Kolsch yeast 2565

I've been brewing since the early 1990's, but this is the 1st time that I've ever made a kolsch. Brewing went as planned and I did not use a starter, but pitched an XL Wyeast 2565 pack. I put the 6.5 gallon carboy filled with 5 gallons of my wort in my basement at 61F. The next morning right before work I noticed that it was really rocking, but I did not see anything that concerned me. I came home that evening and I had mega-brains yeast all over the floor. I cleaned it up the best I could, removed and cleaned the airlock, and let it continue. Note to self.....use a blow off tube anytime I use 2565 again no matter how big my carboy is. :cross:

I used 2565 Kolsch yeast 7-8 times this year and never needed a blow off. The key is to keep it cool. <62F wort temp and krausen never exceeds 2-3 inches in height.

There are two types of brewers: those who always use a blowoff, and those who occasionally use a mop on the ceiling.

paraordnance said:

I used 2565 Kolsch yeast 7-8 times this year and never needed a blow off. The key is to keep it cool. <62F wort temp and krausen never exceeds 2-3 inches in height.

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I don't know what else to say. My basement is at 61F (I monitor it) and I had ample room in my carboy since it's 6.5gallons. It still blew out the airlock and all over the carboy. This is the first time ever that I had a yeast blow out with a 6.5 gallon carboy.

I brew a Kolsch fairly regularly and use 2565 almost exclusively. It is likely that your fermenter got considerably warmer than the 61*F ambient temp in your basement. I avoid the volcanic ferments by pitching when the yeast is well cooled and placing the fermenter in a temp controlled chamber. I normally don't have to use a blow off. A foam control product can help with excessive foaming in the fermenter, just as it does in a boil kettle.

Catt22 said:

I brew a Kolsch fairly regularly and use 2565 almost exclusively. It is likely that your fermenter got considerably warmer than the 61*F ambient temp in your basement. I avoid the volcanic ferments by pitching when the yeast is well cooled and placing the fermenter in a temp controlled chamber. I normally don't have to use a blow off. A foam control product can help with excessive foaming in the fermenter, just as it does in a boil kettle.

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That could very well be true. I did not have a fermometer stuck to the side of this carboy. I had one on my old 6.5g carboy, but unfortunately it broke. I wanted to pitch it close to the activated yeast pack that I started that morning and was sitting at 70F. So, I brought my wort to 70F, pitched the yeast, and immediately placed it at 61F ambient temperature. At the 24 hour mark, it was still okay, but bubbling at a good rate. I would have thought that sitting for 24 hours would have been pretty good to stabilize. I worry that foam control products may inhibit foam in the glass, so I have never used them. The simple answer for me will be to use a blow off tube next time. It's never been an issue with WLP001 or 1056 at 70F and I do those pretty regularly.

The foam control products won't interfere with head retention at all and I've read where it can actually improve it. The yeast generate considerable heat in the early stages of fermentation. That's what makes me think that your fermenter temp was higher than you realized. A tube of water can be used to keep a fermeter cool if you don't have a dedicated chamber (fridge). Frozen 2 liter PET bottles can be added to the tub for additional cooling if necessary. I did it that way before I acquired my fermentation fridges.

Catt22 said:

I brew a Kolsch fairly regularly and use 2565 almost exclusively. It is likely that your fermenter got considerably warmer than the 61*F ambient temp in your basement. I avoid the volcanic ferments by pitching when the yeast is well cooled and placing the fermenter in a temp controlled chamber. I normally don't have to use a blow off. A foam control product can help with excessive foaming in the fermenter, just as it does in a boil kettle.

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I totally agree with you. I also pitch my 2565 cool (57-58F) and let it rise naturally to 60-62F and hold it there. Note that when I'm talking temperatures I'm not talking ambient, I ferment in swamp cooler and this is temperature of my water surrounding carboy so my fermentation temp must be really close to that.

Saccharomyces said:

There are two types of brewers: those who always use a blowoff, and those who occasionally use a mop on the ceiling.

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if you ferment on lower end of recommended temp for the yeast you will never ever need a blow off tube. I ditched mine a year ago

paraordnance said:

if you ferment on lower end of recommended temp for the yeast you will never ever need a blow off tube. I ditched mine a year ago

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I haven't used a blow off tube since I got a 6.5g carboy. I was at the lower end of the range, at least the surrounding air was, but I don't know the wort temperature. The range for 2565 is 55F-70F. I was at 61F.

MW66 said:

I haven't used a blow off tube since I got a 6.5g carboy. I was at the lower end of the range, at least the surrounding air was, but I don't know the wort temperature. The range for 2565 is 55F-70F. I was at 61F.

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61F ambient more like 66-68F wort temp at peak fermentation, and dont forget that you pitched at 70F and only then moved to 61F, so possibly at some time you were well over upper reccomended limit of 70F. This is why pitching warm is never a good idea. Set up a swamp cooler, most likely you don't even need to swap a frozen bottles to maintain 61F fermenting wort temperature with your set up

paraordnance said:

if you ferment on lower end of recommended temp for the yeast you will never ever need a blow off tube. I ditched mine a year ago

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+1 I have not used a blowff tube for years. I ferment in 6.5 gal buckets and carboys. I brew 6 (or 12) gallon batches and there's typically plenty of head space. I generally like to ferment cool and slow with the occasional exception for Belgians or wheats. IMO, proper fermentation temperature control is the key to making better beer.

Update:

After 3 weeks in primary at 60F, I transferred to a keg and pressurized at 12 psi for another 2 weeks. I had my first sample glass this weekend. Very nice. Light, refreshing, and with that slight fruity note at the end typical of this yeast. I guess the mega blow out of the 2 peice airlock did not cause any infection problems. I had star san in the airlock anyhow, so it should have been okay. I made this beer for my father in law who is a lighter beer drinker. He arrives in about 3 weeks, so it should be just perfect by then. I'll post a picture later.