Hop my Kolsch!

[brownni5]

My wife has a class reunion coming up in August - I'm bringing a keg. I've decided to brew a Kolsch - who doesn't like Kolsch on a hot summer day?

This will be my first Kolsch, grain bill of mostly pilsner, maybe some wheat, and a little Munich for color and maltiness (no Vienna on hand or I'd use that). I struggle with hopping delicate beers so I need help. I've got the following on hand: Sterling, Mt. Hood, Loral, Styrian Golding (1.8%AA), and Strisselspalt. I've got other hops, but want to keep this delicate (i.e. no Amarillo).

Might as well throw out suggestions for the grain bill too. I'll ferment with either Omega Kolsch II or wild lager yeast from Bootleg Biology.

Let's shoot for a 5 gallon batch.

Thanks all!

 

[Bilsch]

With a Kölsch keep it simple mostly pils and a single hop addition to ~20 IBU. Definitely use a kölsch yeast and at least one month cold condition. Three grain bills for this style: 85/15 pils/vienna, 95/5 pils/carahell or 100% Cologne malt. That's all there is to it.

 

[stosh]

Look up EdWort's Bee Cave Brewery Kolsch recipe in the ale recipe section.

I'm brewing it tomorrow morning. I'll tell you from experience that EdWort's recipes come out great the first time.

It's a simple brew although you'd either have to stop and get the hops it calls for or check what can be subbed compared to what you have on hand already.

Take the guesswork out of it especially since you're brewing for an event.

 

[z-bob]

I would use Sterling for bittering, and Mt Hood for the flavor and aroma hops.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

One of my fav's and i'll give some ideas after 3 best of show wins and a few 1st's and 2nd's with my Kolsch's.

Sterling. It's an Americanized Saaz. Saaz is one of the most common hops used in the Koln region. The other most common would be German Spalt. No more than about 18 IBU's for bittering (30 to 60 minutes). No more than about 3 or 4 IBU's for aroma (5 to 10 minutes). A kolsch needs to be simple, clean, not over-hopped, and crispy. It can not hide any imperfections. It only takes a tiny hopping to balance out the delicate malt and yeast esters.

IMO the best and most authentic Kolsch yeast available is Giga-021. 2L starter (even though the giga packages are 200b cells). Decant the starter after a few days and only pitch the slurry at the bottom. Esters and fusels from a bunch of starter wort (or under pitching) will be obvious in the finished product. Ferment at 58 to 60F, and definitely do a D-rest for a few days at 67F when fermentation is finishing. Crash it after that for a good 2 to 3 weeks. If you smell sulfur during fermentation, don't panic. It's common and will age out.

No wheat. 80% pilsner 20% Vienna (or munich if you want it a tad darker). 70/30 works well also. Mash at 153-ish for an hour. 75-90 mins if using munich. 75 to 90 minute HARD boil (keep in mind this may darken it another SRM point or so). Whirlfloc is your friend with pilsner malts, toss one in at 10 minutes.

Go for about 5.2% ABV. I typically shoot for an OG around 1.048

Then, when its all said and done, throw a bottle my way My kolsch tap is dry at the moment.

 

[Soulshine2]

Id agree with Doug. A Saaz / Spalt is the hops combo youre looking for. Kolsch is a simple beer. K97 is said to make a good Kolsch yeast if you go dry.

 

[couchsending]

There is a great interview with the head brewer at Exhibit A in Craft Beer and Brewing. They make a lot of really good Kolsch. He talks a lot about their process. A great read, highly recommend it.

I’ve got my 10th batch of Kolsch conditioning right now. Been happy with Gy021 as well. @SoCal-Doug i’m amazed you recommend such a large starter. Seems like that would be a bit of an overpitch? You’re also fermenting it on the low end for that strain. Is that the reason for such a big pitch?

Last few batches I’ve started using some newer low alpha hops instead of the usual noble suspects. Drinking one with Callista (Grungeist) right now and the one that’s conditioning I used Wai-iti. Pretty traditional hoppy schedule for a Kolsch just with some different hops.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I love the kolsch. Here’s my recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/house-kolsch.665384/

I really like santiam hops in my kolsch, it’s different enough to be unique but it still taste like a traditional kolsch. It has similar earthy-spicey tones as saaz, but it’s American so it a bit more and easier to get those notes in the beer. Santiam is kind of hard to find though, but definitely worth a try.

I’ve used K97 and it was a fine beer but it was definitely not as smooth as a specific kolsch yeast. I’ve also used a little two row in place of some of the pils, same deal that was a really good beer, but not a kolsch.

I’ve found (at least with wlp029) you can do a sloppy job of temperature control and still get a great kolsch. To keep it malt forward keep the temperature 56-59 for the first four or five days, then let it rise on its own. To play the hops a bit more just keep below 65 in that time.

I’ve skipped the weat, but I think a little bit helps with mouthfeel and a bit of soft body.

 

[brownni5]

I would use Sterling for bittering, and Mt Hood for the flavor and aroma hops.

Thanks! Very helpful, or maybe just what I was thinking...

 

[z-bob]

Thanks! Very helpful, or maybe just what I was thinking...

