Kolsch Recipe Critique

[brend2b]

Hi, I'm looking to make a Kolsch for an upcoming homebrew meeting. It is to be made to BJCP guidelines. Does anyone have any input on my recipe? It is within guidelines except for the color in BeerSmith. Any input would be appreciated.


Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 84.2 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 15.8 %
1.0 pkg Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565) [124.21 ml] Yeast 6 -
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 13.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 7.9 IBUs
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 4 -
0.55 tsp Gelatin (Secondary 5.0 hours) Fining 7 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.0 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 21.1 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 3.1 SRM


Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Protein Rest Add 10.95 qt of water at 132.5 F 122.0 F 30 min
Saccharification Add 7.60 qt of water at 194.4 F 148.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Add 9.95 qt of water at 211.3 F 168.0 F 10 min

Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 3.08 gal water at 168.0 F



I plan on fermenting around 60F and then lagering for around a month before bottling.

 

[tonyc318]

Looks good. My personal preference is for the white labs Kolsch yeast over the wyeast. Different strains. But that's just a personal preference.


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[krahm]

If you're shooting for a "traditional" version, I'd say the percentage of wheat looks a bit high to me. I'd also say that 1 oz. of hops at 15 minutes will break the mold a bit, too. You're definitely going to get some noticeable hop character in the finished beer, which will cover the malt a bit. Many recipes simply use the 60-minute addition, for bittering alone. I'm not saying yours won't be tasty, and you've definitely got to brew what you want to drink. I'm just saying these things because you seem concerned about meeting other people's expectations.

Otherwise, I think you might pick up a bit of color from the boil--well, maybe/maybe not. I find my beers tend to be a bit darker than what Beersmith predicts. Perhaps that's because of my kettle, which is a bit wider and shallower.

 

[brend2b]

Looks good. My personal preference is for the white labs Kolsch yeast over the wyeast. Different strains. But that's just a personal preference.

If you're shooting for a "traditional" version, I'd say the percentage of wheat looks a bit high to me. I'd also say that 1 oz. of hops at 15 minutes will break the mold a bit, too. You're definitely going to get some noticeable hop character in the finished beer, which will cover the malt a bit. Many recipes simply use the 60-minute addition, for bittering alone. I'm not saying yours won't be tasty, and you've definitely got to brew what you want to drink. I'm just saying these things because you seem concerned about meeting other people's expectations.

Otherwise, I think you might pick up a bit of color from the boil--well, maybe/maybe not. I find my beers tend to be a bit darker than what Beersmith predicts. Perhaps that's because of my kettle, which is a bit wider and shallower.

Tonyc, I chose Wyeast for the lower fermentation temperature range, I want to keep it cool to have a clean beer.

Krahm, I'll put some thought into decreasing wheat and cutting late addition hops. Any other recipe I saw had more, but I cut mine to 20% of the grain bill, the max allowed for Kolsch under BJCP guidelines.

 

[tonyc318]

I go 60 with the white labs all the time. Make a good size starter, no problem. I suggest making the same recipe twice and use the different yeasts. Or, split a 10 gallon batch and pitch the different strains. It's surprising the difference between the 2.


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[budonze]

Just my opinion... I make a lot of kolsch for my go to beer (10 gallons a month) and I prefer the White Labs Kolsch yeast. I ferment around 64 - 65 degrees in my basement closet and bring up to 70 degrees after about 7 days.

I have tried the Wyeast before but prefer the flavor of White Labs yeast.




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[pjk49202]

Agree with most opinions in this thread. Go with White Labs Kolsch and bump down the wheat to about 10%. I think your IBU's are good but bump up your boil hop addition to equal that amount. Personally, I like fermenting in the low 60's but that's my thing. Good luck!