kolsch fermentation temp question

i know kolsch is supposed to be a colder fermentation. the coldest constant temerature i can get in my house is a room temp at about 61-65 deg. mind u that is room temp, im pretty sure that the magic yeasties inside my bucket is gonna warm it up inside. will that be ok for primary?, i will probably throw the secondary in my downstairs closet which is not constant, about 55-65. does anyone see a problem with those conditions? so my plan is one week in primary, a week and a half maybe two in the secondary somewhere cooler, cold crash for a day or two, bottle at 70 degrees for a few weeks, then pop it in the fridge for awhile. does anybody see any problems with my routine?

What kind of yeast are you using. I am brewing Kolsch right now but it's a kit and came with nottingham yeast. My LHBS actually suggested using US-05 which I did because I have heard about the recent problems with notty. I am going to try to keep it on the cool side of the 05's threshold though.

Ferm temp is going to be higher than ambient temp by 4-8*. This is pretty high for most Kolsch yeast. I like a lot of yeast character, so I wouldn't mind. You'll get some pear/winey flavors most likely, and a strong yeast flavor. It won't be very "Kolsch-y" but it will probably turn out fine.

The temperatures are better suited for Belgian strains, so you might want to look into brewing something like a golden strong or Belgian pale instead, if you don't want to get any temp control.

What I did was get a $20 picnic cooler at Target, cut out a hole in the lid big enough to fit my bucket through, and fill the cooler with water. The top 1/3 of the bucket sticks out the top, but with a few ice packs and a water bath I can keep the temps in the hi 50s fairly easily.

i am using kolsck liquid yeast i believe 2565, i could have numbers wrong, midwest kit

Wyeast Kolsch yeast will give satisfactory result from about 55 to 68 degrees. The colder the better for a crisp lager like quality, but if you pitch colder than 60 you will need a healthy starter, at least a liter/quart and 1.5 would be better. This is one of my favorite yeasts and hard to muck up. With a picnic cooler large enough to hold your fermentor, you can add water and frozen ice bottles a couple of times a day (from bottled water bottles) and keep temps well within this range. I would recommend using a cooler to cool down after fermentation for at least a week OR after bottle carbing in the fridge for 2-3 weeks as this yeast really likes a cold rest to mature. You will get crisp, smooth beer with a distinctive Kolsch flavor from this yeast. At the upper end of the fermentation temp range, the beer will be a little sweeter/fruitier but still great. Good Luck.

2565 is one of my favorite strains. I like to ferment it warmer to get that fruity/winey character. No one would mistake it for a lager, but it tastes great that way.