Hope it helps. Just go easy with them, kolsch is kinda bitter, but not too bitter and the hops are subtle. Sterling tastes like Saaz but it's much more bitter. Mt Hood tastes and smells like something noble and German but I'm not sure exactly what.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

i’m amazed you recommend such a large starter

2L for a 5 gallon batch isn't bad. Remember, you are decanting and therefore probably not getting 100% of the viable yeast cells. Also, there is a chance that his yeast is not brand new. My local shops are carrying nothing but near dead giga, so I have a habit of trying to rehabilitate them Technically it is not a lager but a kolsch is fermented colder than an ale, and therefore should have a larger-than-ale pitch rate.

Will a pack of giga work pitched directly? Sure! but for the cost of some DME, why not eliminate another off flavor possibility.

 

[couchsending]

2L for a 5 gallon batch isn't bad. Remember, you are decanting and therefore probably not getting 100% of the viable yeast cells. Also, there is a chance that his yeast is not brand new. My local shops are carrying nothing but near dead giga, so I have a habit of trying to rehabilitate them Technically it is not a lager but a kolsch is fermented colder than an ale, and therefore should have a larger-than-ale pitch rate.

Will a pack of giga work pitched directly? Sure! but for the cost of some DME, why not eliminate another off flavor possibility.

I’ve been fortunate to get a few relatively fresh packs from Morebeer.

The interesting thing about fermenting Kolsch is a lot of breweries don’t ferment it cold. Chuckanut might make the most “awarded” Kolsch in the US and they ferment at 65. I’ve read a few articles about a few of the Kolsch breweries in Cologne that ferment around that temp too.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

There's a lot of factors involved, and a true kolsch yeast throws some very unique esters and phenols (one reason I don't like 029, its boring and blah, and not a kolsch yeast, albeit very clean). They (Chuckanut) may be pitching below 65 and letting it ramp up as do not generate the esters during initial multiplication. They may be aging longer or heavily filtering or using finings. I would not say that 65F is "bad", its just going to produce a different beer. I bring mine to 67 for a D-rest at about 80% attenuation at 60F. I do think they benefit from some cold aging (lagering if you like) though.

I strive for a Reisdorf or Gaffel type flavor profile, where Fruh (im fairly sure) ferments at a much higher temp.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Sterling and Styrian Golding. Sterling at 60 minutes and 30 minutes, and Styrian Golding at 15 minutes. 22-24 IBU's.

 

[Bilsch]

Was the OP talking about Americanized Kölsch? Must be with all these hop additions.

 

[Soulshine2]

Hope it helps. Just go easy with them, kolsch is kinda bitter, but not too bitter and the hops are subtle. Sterling tastes like Saaz but it's much more bitter. Mt Hood tastes and smells like something noble and German but I'm not sure exactly what.

Mt Hood is descended from Hallertauer.

 

[Soulshine2]

Take a step back and look at what a Kolsch is
(paraphrased from Ray Daniels,Designing Great Beers, pgs 127-140)
BU:GU avg .53
gravity- 1.044-1.049
bitterness- 20-30
hop flavor low
color (SRM)-3.5-7
80-85%attenuation
4.4-5%abv
low esters and
No diacetyl
flavor profile - dry winelike palate with medium bitterness in finish.

- the way it was brewed is not Reinheitsgebot so it was brewed in Koln (Cologne) , its a hybrid beer. Meaning it is top fermented ( ale yeast) in a cooler temp (60*F)and conditioned at lagering temperatures ,near 50*F.
its a simple grain bill ,mostly pale 2 row and/or Pilzner (72-75%), it doesnt normally contain wheat but it can (10-20%), other additions are not necessarily any specific amount or combination, but can include- Crystal,Munich,CaraPilz or something else like Biscuit or Vienna.
Hops- again isnt set in stone but can include Hallertauer,Saaz,Cacade,Mt Hood, Tettnanger ,Hersbrucker, N.Brewer, Perle or Spalt. Make hop additions early (beginning or before last 30 minutes).
Sac temp- 145-149*F for maximum fermentability .

Yeast-
this will be up to you but (of 20 "2nd round "entries) -
7/20 used German Ale wyeast 1007
4/20 used european ale wyeast 1338
2/20 Am ale wyeast 1056
another 2/20 dusseldorf ale Yeast labs
while the balance used one of the following-
Edme,
Weihenstephan Alt,
Pilsner lager wyeast 2007 ,
Bavarian Lager 2206 and finally
Kolsch wyeast 2565.

Ferment at 60*F using highly attenuative German ale or kolsch yeast.

Condition the beer 2-4 weeks at 41-50*F

(personal opinion here) comparing a Kolsch profile to another style , the closest would be a Munich Helles in grain choices or a German or Bohemian style Pilsner in hop choices , nearly identical.

Good luck , hope this helps.

 

[bstacy1974]

I've used Sterling and Mt Hood in a Kolsch. Turned out very good. My most recent batch used Crystal hops. Best Kolsch I've made. Give it a try next time.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

1/2 Oz. of Sterling for 60 minutes, and 1 Oz. of Styrian Goldings for 20 minutes should get you into the ballpark of 22 IBU's for a 5 gallon batch if your hops are in the form of pellets. Use ~25% more of each hop if they are whole leaf or plugs.