Kölsch Tiber's Perfect Kölsch

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I'm gonna bump this thread as I'm doing a Kolsch in a couple weeks and searching for a recipe. I've decided on this one, but wanted to clarify something that I've been reading on other lager posts. Since this is a brew that requires lagering, would a D-rest be needed? I've also read a number of threads that say closer to 50 degrees is better for a Kolsch style. This is the first lager type brew I'm making so do excuse the ignorance. I will be making a 10 gallon batch and breaking it and adding .5 lb of honey to one of the 5 gallons buckets.

Thanks in advance for the help guys! Really looking forward to this one.
 
rgauthier20420 said:
Since this is a brew that requires lagering, would a D-rest be needed?
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It's recommended, but not entirely necessary. I've done with and without a d-rest for this beer and had success both ways. Keep in mind, however, that I ferment at about 62F on average, not 50F.

I've also read a number of threads that say closer to 50 degrees is better for a Kolsch style.
Click to expand...

It might be a matter preference. The WLP029 Kölsch yeast does really well at 58-64ish for a good balance of flavors while keeping that lager-like crispness. I've never tried fermenting this one any colder than 59-60F before. This, again, is a matter of preference, so you may want to experiment a bit yourself and see what you like.

If you do ferment at 50 or so, I would strongly recommend a d-rest.
 
So I'm going to be brewing a 10 gallon batch next Saturday. Planning on following the recipe (accounting for efficiency) and separating it into 2 buckets and into the temp controlled fridge. Making a 4L starter to split between them of Wyeast 2565 (I'm fond of the brand really). Will ferment at 59-60 until gravity is 2-3 points from the FG then raise temps to 65-68 for 2-3 days. Then cold crash in the buckets in the same fridge for another 3 days then keg.

One of the 5 gallons will be getting 3 pineapples sliced and diced and put into a sanitized bag while lagering. Not sure how long it will stay in there. I'll likely take some small tastes after we hit the 1 week mark to see how the flavors are melding. Probably will leave the other 5 gallons to itself to have a good understanding of what the base flavors will be.

Comments on this plan anyone?
 
rgauthier20420 said:
So I'm going to be brewing a 10 gallon batch next Saturday. Planning on following the recipe (accounting for efficiency)
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Note that I would recommend adjusting only the base malt for your efficiency, not the wheat and Munich.

One of the 5 gallons will be getting 3 pineapples sliced and diced and put into a sanitized bag while lagering. Not sure how long it will stay in there.
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Well that's different! Let us know how that goes. It is a good idea and will be nice to have the plain recipe in your other carboy for comparison and a good reference for the style.

Good luck with your brew!

TB
 
Break this on Saturday over the weekend. First time using the new setup with pump and quick disconnects. Everything went very smoothly. Prior to doing that brew, I ran a couple tests on amount of loss in the kettle and all the seals were good. Didn't run a test for boil off though, so we boiled down to 8.5. I'm only getting around 65% efficiency for some reason, so we actually ended up at the 1.047 goal with this volume. Currently sitting in a temp controlled fridge at 60 degrees for a few weeks. I'll take a refractometer read around 2 weeks to make sure we are progressing as we should. I've attached a picture of the set up and also a picture of the sparge arm that is attached to the underside of the MT. With this, I just set the correct flow rate with the valve on my pump and can walk away for the whole thing (although you never really do). Oh, and I sparge for 90 minutes on this batch....not sure if that had anything to do with efficiency.

20130706_120605.jpg


20130706_102616.jpg
 
If anyone is still following this thread and can comment that would be great.

So the batch has been sitting at 60 now for 5 days (since last Saturday) and has already gone from 12P to 6.6P. That's 1.047 to 1.013....in 5 days!!! This seems fast, but again this is my first Kolsch yeast and fermentation at such a low temp, so I'm open to opinions on this.

I''m expecting it to be closer to 1.010 by this weekend. I will then move it up to 68 degrees for a D-rest (to be on the safe side) for 2-4 days. Then, I'll drop it to the upper 30's for a couple days for a short cold crash, and then rack to the kegs for lagering.

