Kolsch at 55F any thoughts?

[ekjohns]

I was going to brew Edworts Oktoberfest and use WLP029 Kolsch yeast at 55F. According to white labs website this yeast can go down to 55F with special considerations for people with experience with yeast growth. I was going to make a starter with a stir plate according to Mr. Maltys calculator. I dont have a air stone so I will have to shake the hell out of the carboy. Anything else I am missing?

 

[michaeltrego]

Why do you want to go that low? I made a starter with WLP029, vigorous carboy shaking, fermented at 62 for 4 weeks, then lagered at 40 for 3 weeks. It took a while to finish, but ended up crystal clear and very tasty!

 

[barrooze]

Yea, I recommend 62F for WLP029 also. Very good behavior from the yeast at that temp. Make sure you use a proper yeast pitch.

 

[threeeight]

I used 029 at 60F for 14 days with a Kolsch recipe and got pretty great results, although next time I'm going to do a little d-rest at the end so the beer cleans all the way up.

 

[ekjohns]

The owner of White Labs said that at 55F you will get the closest thing to a lager with this yeast which is why I was wanting to go that low.

 

[michaeltrego]

Give it a shot - pitch a boatload to be safe! They indicate that it "Does not ferment well less than 62°F, unless during active fermentation.". Also I never really dug into the MiniFerment data that they provide, but just noticed that WLP029 apparently produces almost 3x total diacetyl when fermented at 55 vs. 68. Do you plan to do a d-rest?

 

[ekjohns]

I was thinking about letting it ferment for 3 weeks at 55F then a week at 68F then keg. Sound good?

 

[ekjohns]

the yeast i have is about 63% viable and im going to do a 1.8L starter (5.5 gallon batch at 1.055). Mr. Malty rec. 1.5L so I will go a little over that. My only concern is that I was planning on crash cooling the starter and decanting the liquid. Would that be a conflict with the "during active fermentation". If so do you think it would be better to start it at 62F till it got going then cool to 55F? Thanks for the help so far.

 

[michaeltrego]

Your pitch rate above looks good, as well as crash cooling/decanting. I would start it at 62 to get it going strong, and if you want to bring it down -- do it slowly, like only a couple degrees per day -- otherwise I think you'll risk shutting it down. But, I'm just theorizing -- I haven't tried it.

 

[bh10]

I was going to brew Edworts Oktoberfest and use WLP029 Kolsch yeast at 55F. According to white labs website this yeast can go down to 55F with special considerations for people with experience with yeast growth. I was going to make a starter with a stir plate according to Mr. Maltys calculator. I dont have a air stone so I will have to shake the hell out of the carboy. Anything else I am missing?

If you can ferment at 55º why not use a lager yeast?

 

[ArcaneXor]

I'd use German Lager yeast over Koelsch yeast at 55 degrees.

 

[ekjohns]

I have never lagered before so I guess i was just a little cautious about trying it. I really want this beer to come out great (past few have been a bit disappointing). I might just let this go a 62F and call it a day. Anyone have experience with Kolsch at 62F for a "pseudo-lager"?

 

[permo]

I tried WLP029 at 55 degrees once. It dropped out after 3 days and I had to rouse the yeast and gradually warm it up to 67 degrees and it caught back on. I would never go back down that cold with it again.

 

[lsand]

I'm with Permo.. Temperatures below 60 will cause this yeast to drop out of suspension fast. You can still hit your FG, but it will take some time. 62 degrees has been the sweet spot for me.

 

[rack04]

That last kolsch I made with wlp029 stifle it at 58 degrees for 7 days, increased to 60 degrees for 7, and then lagered at 34 degrees for 2 weeks.

 

[ekjohns]

Isand and rack04 did the beer have a very "lager" like profile with these ferment temps?

 

[ekjohns]

I have used San Fran at its proper temps and even lower and hate it. Something about my flavor profile I just don't like.