Meet fruity Ester and her smooth talkin' cousin Diacytel!

[callmebruce]

So, I decided to do an Americanized Kolsch. Went to Brewmasters and got a great bunch of stuff, and swapped out the Ale yeast for Wyeast Kolsch yeast. Picked up a little extra hops for a late addition. (okay, so it's not to style)

Got it going, and had a great aroma in the house. Had a hard time getting it cooled down, as this is the first time I decided to boil all my water, and I hadn't gotten the extra water cooled down yet. Hey! I have a big 'ol bucket for a swamp cooler! I put the fermentation bucket in the swamp cooler bucket, added a LOT of cold water to the swamp cooler and got it cooled down! Tossed on the started Yeast. Moved it to a cooler and put ice in, to bring the temps down.

Still a little too warm. Checked it this morning to a bunch of blow-off. First time I ever dealt with blow-off. Normally I use a 7.5 gallon bucket. That doesn't fit in my picnic cooler, so I used a 6 or 6.5 gallon bucket.

Added more ice to the picnic cooler post clean up, and trying to nudge that temp down towards 62. But I'm thinking we'll be dealing with some fruity Esters. I'm thinking next time I will use the 7.5 gallon bucket and use the swamp cooler for the first two weeks, then go to the 6.5 gallon bucket and picnic cooler for secondary.

 

[ETCS]

What was the temp when you pitched the yeast. The Wyeast Website http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=144 says that 2565 has a temp range of 56-70 degress.

 

[callmebruce]

Between 72 and 75. A little toasty. It's between 62 and 65 now. Aiming to keep it as close to 62 as I can for two weeks, then drop the temps for a few weeks.

 

[callmebruce]

So - what did I learn from this batch? Make sure I have plenty of ice on hand! It took me a while to get the temps down to 62. I put the fermentation bucket in the sink with cold water to bring the temps down. That was taking too long, so I took it outside and put it in a big swamp cooler bucket filled with water right up to the beer line. That cooled it down quickly! I didn't pitch the yeast until after cooling it - so should be okay. It just took a long time, and it might have been warmer than it should have. I pitched closer to Ale temps, not Kolsch temps.

So, next time I will not try to cool 5 gallons of beer in the kitchen sink. I'll either pick up a wort chiller thing, or just toss the fermentation bucket in the swamp cooler. Depending on if I want to spend money or not.

It also took a while to bring it down from 70-75 to 62. If I had a lot more ice on hand, that would have been quicker. It's been pretty stable at just below 60 to around 62 since I got the temps down. I just have to swap out a few ice bottles each morning.

So - wort chiller and more ice on hand.

Another week at 62, then time to bring it down to 40! I'll make sure to have plenty of ice bottles on hand, as it will take a lot of cold to move 5 gallons of beer from 62 degrees down to 40.

Not sure if I'll rack to secondary before dropping temps, or just leave it as is. Will probably rack to secondary.

I'm not sure if I messed up the flavors or not. Will take another week at 62, three to four weeks at 40 and a few weeks carbing before I know - but it sure smells nice! Looking forward to it.

 

[paraordnance]

for as far as I remember I never had fruity esters or diacetyl using 2565. Its great yeast, makes awesome beers and works well in wide range of temperatures.

 

[callmebruce]

Great! Thanks for the info. I am looking forward to trying it out when done. Do you have links to some of your Kolsch recipes? I haven't even tried this one yet, but am already interested in checking out other folks versions.

 

[callmebruce]

The Kolsch did one week at 40 degrees in the big Coleman picnic cooler with a LOT of ice bottles. Able to keep the temp right at 40 degrees in a mid-80 degree garage by swapping out ice bottles every 24 hours. The small 12 ounce bottles thaw out too fast, but the big 2 liter Coke bottles and 1 quart Milk bottles work great!

So - 40 degrees in a garage in Georgia is possible just swapping out a whole bunch of ice once a day and using a big cooler standing on end. This might get old after three or four weeks - but worked just fine the first week.

Difference between keeping it at 62 degrees and 40 degrees? Just went from a coupla 12 ounce bottles of ice to a bunch of big bottles of ice. Today is grocery shopping day, hopefully I won't lose too much freezer space. I gotta keep it at 40 for another two to three weeks.

(too bad I can't change the title of the post - this might be an ester-free zone!)

 

[callmebruce]

I opened my first Kolsch yesterday. It needs two more weeks to carb up (just been bottled for a week) - but it tasted really great! I'm very impressed with the recipe (from Brewmasters Warehouse), and with the addition of an extra ounce of hops for flavor/aroma. I know it's not to style with the late addition of hops - but it tasted pretty nice.

I'm impressed with the Wyeast Kolsch yeast. I did not pay as much attention as I should have to the temp when pitching, but it turned out fine. I will be making Kolsch again. I'll try to get it cooled down quicker, and pay more attention to temperature control - but it came out really nice.

(I don't want to wait another two weeks! I need to make a big "Drop that Beer" sticker)