Opinions on the taste of Kolsch

I just checked the gravity on my (first all grain) Kolsch that is 6 days in the primary. I've gone from 1060 to 1011 and visually, it looks like the best batch I've done yet.

I gave the sample a taste and was surprised at the...well...non impact of the beer. I know that Kolsch is the Ale answer to lager pilsners and pilsners are a bit milder.

What is the general consensus of the taste of Kolsch?

Personally, I don't really like Kolsch, Wit or Belgians. A strong hop profile or roasty grains is more my speed.

My Kolsch is currently in a friend's garage cold-conditioning. When I first sampled it, moving it to secondary, I was very much unimpressed as well. From what I've read however, giving it a few months cold conditioning really changes the taste and brings out flavors distinctive to a Kolsch. Maybe give that a try?

I'm a huge huge fan on Harpoon's Summer Beer, which happens to be a Kolsch.

-Ben

To me, kolsch kind of tastes like saltine crackers. I don't particulary like it.

Im moving on to month #2 cold conditioning for mine. I haven't snuck a sample yet, so I can't contribute to how it tastes yet. But Ive enjoyed the commercial Kolschs Ive tried.

Ill probably keg here in about two weeks. Ill let you guys know then

When it's done well, it tastes like how lite beers should taste. A good kolsch isn't strong or heavy, it's a great summer beer. That's why Goose Island chose Kolsch style for their summer beer. You can drink a couple and not feel weighed down or drunk too quickly.

Cheesefood said:

When it's done well, it tastes like how lite beers should taste. A good kolsch isn't strong or heavy, it's a great summer beer. That's why Goose Island chose Kolsch style for their summer beer. You can drink a couple and not feel weighed down or drunk too quickly.

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Well, I decided to brew this Kolsch as my first AG because the recipe was relativley simple.

That PLUS the fact that I'm trying to get my wife to try something other than Miller Lite . Maybe if I can get her to like a Kolsch Homebrew...it's only a matter of time before she likes my Black Pearle Porter.:cross:

Cheesefood said:

When it's done well, it tastes like how lite beers should taste. A good kolsch isn't strong or heavy, it's a great summer beer. That's why Goose Island chose Kolsch style for their summer beer. You can drink a couple and not feel weighed down or drunk too quickly.

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That's a good description of the style. I've had some top Kolsches (thinking I might brew one), and found the style surprisingly "meh." Not the sort of thing homebrewers, who are often looking for a lot of character in their brews, are likely to be drawn heavily toward, IMHO.

But it could be just the ticket on a hot summer day.

Ditto, the ones I've tried I haven't really enjoyed that much. It seems to me that they have a nice mild flavor but just too sweet for my taste. I guess that's why I got into brewing, so I could make what I like. I think a kolsch would be great with the hops profile kicked up a notch or two. My two cents.

Koelsch is a very tightly controlled style- it's not supposed to have much of a distinct profile of either malt or hops.

It's the nothern German equivalent of a Helles and probably the closest to BMC that you'll find.

Kalvin,
What was your recipe,if you don't mind?Thanks
Cheers

When I brew my "Yankee Drifter Golden Ale" it is basically a Pilsner recipe using a Kolsch yeast. I brew this beer in tribute to my father who was a Hamms drinker. I wanted to make a beer that he would have liked. I chose the Kolsch yeast due to the fact that I had no place to lager so I needed an Ale Yeast that would give me the profile I was looking for. The resulting beer is light, crisp with just a hint of citrus.

If someone has a good recipe( extract) to share that would be great. I have seen quite a few, but it is always nice to have feed back from one that has actually been brewed and tasted so that you know if it drinkable. -Dirk

Onescalerguy said:

Kalvin,
What was your recipe,if you don't mind?Thanks
Cheers

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Here you go. PS - I sampled this last night after three days in the secondary. Very mild taste but very good. This will make a nice lager clone in another week. They say to cold condition this for several weeks but I like the taste now. I think I'll make another batch and let the second sit in the keg. This one is going into bottles in about 2 weeks.

9.00 lb German Pilsner (2 Row)
0.50 lb Munich Malt - 20L
0.50 lb German Wheat Malt
0.75 oz Hallertauer [4.00%] (60 min)
0.25 oz Hallertauer [4.00%] (10 min)
1 Pkgs Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565) Yeast-Ale

This was a 5 gallon batch using a 168 strike water to get to 155 degree mash for 70 minutes. I then batch sparged with 175 degree water for 15 minutes. My post boil sg was 1.060 and last night it was at 1.011

8 days in the primary and so far, 4 days in the secondary.

1. Condition, condition, condition

My first try at making a kolsch resulted in a batch that tasted like yeasty swill at first. I started drinking it anyway, and couldn't quite decide whether to dump it. I forgot about it for a couple or three months, and was totally pissed when I tried it again. Miraculously it had turned out to be Nectar of the Gods-- and I had less than a case left!

2. Goose Island Kolsch, while it tastes ok to me, isn't at all like any home-brewed kolsch I have tried.

3. Here's an extract recipe with steeping grains that I got from this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7375&highlight=kick+kolsch

KOLSCH


A pale colored German ale - Great thirst quencher!
5 lbs. light unhopped malt extract
2 1/2 lb. German pilsner malt
1/4 lb. German light crystal malt
1/4 lb. German Melanoidin malt
1 1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (bittering)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavoring)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (finishing)
1/2 tsp. calcium chloride
1 pkg. Nottingham Ale Yeast(Wyeast #1007, #2565, #1338 or White Labs German Ale or Dusseldorf Alt Yeast)
1 pkg. Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
3/4 cup corn sugar (for priming)
O.G. - 1.048
F.G. - 1.012

I used 6 lbs. LME, and did not use either the calcium choride or the Bru-Vigor. I used a Wyeast Kolsch yeast smack-pack.

