Bottle Cold Conditioning Kolsch

[mdwmonster]

I'm wanting to brew a Kolsch for the summer, and have been reading up on them. It seems that most people agree that a Kolsch should be cold conditioned for 4 or 5 weeks to clear. It seems that this "lagering" process is mainly for clarity and not for flavor. I'm not trying to start a debate about the differences between cold crashing vs. lagering vs. cold conditioning. My questions is does the beer need to be stored bulk, or would this work as well:

• Ferment at 60F until it hits FG

• Rack to secondry and hold at 60F for 2 weeks to let more stuff settle

• Bottle and let it carb up for 3 or 4 weeks

• Put the bottles (as many as will fit) into the fridge for 5 weeks before drinking

• Store the remaining bottles in the basement (60F) and add them to the fridge as space allows.

I've tried searching for bottle cold conditioning and bottle lagering and I didn't seem to find what I was looking for.

 

[BierMuncher]

Looks good. I like to take all my beers (even Kolsch) up to around 67-68 degrees after what appears to be full fermentation. Even if it's only for 3-4 days, it seems to finalize that last bit of potential.

Then I do pretty much what you are planning. Mine lager in a garage in the cold season so they are hovering in the 48-55 degree range for 3-4 weeks.

 

[smiths9312]

I'm wanting to brew a Kolsch for the summer, and have been reading up on them. It seems that most people agree that a Kolsch should be cold conditioned for 4 or 5 weeks to clear. It seems that this "lagering" process is mainly for clarity and not for flavor. I'm not trying to start a debate about the differences between cold crashing vs. lagering vs. cold conditioning. My questions is does the beer need to be stored bulk, or would this work as well:

• Ferment at 60F until it hits FG

• Rack to secondry and hold at 60F for 2 weeks to let more stuff settle

• Bottle and let it carb up for 3 or 4 weeks

• Put the bottles (as many as will fit) into the fridge for 5 weeks before drinking

• Store the remaining bottles in the basement (60F) and add them to the fridge as space allows.

I've tried searching for bottle cold conditioning and bottle lagering and I didn't seem to find what I was looking for.

In my opinion, I would wait for it to clear before bottling. Kolsch can leave A LOT of yeast in suspension. The last batch I made took a month to clear after cold crashing and lagering. Gelatin cleared it nicely. Funny yeast, the batch prior to it cleared easily.