Anyone care to comment on this process? Thanks!
 
**Update**

Again, not sure if anyone is following this so. Well we ended up around 1.009 for FG which is a good number for me. There were no sulfar smells or anything so did a D-rest for only 3 days then crashed for 2 then kegged. Currently sitting in the kegerator under 30 psi to get carbed up and then let it continue to lager. I wanted to carb it so I can get a feeling of how it ages.

Planning on kegging the other 3.5 gallons this evening with the pineapple. Once the 5 gallons is done carbing, I'll begin carbing this one.

Overall is smells great right now. I'll update later once I'm able to get a taste.
 
rgauthier20420 said:
**Update**

Again, not sure if anyone is following this so. Well we ended up around 1.009 for FG which is a good number for me. There were no sulfar smells or anything so did a D-rest for only 3 days then crashed for 2 then kegged. Currently sitting in the kegerator under 30 psi to get carbed up and then let it continue to lager. I wanted to carb it so I can get a feeling of how it ages.

Planning on kegging the other 3.5 gallons this evening with the pineapple. Once the 5 gallons is done carbing, I'll begin carbing this one.

Overall is smells great right now. I'll update later once I'm able to get a taste.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it's coming along quite nicely.
 
Tiber_Brew said:
Sounds like it's coming along quite nicely.
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The 5 gallon base recipe is really beginning to come into it's own. It's now been lagering for approx 2 weeks and a lot of the beginning sulfer/corn smells and flavors have gone away. It's clearing up very nicely also.

The 3.5 gallons with the pineapple got that on Friday of last week. I tasted it the day after and the pineapple was pretty prominent. Almost a little to much. My issue was a chopped it all up and put it in a bag, and then had to put it in the keg. I didn't chop it small enough and had to somewhat push it through. This squeezed a lot of the juice out I think and I got a larger amount of pineapple in it at the very beginning. So, I literally took it out the next day. I'd rather have less pineapple and a good brew than way to much pineapple was my thought. I haven't tasted it since then though, so I will have to update that part once I've tasted it.
 
"Currently sitting in the kegerator under 30 psi to get carbed up and then let it continue to lager. I wanted to carb it so I can get a feeling of how it ages."

Technically, lagering is not done under forced carbonation. Natural carbonation will continue while the beer lagers. (Of course if you have as typical airlock it will not raise the carb level of your beer though.) Once you finish your target lagering period, then you could force carb.

I just split a 10 gal batch of Kolsch 5 gal each and pitched one with 2565 and one with 029. Ferment temps were held in the range of 66 to 69. At 10 days in, both batches were at exact same gravity: 1.011. But the 029 has pretty much stopped gurgling through the airlock while the 2565 was still working along ever so slowly. Upon transfer the 029 tasted pretty good, pretty well balanced between bitter and a slight vinous notes. The 2565 was also balanced, but both the bitterness and wine notes were both more pronounced. The 029 flocculated much more solidly than the 2565; I'm guessing that there was more yeast in suspension thus contributing to the still higher level of ferment going on. So in terms of clearing, the 029 is easier to deal with so far.

Lowering temps over a few days to ~35 - 38F for 2 week lagering period. Will report back after that. Haven't decided if I will use any fining agent yet (probably gelatin or biofine.) Will depend on how the beer looks then, especially wrt chill haze.

Prost! :mug:
 
just made this recipe and it came out delicious, much better than i anticipated. used wy1007 though just cause i had it on hand and really like it. will try wlp029 next batch. thank you for the awesome recipe
 
one question...do you think wlp029 is a good choice to try to match Gaffel kolsch or the wyeast a better choice? im looking for the cleaner of the 2 yeast choices.
 
gboa said:
one question...do you think wlp029 is a good choice to try to match Gaffel kolsch or the wyeast a better choice? im looking for the cleaner of the 2 yeast choices.
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Never had Gaffel Kölsch. In my experimentation, Wyeast was a tad cleaner, but I didn't care for its flavor compared to White Labs. Wyeast also took significantly longer to flocculate under the same conditions as the White Labs.