It turned out to be excellent and I would definitely brew it again.

Kolsch is my favorite beer, I've brewed 6 batches and everyone likes it. Here is my recipe for all grain.
7 lbs 2 row light pilsner malt
2 lbs Wheat malt
3/4 lb Munich Malt
1/4 lb Crystal 10 L
Wyeast Kolsch 2565 yeast

1 oz Pearle 60 min in boil
1oz Tetnanger 2 min in boil

Mash at 152 for 60 minutes Sparge water 170

I condition the beer in my basement which is about 60 degrees. It's pretty good after being bottled 3 weeks- after 3 months it great. It's all gone by 4 months

I actually posted in the wrong thread...sorry.

mmmm Kolsch....

I like it, I drank A LOT when I was in Koln.....near the cathedral or on the Rhine...it was awesome

I could definatly see how it could be seen as a bit of a "bland" style though but I think it is good for summer thirst quencher

If it wasn't so hot around here I'd brew some up....I think that'll be my first brew of the winter and let it age until it gets hot

I am trying to come up with a Koelsch recipe. I want to try it as my first partial mash. I just can't come up with anything decent. Can anyone help? I was going to buy a kit from AHS, but I want to use DME instead of the LME they include. Thanks for any help.

I find that Kolsch is a good beer to follow up a first or second stronger ale. It's kind of like a palate-cleanser, but still gives you a quality taste. If it's done right. My local brewhouse's kolsch is real malty with a hint of sweetness at the tail end.

I tried a Kolsch for the first time the other night, unfortunately it was just a sampler and I was getting over a really bad head cold.

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't.... just wasn't very memorable as a style (pretty sure it was a good example, it sounds spot-on to what people are describing here). Some malt character, but not a lot. Not a lot of bitterness. Not a lot of hoppiness. Clean flavor. Seems like it would be quenching, although I only had a small sampler and it wasn't all that cold.

If I had to make a beer that BMC'ers would drink, it might well be a Kolsch, but for me it was a very bland, unremarkable brew. More functional, I guess, than something I would savor. There are other styles that I prefer when I'm looking for a lawnmower brew.

the_bird said:

If I had to make a beer that BMC'ers would drink, it might well be a Kolsch, but for me it was a very bland, unremarkable brew. More functional, I guess, than something I would savor. There are other styles that I prefer when I'm looking for a lawnmower brew.

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Yep. I make it regularly for the SWMBO. She loves it. It's not bad as a summer brew but once your accustomed to an APA or an Ordinary Bitters, tis a bit plain.

I'm tempted to do a kolsch recipe and use a high flocculating yeast for a dry crisper finish. Kolsch yeast is a PITA. Takes forever to settle out. I'm not sure that slight fruity undertone is worth it and a dryer finish may give something a bit closer to the BMC style anyway.

OK so my Koelsch partial mash recipe has developed this far:

4lbs extra light dried malt extract

Bohemian Pilsner Malt (Moravian)
vienna malt
white wheat malt(or flaked?)

hops:
spalt
tettnang
perle

Not sure at the amounts or times.

So I think I am going with. . .


Style: Kölsch
Type: Partial mash
Size: 5.5 gallons

Color:
4 HCU (~4 SRM)

Bitterness: 29 IBU
OG: 1.047 FG: 1.010
Alcohol: 4.8% v/v (3.7% w/w)

Grain:
3 lb. German Pilsner
1 lb. Wheat malt
1 lb. German Vienna
Mash: 65% efficiency
Boil: 60 minutes SG 1.086 3 gallons
3 lb. Light dry malt extract

Hops: .5 oz. Spalt (6.75% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 60 min.)
.75 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 30 min.)
.5 oz. Spalt (6.75% AA, 30 min.)
.25 oz. Saaz (aroma)

Might be a few too many IBUs, but I guess I can cut back in some areas.

Here is a partial mash that I did, substituting the Kolsch yeast for the 1007 German ale yeast because the LHBS didn't have the Kolsch. This was my partial mash adaptation of one of Jamil's recipes.

On tasting before I bottled yesterday, it has a slight apple nose and maybe just a hint of wine, which is supposed to be common for this yeast at a slightly higher fermentation temp (65)....Most recipes recommend a cold conditioning period but I'm not that fortunate...

Interestingly, my local had a Kolsch on tap and I don't think mine is quite as clean and crisp but I won't be too far off. Sounds like others have gotten similar results with their recipes.

3.6 lbs. Breiss Pilsner DME
2.5 lbs. German Pilsner Malt
1.0 lbs. German Munich Malt
0.75 lbs. American Wheat Malt
0.75 oz. Hallertau Pellet Hops (4% AA) for 60 min.
0.75 oz. Hallertau Pellet Hops (4% AA) for 15 min.
1 package 1007 German Ale Wyeast

Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
Target OG: 1.042 - 1.048
Target FG: 1.012
Target IBU: 22
Efficiency assumption: 60%

Mash grains at 152* for 60 minutes and sparge. Add hops per schedule and boil. Do late addition of malt extract with at 15 minutes remaining.