Kegged the Klosch after 6 weeks

Got so busy with work and what not that I didn't make time to keg the Klosch until tonight. Popped the top off the bucket and that flat beer aroma filled the room, no fungus, no mold, just a very clear kolsch....

Not sure the alcohol content is going to be very high since I did not get the mash to optimum temp, but it still smelled good nonetheless.

Its on 30 lbs of Co2 for 24 hours and then back down to 8-10 for a week before serving it up.

Guess I need to run tomorrow to the HBS and pick up another set of supplies!

Poured a glass tonight of the Kolsch, very light beer, as I suspected little to no alcohol content since I didn't get the mash temp up high enough... then again I'm only on the first glass, so maybe I haven't had enough yet

Very little head retention, carbonation is close, put it on 30lbs for the first 24 hours and then drained it off and reset it to 8 lbs and have had it there for three days...Its close, just a little more absorption and we'll be there.

The color seems a little off, but I'm using one of those McDonalds Cocoa Cola glasses so maybe that's imparting a green tint to it. The beer is very light in color though, you can almost read through it....

Crispy...smells and tastes like beer, but because the carbonation is slightly under it goes flat pretty quickly.

We'll have to try this one again, didn't quite hit the mark this time, but its not a complete loss either.

No bitterness, and the IBU's are nowhere near what you would typically get with say a Pale Ale.

When you say you didn't get the mash up to optimal temp, what do you mean? It's my understanding that if you mash at a lower temp (say 148F instead of 154F) you will get a more fermentable wort with less body.

Did you take any hydrometer readings at any point along the way, so you have an idea of your OG and FG, and thus your ABV%? If you had fermentation you must have alcohol in there, and if it doesn't taste sweet then you have alcohol.

It doesn't taste sweet, but I'm just not sure the alcohol content is as high as predicted or desired. I can't find my sheet with the OG, but it was off, ended up with more water than desired in the mashtun, probably a good gallon more than I should have had.

You may have bigger concerns. Your beer is green! Maybe that joke was a little 'off color'.

I'm sure you've thought of this but did you happen to record any preboil gravities? You could use BeerSmith or something else to calculate your OG from those data. Kyle

Its green alright lol that's what happens when you use a cheap McDonald's glass with a green tint

Yeah, I thought I was being witty and clever and all that, then after I had written it I saw you'd already addressed the issue. Kyle

Before you brew again ensure that you have what you need to measure the mash temp and the gravity.

Don't waste the time and money on another batch until you know you can get the results you want.

I have all the necessary tools Chris, I just accidently threw away one of my sheets with the OG on it.

It happens ya know?

dpalme said:

I have all the necessary tools Chris, I just accidently threw away one of my sheets with the OG on it.

It happens ya know?

Click to expand...

Gotcha. I thought you meant that you weren't able to test it at all.

I definitely know about throwing stuff away lol. Especially after a long day of brewing.