Cidery Kolsch

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ShoreBrewer

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I need your help guys. I typically brew STRONG beers, but I needed to brew one for my brothers birthday party, which will be consumed by miller & bud drinkers. So, all the guys in the local brewclub said I should brew a Kolsch. I did just that. Everything was spot on the recipe. I fermented primary at 64F for 9 days, and then secondary at 60F for 11 days. Then racked to a keg. Its been in the keg for 2 weeks. I just purged the yeast (basically done) waited a few more days, and then pulled a sample. I SMELL CIDER!!!! OH NO. This Has To Be Ready to take to the party in 8 days.

Should I take the keg out of the keezer and let it ramp up to 70-74ish?? for the 8 days? What should I do.
 
I need your help guys. I typically brew STRONG beers, but I needed to brew one for my brothers birthday party, which will be consumed by miller & bud drinkers. So, all the guys in the local brewclub said I should brew a Kolsch. I did just that. Everything was spot on the recipe. I fermented primary at 64F for 9 days, and then secondary at 60F for 11 days. Then racked to a keg. Its been in the keg for 2 weeks. I just purged the yeast (basically done) waited a few more days, and then pulled a sample. I SMELL CIDER!!!! OH NO. This Has To Be Ready to take to the party in 8 days.

Should I take the keg out of the keezer and let it ramp up to 70-74ish?? for the 8 days? What should I do.

[I really need to know what those of you with more experience would do here. I have lost another 1/2 day and really do not want to ruin the party with bad beer.]
 
I remember firste time i used WLP029 kölsch yeast, my beer smelled of fresh apple, but a week or two later is was gone. If you are afraid to ruin the party, just be prepared to buy a keg of millers or something if it still does not taste good in a week..
 
You did not mention the yeast, but I had a bad experience with WLP-029. Very cidery, chardonnay, and it took six months in bottle to be drinkable. (I attribute some of this to too high a starting temp on the fermentation.)

But, I bought some commercial Kolsch's two different German breweries and they both had a slight winey/cidery twinge to them.

I would bring it to room temperature and hope for the best.
 
I don't know if I'd call them cidery, but Kolsches are usually rather fruity.

Kolsches aren't generally "fast" beers, though. Traditional procedure is to give them a few weeks of cold conditioning, almost like a lager. Not sure what the best bet is now, though.
 
I always lager my WLP029 beers, usually around 62 for 6 weeks, 2 on yeast and 4 off. The yeast does add a distinct taste to the beer, but I would not call it cidery or like apple. Your issue is acetaldehyde:

Acetaldehyde

Tastes/Smells Like:
Green apples, rotten-apples, freshly cut pumpkin
Possible Causes:
Acetaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical produced by yeast during fermentation.
It is usually converted into Ethanol alcohol, although this process may take longer in
beers with high alcohol content or when not enough yeast is pitched. Some bacteria
can cause green apple flavors as well.


Sounds like you didn't have enough yeast; I'd pitch more yeast and see if that helps. What was your SG and what is it now? Worst case, you have an infected batch...

Good luck!
 
I would have somebody else try it and see what they think. You might not like the style and yeast but others would think it tastes much better
 
Thanks to everyone for your input. A few answers:

OG: 1.050; FG 1.008
Used WLP029 White Labs - Kolsch
Used a 1L starter, calculated at 210 billion, Beersmith says I needed 176 billion.

Im beginning to think its just that I dont know what its supposed to smell like. Others have said it smells good. I think it smells like cider. I built a Randall and am going to push some through Amarillo and see how that works. It definately tastes Fruity...
 
With the Amarillo hops you will have a FINE beer with great aroma and a unique taste. I do an amber with that lineup (drinking it as I type as a matter of fact) that is one of my house beers I always have on tap. I think it will be a hit at the party as my amber has not had a bad review yet...prost!
 
With the Amarillo hops you will have a FINE beer with great aroma and a unique taste.
Yes, though it might be a stretch to still call it a Kolsch with that much hoppiness. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

I just looked back at the BJCP guidelines and noted that a "pleasant, subtle fruit aroma (apple, cherry, or pear)" is within the style. So as long as your cidery aroma is "pleasant" and "subtle," you were ok to begin with, style-wise.
 
Yes, though it might be a stretch to still call it a Kolsch with that much hoppiness. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

I find Amarillo usually adds little to the bitter quality of my beers. I generally get a citrus note from using this hop, which marries very well with the Kolsch yeast for some reason. I definitely wouldn't consider my amber ale to be a "hoppy" beer so I think it its well within the guidelines. :mug:
 
Might be,and I'm not familiar with amarillo, but none of the "real" Kolsches I've had featured any significant hoppy flavor, so it'd certainly be non-traditional based on my experience...
 
Might be,and I'm not familiar with amarillo, but none of the "real" Kolsches I've had featured any significant hoppy flavor, so it'd certainly be non-traditional based on my experience...

Agreed. Blue Mountain has a nice Kolsch that I enjoy any time I stop into their little brewery that is an excellent, clean tasting beer and it has little hop character.

Amarillo is a favorite hop of mine as it gives you more perfume than tongue, if that makes sense. If you ever get to the West Coast, find Alaskan Amber and see what you think. It is what I base my amber on and it is an Alt Bier which uses Kolsch yeast and Amarillo. Only sold in 5 western states...
 
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