Here's my advice: use White Labs WLP029, pitch a slightly higher amount, and ferment at 58F. It will be cleaner than mine because of my fermentation at 62F, and you'll still get great flavor and clarity. I'm not hating on Wyeast in general, but for Kölsch, White Labs is my clear favorite.
 
just picked up all the ingredients today and went with the wlp029 yeast.
gonna brew this tues. ill let you know how it turned out. thanks
 
I want to try something like this. Is the secondary lager temp a be all end all? I have a kegerator that we store our beer and some extra foods in. Would it be wrong to lager it around 35*F?
 
update-have been busy so i forgot to respond, the wlp029 batch came out awesome, i like it much better than the previous batch i did which i still liked. i liked it so much i will try it in my next altbier as well. thanks again for a great recipe
 
gboa said:
update-have been busy so i forgot to respond, the wlp029 batch came out awesome, i like it much better than the previous batch i did which i still liked. i liked it so much i will try it in my next altbier as well. thanks again for a great recipe
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Glad it worked out for you. I've used the WLP029 for Altbier with great results, so I'm sure you'll like it.
 
Thanks for the recipe. Looks very good. A really like these simple recipes. Really lets the ingredients shine through it seems. I am looking to do some lighter styles for the summer and to refine my process further since I started playing with water chemistry. Much less forgiving than darker beers I think. Got some WLP029 I used to brew a Munich Helles with a cool ferment and want to do a Kolsch and an Alt also.

I've got Belgian Pilsner malt. Will this have much of an impact on the beer do you think? Is there much of a difference from the german pilsner malt?
 
I've not tried this recipe with Belgian Pils, but I would think you'd be fine in using it. I would imagine that the Lovibond, diastatic power, protein, etc. is pretty comperable between the two.
 
Hi Tiber ad other folks wo brewed is one,
We'll be brewing a kolsch next weekend and I am currently planning the brew. Your recipe seems very interesting. We are aiming for a super easy drinking beer, around 5%.
We would like however to have a very subtil touch of smokiness in there to add complexity. I understand it is out of style but we are looking for something different. What do you think about replacing the munich for weyermann smoked malt?
Do you feel,it would be a good fit in the brew?
Thanks
 
terrenum said:
Hi Tiber ad other folks wo brewed is one,
We'll be brewing a kolsch next weekend and I am currently planning the brew. Your recipe seems very interesting. We are aiming for a super easy drinking beer, around 5%.
We would like however to have a very subtil touch of smokiness in there to add complexity. I understand it is out of style but we are looking for something different. What do you think about replacing the munich for weyermann smoked malt?
Click to expand...
I would leave the Munich in, but substitute a small amount of the Pils malt for smoked malt.

Do you feel,it would be a good fit in the brew?
Click to expand...
No, but that's just my preference. :) You might find that you'll love it! That's the great thing about homebrewing; you can try just about anything, and you might find that some slight creative tweaks will improve your favorite styles!

Hope it turns out!
TB
 
Hey Tiber, what was your OG-FG, and your ibu's? If it was in a previous post I apologize, ( I'm using mobile) so if it was in the title I can't see it. Thanks for the recipe!
 
Tiber_Brew said:
Option 1: (This is the method I used):
Step Mash:
Strike @ 131F, ramp to 149F over 25 minutes.
Hold at 149F for 30 mins.
Ramp to 152F for 15 mins.
Ramp to 155F for 30 minutes.
Slowly ramp to (and mash out at) 168F for 10 minutes.
Click to expand...

Hey Tiber

I was wondering if you could expand on your step mash. I am looking to tackle it this weekend with a similar variant of your recipe.

In particular, what is the rationale for the low strike temp without a rest at a lower temperature. Are 149,152 and 155 three differing amylase rests?

I'm not hoping for you to write the book on step mashing to acomodate my ignorance but just wanted to get an idea as to what's the thinking behind the various temperature points.

