Kolsch brewers best

[Jag75]

Tried this kit and was shocked by the color . Kolsch is supposed to be really light in color but this beer turned out darker . It's almost the color of amber/red ale. I used bottled RO water. Only thing I could think of was I put it in a 5 gallon carboy and couldnt top off fully to 5 gallons. Then I had to take some out because it was fermenting aggressively and i didnt have a blow off tube. It taste fine but I'm just scratching my head over the color.

 

[Bamos6928]

I've found that every extract kit I ever brewed turned out darker than expected. Now that I've switched to all grain, they turn out the right color.

 

[Jag75]

I normally do all grain . I will try this in all grain. I've done a lot of extract but never a real light one like this .

 

[Soulshine2]

Tried this kit and was shocked by the color . Kolsch is supposed to be really light in color but this beer turned out darker . It's almost the color of amber/red ale. I used bottled RO water. Only thing I could think of was I put it in a 5 gallon carboy and couldnt top off fully to 5 gallons. Then I had to take some out because it was fermenting aggressively and i didnt have a blow off tube. It taste fine but I'm just scratching my head over the color.

where did you get the extract kit, as in what brand is it?...I have one was going to make soon. Wondering about not boiling as long to keep the color lighter. I'm not typically an extract brewer .

 

[Jag75]

Its Brewers Best , which I have done tons and always turn out good . I've done 1 that I wasnt crazy about from them . Which one do you have ?

 

[Soulshine2]

Its Brewers Best , which I have done tons and always turn out good . I've done 1 that I wasnt crazy about from them . Which one do you have ?

its a NB extract, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WIKEBE6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
. Got it on amazon, only when I had it in the cart my wife ordered it before I had noticed it was an extract. I was only "window shopping" at the time. I'll still brew it , might even be tomorrow.

 

[Jag75]

The beer taste really good . I guess the LME makes it darker . I'd like to find a all grain recipe . Something simple and good .

 

[Soulshine2]

The beer taste really good . I guess the LME makes it darker . I'd like to find a all grain recipe . Something simple and good .

If you can wait until tomorrow I can get into my Daniels book and dig up a Kolsch AG recipe for you. Shouldnt be difficult at all.

 

[Jag75]

If you can wait until tomorrow I can get into my Daniels book and dig up a Kolsch AG recipe for you. Shouldnt be difficult at all.

That be awesome man ! Ty
Dont know when I will brew next but it will come in handy .

 

[RM-MN]

I found a few Kolsch recipes for you to try. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/forums/homebrew-ale-recipes.62/?prefix_id=146

 

[Jag75]

I found a few Kolsch recipes for you to try. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/forums/homebrew-ale-recipes.62/?prefix_id=146

Ty , been checking some of em out . I'm leaning towards true German style . With German malt .

 

[Soulshine2]

That be awesome man ! Ty
Dont know when I will brew next but it will come in handy .

ok, this wont be a recipe as such . More of an average grain bill (guideline) in NHC second round recipes. What I'm leaving you here is what Ray Daniels found typical in recipes through beer judging . I wont give you specific amounts but I will give you suggestion so you can build your own recipe in whatever volume you choose by these guidelines and at the end it will be yours to play with .For authenticity ,use German malts .Take this list of ingredients and plug them in at varied amounts into a brew calculator of some kind so you can see the values play out , then print it for brew day use.

two-row*- dominant, I'd go with anywhere from a 50/50 to 60/40 of 2 row and Pilsener combination but keep the total amount around 70% of the total grain bill
Pilsener*
wheat*-10-20%
use the below sparingly for color ,total SRM of 3.5-7 ,with slight flavor notes ,your choice. keep the amounts 10-20% of total grain bill , I'd pick 2 of the 4 I list.
crystal(40L or lower)<10%
specialty <5%
munich<20%
CaraPils<5%

mash at 152*F
aim for 20-30 IBUs (BU:GU of 0.53avg), add hops early in boil in first 30 minutes for bitterness , no aroma hops additions.
Spalt* - best choice if you can find it
Perle- #suitable replacements
Northern brewer
Hersbruck #
Cascade

look for a 80 % attenuation yeast
ferment at 60*F with a German ale or Kolsch yeast -I have K97 I plan on using with mine.
you're looking for an OG of 1.044-1.049 ,and ABV of 4.4 -5%

Have fun and let me know how it goes.
RDWAHAHB

 

[NGD]

I normally do all grain . I will try this in all grain. I've done a lot of extract but never a real light one like this .

Like most others here, its been my experience that especially using LME, the color will always be darker. Dropping your boil time helps a bit. I’ve heard of some extract brewers doing no-boil to keep color as light as possible.

 

[Soulshine2]

Like most others here, its been my experience that especially using LME, the color will always be darker. Dropping your boil time helps a bit. I’ve heard of some extract brewers doing no-boil to keep color as light as possible.

how does that go. just heat to pasteurization and then chill?

 

[Jag75]

Thanks soul for the recipe info

 

[Brettomomyces]

Like most others here, its been my experience that especially using LME, the color will always be darker. Dropping your boil time helps a bit. I’ve heard of some extract brewers doing no-boil to keep color as light as possible.

Another easy technique is to save roughly 50% of the extract until the last 15-10 minutes of the boil, this will help the color a lot.

 

[NGD]

how does that go. just heat to pasteurization and then chill?

I haven’t tried the no-boil route yet. From what I’ve read/heard thats the general plan. Hold at pasteurization temps (>160) for X number of minutes then chill.

Like some others on here though I’ve dropped my boil time to 30 min using half the extract and add the rest after flame off. It has subjectively lightened up my beers. Last cream ale I made was pretty close to the estimated SRM and the belgian blonde I’ve made 4 times now has gotten noticeably lighter.

 

[GPNewBrew]

The common practice now is the partial boil/extract method, where you use half the water and half (or less) the extract, then add the rest of extract malt right after flameout. Also, you add the 1st portion of extract before you start heating up. You can keep the same boil time( important for hop utilization), but not adding extract under flame reduces chances of caramelization and darkening of wort. Adding the other half of water has no impact on flavor, and if you chill the water first it really helps cool the wort for fermentation

 

[NGD]

The common practice now is the partial boil/extract method, where you use half the water and half (or less) the extract, then add the rest of extract malt right after flameout. Also, you add the 1st portion of extract before you start heating up. You can keep the same boil time( important for hop utilization), but not adding extract under flame reduces chances of caramelization and darkening of wort. Adding the other half of water has no impact on flavor, and if you chill the water first it really helps cool the wort for fermentation

+1
Only thing I do differently is heat up the water to 130-140ish before I mix in LME. Otherwise its a pain to mix. I usually have steeping grains in my recipe so the water is generally already heated. Either way, you should be good to go

 

[Bilsch]

I'm leaning towards true German style . With German malt .

If you want authentic then use either..
95% pils 5% carahell
Or 85% pils 15% vienna

 

[JPDosey]

Might try the late addition method...this will help with the color