Kolsch/Altbier conditioning question

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kjung

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I just debuted my AG Kolsch to rave reviews. Everyone, from SWMBO to my BMC-drinking neighbors, loved it. I want to brew another batch, along with an Alt, for my Labor Day party, but I'm looking at time restraints.
I cellar conditioned it for two week, lager it for 39 days, then bottle condition it for three weeks.
What, if any, differences would I be looking at if I skipped the cellar-conditioning step, and went straight to lagering ?
 
Are you doing the cellar conditioning on the primary yeast cake? If so, I would say that you will see very little noticeable difference as long as the yeast is 100% finished (to FG, cleaned up diacetyl, acetaldehyde, etc.).
 
I don't think you need to cellar condition a Kölsch or Altbier. IIRC, Ray Daniels states in Designing Great Beers, that German commercial brewers lager them in the mid 40s°F so that yeast activity is not completely negated. IOW, Alts and Kölsch have similar fermentation and lagering schedules to lagers, but bumped up about 10°F for all the temps.
 
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