This will be my first attempt at a multi-step mash with my BIAB setup and will likely shorten the rests due to the fine milling I use with BIAB.

Any thoughts or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
The method I posted is more of a ramp mash. If you want to use more distinct rests with a step mash, I would recommend a 15-20 min rest at 145, then 30 minutes or so at 152, then 10 minutes at 158 before mashing out at 168.

Edit: I posted a brief reply on my phone while on the golf course, but I'll explain in a little more detail now.

Gavin C said:
In particular, what is the rationale for the low strike temp without a rest at a lower temperature. Are 149,152 and 155 three differing amylase rests
Click to expand...

Like I said, the method in my original post is more along the lines of a ramp mash. Doughing in at beta glucanase or proteinase temps isn't necessary and is potentially detrimental if too much time is spent at that temperature range with today's fully modified malts. The purpose with my ramp mash schedule is to allow significant beta amylase activity with minimal glucan and protein breakdown. If you can step mash, I would recommend doing that at the temps/times I listed above.
 
Tiber_Brew said:
The method I posted is more of a ramp mash. If you want to use more distinct rests with a step mash, I would recommend a 15-20 min rest at 145, then 30 minutes or so at 152, then 10 minutes at 158 before mashing out at 168.

Edit: I posted a brief reply on my phone while on the golf course, but I'll explain in a little more detail now.



Like I said, the method in my original post is more along the lines of a ramp mash. Doughing in at beta glucanase or proteinase temps isn't necessary and is potentially detrimental if too much time is spent at that temperature range with today's fully modified malts. The purpose with my ramp mash schedule is to allow significant beta amylase activity with minimal glucan and protein breakdown. If you can step mash, I would recommend doing that at the temps/times I listed above.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Tiber. Very much appreciate you taking the time to explain your ramp mash. I had not heard of that term before. Still have much to learn. Sounds like I need to do some homework prior to the mash. Thanks for the pointers.
 
Tiber_Brew said:
....with a step mash, I would recommend a 15-20 min rest at 145, then 30 minutes or so at 152, then 10 minutes at 158 before mashing out at 168.

.....
Click to expand...

Brewed up my Kolsch on Saturday. I had alot of fun with the step mash you proposed. Certainly quite a bit of work involved with my direct fired BIAB setup but was able to control the ramps and rests well. Shorter rests were planned owing to the fine milling I use.

An accurate thermometer helps. (I have a Thermapen)

20 mins at 145
15 mins at 153 (overshot by 1F)
10 mins at 158
5 mins at 168

Interestingly (or perhaps not interesting at all) I tested for conversion after the 20 minute rest at 145. No sign of starch present.

I changed the recipe a little to accomodate my setup for a 5.5 gallon batch, added some acid malt (full volume BIAB needs some pH adjustment with lighter styles)and changed the hop schedule a little to account for the differing AA% of the hops. Used Hallertauer and Saaz for bittering and a small Hallertau addition at 15 minutes. Was shoting for OG of 1.047. Came in at 1.046.

I'm hoping to have this one ready for a competion in August. Not sure if it will be in its prime by then but I will keep you posted.

Thanks again for the help Tiber.
 
Sounds like things went fairly well. You may have to play around with rest times with BIAB. Experiment and record everything, and you'll find what works best for you.
 
Hey Tiber, I'm considering giving this one a go after having success with your German Pils Recipe, but my question is this.....Is a kolsch more of a way to get a pilsner like beer without the added effort? Does the style stand on it's own, or is it just sort of a quicker turnaround pils? Sorry for my ignorance, I just haven't really had many Kolsch beers.
 
GrowlerMonkey said:
Hey Tiber, I'm considering giving this one a go after having success with your German Pils Recipe, but my question is this.....Is a kolsch more of a way to get a pilsner like beer without the added effort? Does the style stand on it's own, or is it just sort of a quicker turnaround pils? Sorry for my ignorance, I just haven't really had many Kolsch beers.
Click to expand...

Should go try Gaffel Kolsch at your local beer store and see what its about.

i wouldnt call it a quick turn around pils. it def stands on its own.
 

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