quote']

 

As long as you make starters from each harvested jar of yeast you shouldn't have any problems with underpitching. smile

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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As long as you make starters from each harvested jar of yeast you shouldn't have any problems with underpitching. smile

I'm going to keep my process simple. Pitch the 500ml sample into a 1.040 litre starter, let that ferment out, then add another litre of the 1.040 mix to make 2 litres. Let that ferment out & then draw off my 500ml for re-use & pitch the remaining 1.5 litres into the brew. A good 4-6 day process that I'm still in the very early stages of monitoring & perfecting.

 

90% of my brews are no higher than 1.050 OG so I should be pretty safe with this technique on those brews. Obviously with higher OG brews, I'll have to consider adding in another step & possibly increasing the final volume of the starter being pitched for those brews. Given that I rarely brew lagers, I'm probably just going to buy a fresh batch of yeast each time for those & pitch them into a 1-2 litre starter each time without drawing off a sample for re-use. Given the frequency that I brew lagers there really seems no point in storing these yeast types.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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You could probably get away with pitching the 500mL sample straight into 2 litres, depending on how much yeast is in the sample of course. Doing it in stages like that is probably safer though and better for the yeast health.

 

Fair point for lagers though, if you don't brew them very often then yeah there isn't a whole lot of point keeping the yeast. You will likely need a bigger starter than that though, 3 litres would be the minimum for a lager I would think.

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Just a quick update on this brew.

 

Yesterday I did indeed physically scoop out the pudding, err I mean krausen from on top of the wort & dispose of it. I threw in two dry hop bags of Ella totaling 40gms. They will be removed at some point tomorrow, & replaced with a fresh hop bag of another 20gms that will spend a further 2-3 days in the FV.

 

I'll then cold condition it for a week & provided it looks clear enough will then keg it. My hydro sample bottomed out @ 1.012 which is close enough to the expected 1.011 for the recipe. It is very light in colour & still a little hazy. From tasting the sample, it is very crisp, a little spicy, & I thought the bitterness seemed good.

 

I'll reserve final judgement though until after it has been conditioned, carbed, & in the glass. wink

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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