When does kölsch stop stinking?

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slouch

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This is my first Kölsh. Had it in the lager fridge for 5 weeks. Just bottled it, and it was still really stinky. Very heavy sulpher taste and smell. It has mellowed a lot in the last 5 weeks, but still far from the smooth drinks served at the sidewalk cafes in Köln.

Doe anyone know how long I should lager this in the bottles before I should expect it to tame down?
 
I would let it sit at room temp for a week or so and hope the yeast is active enough to clean up. I ferment Kolsch at 60 degrees for active fermentation. Then let it raise to room temp on its own for a week. Cold crash and bottle.
 
I fermented at 65 for a couple weeks using kölsh yeast. Then took to the lager fridge at about 52 for about 5 weeks.

I know the kölsh yeast is supposed to have a sulpher smell and taste initially, but not sure how long it takes to clear. I was initially thinking 4-5 months, but don't know if that is too long or too short.
 
I'm not sure. I didn't notice any sulphur smell from my Kolsch (sorry, too lazy for umlauts). I fermented at 63 for 2 weeks then into the lager fridge at 37 for 3-4. It's super-clean and delicious.

What yeast did you use? I went with WLP029.

-Joe
 
First off you should never bottle if the beer smells like sulfur. Did you use a starter? If so, how much? How did you aerate? Did you crash cool or ramp it down? Sulfur could be a sign of stressed out yeast.
 
I just started drinking my first Kolsch and, like other said, never experienced a sulfur smell throughout the process
 
Wow I never thought anything of the smell, as everything I read said to expect it. When I drink some from the local brew pub it has a slight sulpher flavor. Even Reisdorff and Pyramid's Curve Ball has a hint of it.

Mine however, is really strong... Like I said getting weeker, but a long way from the clean drink ability I was hoping for.

As for pitching. I used the yeast straight from the vial, pitching into a 4 gallon batch. The beer looks clear and translucent. No sign of infection, and no other strange flavors. Just the sulpher.
 
I am using WLP029 also. Just checked their site, and it mentions a "slight sulpher smell". Again. Mine is far from slight, so not sure what that means...
 
From a little quick Google searching, it seems that stressed yeast can produce sulfur odor and flavors. Since you direct pitched the vial, that could very well have stressed the yeast. Since that yeast already produces some sulfur notes, it's possible the direct pitching worsened the problem.

For a WLP vial it's generally accepted that you need to make a starter to get the yeast happy and ready to pitch.

-Joe
 
Well since it's already bottled heres hoping it mellows.

I have a batch of bitter that tasted absolutely terrible when i cracked the first bottle, but 5 months later is quite nice.
 
Just a quick update. This brew is tasting pretty yummy at this point.
 
I have a sulpher small/flavor in my appelwein that mellows over time.

I had a bottle that was over a year old, and the sulpher smell oder had gone from powerful to completely gone.
 

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