Kolsch or Pilsner Style Ale? Ferm temp

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Sovietnam

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First off, please no BJCP snobbery, I know this doesn't fit an accepted style.Yesterday I brewed a an ale with this recipe:

(PARTIAL MASH, 75 min boil) 3lbs pilsner DME, 5lbs Domestic pilsner mashed at 149 deg. for 30 min. .5 oz herkules (15.8% alpha)@ 75 min .5 oz hallertau & 1oz german select @ 30 min .5 oz hallertau @ 5 min, 1 oz hallertau @ 0 min.
SAF 04 yeast, re hydrated for 10 minutes.
First question: I pitched the yeast last night at around 70 deg, got it down to around 67-68 deg. 10 hours later. Fermentation is going strong but not blowing off the airlock(like my last brew w/ Nottingham:D) Wondering if the 10 hours @ 70 deg will affect the "clean" flavor I am looking for.

Second Question: I was aiming for a "Sessionable Bitter Pilsner Style ale"
Does this sound like it will resemble a super hoppy Pilsner style Ale or more like a hoppy Kolsch?
Any responses would be greatly appreciated!
 
Guess I would lean towards a pale colored Bitter :) The S-04 pitched at 70 will make fine beer I'm sure, but the increased ester profile will not resemble a Pilsner or Kolsch. What makes a Kolsch is not the malt or hops, but rather the yeast itself. And I guess tough to make a Pilsner without a lager yeast.

I think you will get what you want in the end, a "sessionable bitter style ale". Sounds pretty good, keep us updated on how it turns out.
 
I think what you've really made here is a blonde ale. BJCP 6B. It really fits the bill, if not a little hop forward. Although, given your hop additions and timing I don't think it will be overly assertive. All acceptable to the style. Anyway, style guidelines aside, you just made a light, in color, ale that is going to have a touch of noble hop flavor/aroma. I don't think you have much to worry about going 70-62 over 10 hours, you probably got down to 66-68 pretty quickly which is in the optimal range for s-04. Given your mash temp, extract proportion and yeast, the beer is probably going to have a med-light to medium body. I would imagine your beer is going to be great summer brew when its ready. I think the s-04 is going to leave behind some bready and fruity esters that will be up to you to decide if you like.

I think you would be stretching to call this a Kolsch or a Pilsner, but who cares what you call it as long as it is enjoyed!
 
No answers for the OP questions. I am in the middle of a similar brew using Saaz and US-05, 1 week @ 65F, 2 weeks @ 68F, 23 IBU calculated. Bottling this weekend.
 
No BJCP snobbery here, but if you don't use Kolsch yeast, you aren't making a Kolsch.

With that said, RmikeVT summed up your beer very well in his post.
 
No snobbery there :) Yeah, I didn't exactly do my homework on the Kolsch, and just read about the yeast being a specific strain. I guess I was thinking "lighter body beer with ale yeast and some good bitter hoppiness and noble hops aroma" (although I wanted a bit more hoppiness than a Kolsch or standard pilsner)
 
sounds good! I would have used us-05 if I had planned ahead more but I had the 04 on hand.. yours will probably be much cleaner tasting, I like the idea of american yeast with noble hops
 
German Pilsners can be very hoppy, btw. I made a blonde ale with 95% Franco Belg Pilsner Malt and 5% Crystal 10 and 100% Saaz and fermented with us-05. Turned out great. I Did 1oz Saaz at 60min, 1oz 20min, 1oz 10min, 1oz flameout (or something close to that). It was fantastic. My only note was when it was younger it tasted a little too saazy/grassy, but it aged out and turned into a fantastic beer.
 
That sounds good! maybe something like that with more bitter hops at 60 min instead of the Saaz might be really good IMO. I know German Pilsners can be hoppy, but I was shooting for a little more bitter. For a Hoppy Pilsner I like the Pivo Pilsner from Firestone, it's nice and hoppy, although not German.
 
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