Kolsch is way to light?

[SnickleFitsBrew]

Ok so Ive been brewing for a year and a half now rather successfully. So far only extract brews, hope to change that soon. I recently decides to try and make a Kolsch. Having been to Cologne and researched the beer I understand what I was getting myself. Day of the brew somehow after 5 gallons was topped off my OG was super high, don't recall at the moment but I think I have it written down. I then panicked and added another gallon of water to get my OG down to acceptable area. Fernentation has been extremely slow. 65 degrees for about 3 weeks and it's still slowly bubbling here and there. Drawing off a sample the color is a bit weak and the flavor is nothing special. It seems slightly sweet and very light. I don't have the recipe with me ATM but I will say it's the only one I ever did without using the OG/SG/IBU/abv calculator and just went by the recipe i had. I'll try and post it soon. My question is do I just let it go and bottle it and see what happens or could I boil some dme and add it to the primary and pitch another Kolsch yeast on it and see if I can get things going?? I'd hate to waste it and end up with 50 bottles of Michelob ultra but at the same time this would be my first screwed up batch and a good learning experience I guess. I was just looking forward to a Kolsch style brew this summer!

 

[ArcaneXor]

It's impossible to end up with a significantly wrong OG when extract brewing if your volumes are correct - the way you get a reading that is off is because the wort wasn't properly mixed with the top-off water, or you added the wrong amount of water.

You can try fixing it by introducing more fermentables, but I wouldn't pitch more yeast. There's plenty in there already.

 

[SnickleFitsBrew]

That's what really confused me. I just now remembered that when I went to my lhbs I gave her my order for the steeping grains and she reccomended adding something else and I believe that I ended up with an extra lb of steeping grain + 8 oz extra lme. I have this all written down somewhere I just have been so busy I haven't worried about the Kolsch till now. I have a hefenweizen that is looking awesome and a batch of apelfwein going as well so my head is spinning now as to how I managed to mess it up. I vaguely remember how Kolsch should taste. Spending two nights there three years ago, my memory is hazy and maybe I am just overreacting a bit.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Koelsch tastes, fundamentally, like something in between a Dortmunder Export (think Ayinger Jahrhundert) and a Pils in terms of malt/hop character, but with a very subtle ale ester profile that the lagers don't have.

 

[SnickleFitsBrew]

Hmm ya def picked up on the pils aspect not very fruity, just a tad to sweet/malty from what I could gather. Than again it's not completely fermented it seems and it's not conditioned. I was just expecting my sample to come through with the flavor I had in my head and it did not. I was hoping to brew it and be like ya that stuff I remember. Looking back now I feel like my time spent in Germany was wasted no pun intended. I never thought Id be getting into homebrewing or else I would've done some serious note taking/learning.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I know how it feels. I lived right next door to Belgium for a loooong time, and the only Belgian beer I was aware of was Jupiler - essentially a plain industrial lager.

 

[malkore]

You didn't mix your boiled wort into the top off water, hence the gravity seeming 'way too high' when in fact you nailed it.
But then you added another gallon, diluting your wort, bitterness, etc.

3 weeks of bubbling means nothing. NEED the gravity.