First Kolsch, temperature advice

[jamesbo]

Just brewed my second Kolsch in a month. I went with Imperial Dieter yeast and started her off at 60 for about 4 days, then 65 for 24 hours, then back to 60 for the remainder. I find a cool fermentation keeps the beer ester free and the 65 is enough for a diacetyl rest. Normally I leave my Kolsch in the fermenter for 21 days, but I'm not entirely sure that's necessary. I recently bought a Tilt hydrometer and today is Day 5 (including brew day), and I'm almost at FG. I'll let it ride at least another 7 days after the gravity stabilizes for any additional cleanup.

By the way, I LOVE Imperial Dieter yeast for Altbier and Kolsch. Amazing yeast.

Hi, interesting as you write on the "Imperial Dieter" yeast. I am looking for a more suitable yeast for my Kolsch, I am looking for cleanliness, therefore less esters.

Have you had the opportunity to make other Kolsch with the same yeast? I look forward to your updates.

Thank you

 

[Brewbuzzard]

I would put it on air. At least a little to keep any air from getting in through the gaskets. But yeah, you should be fine conditioning in the keg. Heck, I might even try it.

On air or CO2?

 

[Brewbuzzard]

Great.


Sounds good. Thanks!

Did you try this, how did it turn out?

 

[wsmith1625]

Did you try this, how did it turn out?

I did exactly what you said and it came out great! My 5 gallon batch is almost gone.

Just some notes on how it went. This was my first time cold crashing and I didn't have a setup to protect against suck back. What I did was drop the temp a few degrees at a time and when the airlock started to pull the Starsan, I cracked the lid open a bit to equalize pressure. I hated doing this because I knew I was introducing oxygen, but I didn't have another option at the time. I was really afraid that I oxygenated the beer and it would be terrible, but I was wrong. The finished beer was delicious.

I started sampling after a week in the keg and the yeast flavor was a bit stronger than I liked. Definitely had a white wine flavor. But as it sat in the keg, it mellowed out and now it's damn near perfect. Also, the beer was crystal clear. I never used gelatin before, but it worked great. I want to do another batch, but I have a few other recipes I want to do next.

I'll use this same method for my next kolsch. Thanks again!

 

[wepeeler]

Hi, interesting as you write on the "Imperial Dieter" yeast. I am looking for a more suitable yeast for my Kolsch, I am looking for cleanliness, therefore less esters.

Have you had the opportunity to make other Kolsch with the same yeast? I look forward to your updates.

Thank you

Imperial Dieter is the best Kolsch yeast I've used so far, by far. I ferment fairly low for the first few days (62), then raise temp for a diacetyl rest (65ish). Never had any issues. I've been able to harvest from each batch, and it has not disappointed me yet. Ask @camonick what he thought of my kolsch

On air or CO2?

CO2

 

[camonick]

^^ Listen to this guy. I’ve only made one Kolsch before and it didn’t even compare to his. He makes a damn good NEIPA too.

 

[jlinz]

I would put it on air. At least a little to keep any air from getting in through the gaskets. But yeah, you should be fine conditioning in the keg. Heck, I might even try it.

Doing this right now as we speak. I’ll let you know how it comes out in a couple days.

 

[jlinz]

Finishing the lager process in the keg as discussed turned out really well. Basically this means making a Kolsch is the same process as making any beer. The only difference is I fermented at 60 degrees. It’s not crystal clear, which might be because it is the Wyeast yeast, but I gotta say, may be my best one yet, and I like that this makes it so making a Kolsch is no more difficult than any other beer.

 

[day_trippr]

tbh, kolsch should be a simple beer. 2565 (or your favorite alternative) run at 60°F with just enough Hallertau to make the otherwise rather bland grain bill interesting and you're good to go...

Cheers!

 

[couchsending]

I’m on my 16th batch at Kolsch over the last 2 years I think. I’ve used 2565, wlpo29, Dieter, 1007, Gigayeast Kolsch GY021, 2575, 003, Conan, etc. Basically anything and everything. Latest batch used the East Coast Yeast Kolschbier strain and it’s by far the best. It’s supposedly and old Brewtek strain that Al Buck got from a yeast bank. There’s no other commercial equivalent to it.

It has the wine like character of 2565 but flocculation that’s even better than wlp029 or the equivalents from all the other yeast banks.

Up until this my favorite yeast was actually Conan fermented at 56 with a lager pitch rate. Fermented out in 4 days even at 56. Touch of sulfur from the low temp fermentation but insanely clean. Way better than the wlp029 derived offerings.

Kolsch is all about semantics. The conditioning is what’s key. Slow cooling, long cold conditioning, natural carbonation, etc. These are the steps to focus on in order to make truly great Kolsch (provides you’ve got the obvious water profile, mash schedule, and fermentation temp dialed). Sadly there’s probably only a handful of breweries in the US that care to take the time to do it right.

 

[Jag75]

Finishing the lager process in the keg as discussed turned out really well. Basically this means making a Kolsch is the same process as making any beer. The only difference is I fermented at 60 degrees. It’s not crystal clear, which might be because it is the Wyeast yeast, but I gotta say, may be my best one yet, and I like that this makes it so making a Kolsch is no more difficult than any other beer.
View attachment 691533

Nice looking beer ! Looks cold and refreshing

 

[wepeeler]

K97 turned out good . I'll try that imperial since I really like their stuff . Does that Imperial Dieter need a starter ?

I always make a starter, but Imperial claims 200 billion cells per pack, which is plenty enough for a low gravity Kolsch.

Finishing the lager process in the keg as discussed turned out really well. Basically this means making a Kolsch is the same process as making any beer. The only difference is I fermented at 60 degrees. It’s not crystal clear, which might be because it is the Wyeast yeast, but I gotta say, may be my best one yet, and I like that this makes it so making a Kolsch is no more difficult than any other beer.
View attachment 691533

Looking good!

(If I'm being honest, I don't even lager my Kolsch. It went into the keg on day 14, and I was drinking it a week later. I've never had luck with Gelatin, but I use Biofine. The last Kolsch I made I didn't use any fining agent and it was crystal clear after 2 weeks in the keg. I always mean to bottle a few to see if it improves over time, but it's crushable within 3 weeks of brew day. It just keeps getting better until the keg kicks .)

 

[jlinz]

I always make a starter, but Imperial claims 200 billion cells per pack, which is plenty enough for a low gravity Kolsch.

Looking good!

(If I'm being honest, I don't even lager my Kolsch. It went into the keg on day 14, and I was drinking it a week later. I've never had luck with Gelatin, but I use Biofine. The last Kolsch I made I didn't use any fining agent and it was crystal clear after 2 weeks in the keg. I always mean to bottle a few to see if it improves over time, but it's crushable within 3 weeks of brew day. It just keeps getting better until the keg kicks .)

I can see that. I’m at about 4 1/2 weeks and it is great.