jeffg
Well-Known Member
Seems like there have been a lot of Kolsch (or Koelsch) threads and requests for recipes lately now that it is almost summer, so I thought I'd post my results. I recently kegged an all-grain Kolsch, first attempt at this style.
Recipe was a little different than the standard "pure" Kolsch, as I wanted to personalize it a little:
7.5 lbs. german pilsner malt
1 lb. german wheat
1 lb. Vienna malt
1.5 oz Tettnanger (4.3%) 60 minutes
.5 oz Tettnanger 30 minutes
.5 oz Spaltz (4.5%) 30 minutes
.25 oz Spaltz 15 minutes
.25 oz Saaz 10 minutes
.25 oz Saaz 5 minutes
irish moss at 15 minutes
WL 029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast
Mashed at 154 degrees with a single infusion for 75 minutes.
5.5 gallons with an original gravity of 1.046
Gravity was 1.008 after fourteen days in primary at 65-68 degrees.
Krausen was really thick and never fell even after 14 days, so I racked the beer out from under it and conditioned in the secondary at 55 degrees for 11 weeks.
I didn't condition it as cold as you are supposed to, but was limited to my winter/spring cellar temps. I broke from the style by adding a lot more finishing hops than the style calls for, but that's how i like my beer--est. IBUs is 25 per pro mash, which is right in the middle of the style guidelines.
It came out crystal clear, there is zero trace of the sulpher aroma that the yeast gave off in the primary, and the combination of german hops is really nice. It has a nice, mellow bitter bite up front and has a nice combination of flavor and aroma hops--I really love the Spaltz hops, which I tried for the first time this winter in my Alt. My sense is that this will be a kick-ass BBQ beer as it's light but really flavorful.
For anyone looking to do a lager or pilsner that can't due to lack of cold secondary options, this style is probably the closest I've ever made with an ale yeast.
I am defintely going to add this style into my regular seasonal rotation.
Recipe was a little different than the standard "pure" Kolsch, as I wanted to personalize it a little:
7.5 lbs. german pilsner malt
1 lb. german wheat
1 lb. Vienna malt
1.5 oz Tettnanger (4.3%) 60 minutes
.5 oz Tettnanger 30 minutes
.5 oz Spaltz (4.5%) 30 minutes
.25 oz Spaltz 15 minutes
.25 oz Saaz 10 minutes
.25 oz Saaz 5 minutes
irish moss at 15 minutes
WL 029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast
Mashed at 154 degrees with a single infusion for 75 minutes.
5.5 gallons with an original gravity of 1.046
Gravity was 1.008 after fourteen days in primary at 65-68 degrees.
Krausen was really thick and never fell even after 14 days, so I racked the beer out from under it and conditioned in the secondary at 55 degrees for 11 weeks.
I didn't condition it as cold as you are supposed to, but was limited to my winter/spring cellar temps. I broke from the style by adding a lot more finishing hops than the style calls for, but that's how i like my beer--est. IBUs is 25 per pro mash, which is right in the middle of the style guidelines.
It came out crystal clear, there is zero trace of the sulpher aroma that the yeast gave off in the primary, and the combination of german hops is really nice. It has a nice, mellow bitter bite up front and has a nice combination of flavor and aroma hops--I really love the Spaltz hops, which I tried for the first time this winter in my Alt. My sense is that this will be a kick-ass BBQ beer as it's light but really flavorful.
For anyone looking to do a lager or pilsner that can't due to lack of cold secondary options, this style is probably the closest I've ever made with an ale yeast.
I am defintely going to add this style into my regular seasonal rotation.
