Kolsch

Found a recipe on Cats Meow and am attempting to makes some slight changes.

Any advise?

5lbs DRME (Briess)
1lb rice syrup solid
1oz Liberty hops (boiling)
1/3oz Saaz (flavor)
2/3oz Saaz (finish
Danstar Munich German Wheat dry yeast

og 1.041
fg 1.010

I changed from LME to DME and using a different yeast.

Really you need to use a liquid yeast to produce an authentic Kolsch. If you have no option I think the US-05 would work well, I have no experience with the Danstar yeast.

The hops (flavor and aroma) are a bit excessive in terms of style, but I like a bit of hops in a Kolsch.

The extra-light Briess is a good choice, excellent for this style of beer. You could go all malt and lose the rice solids, but that is up to you.

Kolsch vital stats... OG 1044 - 1050
FG 1007 - 1011
IBU 20 - 30
SRM 3.5 - 5
ABV 4.4 - 5.2%

Over all it don't look too bad.

I have never used liquid yeast before. It calls for Wyeast 1007. I will add it to my order and give it a shot.

Also never used rice. Maybe add another pount of DME?

I have never tried that dry yeast you posted but have used the WY1007 and it isn't very flocculent. You'll probably need to lager it for it to drop out unless you are into finning your brews.

I would drop the rice and go with more Dme to bump up my OG.

A Kolsch has no rice and does not use a wheat yeast! Liberty hops is also out of style.
BTW, that Cats Meow site has some really horrible recipes. Gotta be careful...

Poobah58 said:

A Kolsch has no rice and does not use a wheat yeast! Liberty hops is also out of style.
BTW, that Cats Meow site has some really horrible recipes. Gotta be careful...

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Yeah, I gotta agree with the style issues. It looks like just about everything in that recipe is not to style for a kolsch. You're probably better off calling it a light hybrid ale instead.

Hokie said:

Yeah, I gotta agree with the style issues. It looks like just about everything in that recipe is not to style for a kolsch. You're probably better off calling it a light hybrid ale instead.

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+1, no wheat yeast for sure, all noble hops, no rice but maybe a touch of wheat (0-10%)
German ale yeast works well and is less powdery
-ander

I think the Liberty will work just fine. Liberty is an American cultivar of Hallertauer Mittelfrüh which is very much to style in a Kolsch.

The Wyeast 1007 is not a wheat yeast, it is the German Ale yeast and is from Zum Uerige so it is an Alt yeast. I doubt highly that if you make an excellent Kolsch with that yeast there are very few people that would say in a blind taste-test "Ah, you made that with an Alt yeast, it isn't a Kolsch."
But, if you are going to go liquid, then my personal preference is the WLP029 from White Labs. Wyeast also makes a Kolsch yeast, 2565, which I did not like as much.

All right I think I will go with the WLP029, forget the rice and add more DME.

If Cats Meow is not good any suggestions for other places to look?

WLP029 definitely has a sort of "rindy" character that I find in all my favorite homebrewed kolsch. I think using 1007 you would definitely lose something.

Here is what I am thinking withall suggestions.

5lbs Light DME (Briess)
1lb Wheat DME (Briess)
1oz Liberty hops (boiling)
1/3oz Saaz (flavor)
2/3oz Saaz (finish
White labs WLP029

og 1.041
fg 1.010

Better?

Thanks for all the input.

It is on the upper end of hoppiness, I think, but if you want that Saaz character in there, it looks good.

Make sure you make a 2-3L starter with the WLP029, that stuff likes to be pitched big.

As this is my 1st time with liquid yeast I will study up on it.

What would bring the hops down a bit, less or diffrent type?

boydak said:

All right I think I will go with the WLP029, forget the rice and add more DME.

If Cats Meow is not good any suggestions for other places to look?

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Here! We have a recipe database. You can also post (like you already did) to get suggestions on recipes. You also can't go wrong with Jamil's book "Brewing Classic Styles"

As for the recipe, you might think about changing the light DME to a Pilsner extract. I'm pretty sure they sell it in dry form too. Pilsner malt is just more in style for this beer.

boydak said:

Here is what I am thinking withall suggestions.

5lbs Light DME (Briess)
1lb Wheat DME (Briess)
1oz Liberty hops (boiling)
1/3oz Saaz (flavor)
2/3oz Saaz (finish
White labs WLP029

og 1.041
fg 1.010

Better?

Thanks for all the input.

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From what I understand, of all of the breweries that make Kolsch beer, only one uses even the slightest amount of wheat...the rest being pilsner malt. So it's that simple, nothing but pilsner malt, Kolsch yeast, and noble hops to at least 20 IBUs. I'm not sure if Saaz are considered "noble". Also, Kolsch is not known for its hop flavor or aroma. One bittering addition at 60 minutes is sufficient to get you to at least 20 IBUs.

boydak said:

If Cats Meow is not good any suggestions for other places to look?

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Right on this website or any of the following:
Award Winning Recipes
Bob G' Recipes
BeerContestDB Recipe Book Ver 20021003
Homebrewing Recipes and Articles
Jamil's Recipes

Edcculus said:

As for the recipe, you might think about changing the light DME to a Pilsner extract. I'm pretty sure they sell it in dry form too. Pilsner malt is just more in style for this beer.

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The lightest Briess extract is made from Pilsner malt. It is sometimes sold (eg at AHS) as "Briess Extra Light." I have used this extract in a Kolsch and it turned out great.

Cool, good to know. I don't use extract that much, so I'm out of touch with what is offered.

OK I brewed it today. I used Hallertau instead of Saaz. Librert and hallertau Hops were 3.9%.

My OG was high 1.054 but I think that is do to not mixing the wort into the water enough, as all my OG's seem to be high.

Plan to rack to secondary when ferentation stops and place it in my basement we temps are in the 50's for two weeks.

Cant wait to taste it.

UPDATE: Bottled it today, taste tested. Tasted great!!!!!