Kolsch yeast origins/differences

[Northern_Brewer]

I hadn’t previously considered it, but I wonder if the total oils content of the hops (responsible for flavor and aroma) are as adversely affected as the AA% content (responsible for bittering) due to the reduced output yields of the European hop bines?

Yet one more factor to account for in recipe planning: checking farnesene, humulene, caryophyllene, etc., values in addition to just AA%. Damned climate change!

The relationship between climate and overall "flavour" is complicated and isn't readily reduced to the levels of the "big name" compounds. To take an example, here are some Hallertau hops from 2022 sampled by Barth-Haas as they came off the farms (clockwise from top-left: Melon, Mittelfrueh, Polaris and Blanc). The Blanc bottom-left don't look too bad, but would you want to brew with the Mittelfrueh top-right??

 

[Broothru]

I can clearly see what you mean. I assume all four examples (all traditional German varietals) came from similar terroirs in Europe. So far, the deleterious effects of weather haven't impacted the 'quality' of most hop producing areas like Yakima Valley, but 'quantity' of harvests may be slightly down.

I order most of my hops from YVH, and they do seem to get a decent quality of imported varietals. My hope is to use original hops from their traditional terroir rather than resort to U.S. domestically grown German derivatives. That said, the Hallertau Mittelfruh in that photo look really sad. You're right, I wouldn't want to brew with them.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

all four examples (all traditional German varietals)

Hardly traditional - Melon, Polaris and Blanc were all released in 2012!

came from similar terroirs in Europe.

AIUI they are all from the Stanglmair farm in the Hallertau, sampled at the farm.

So far, the deleterious effects of weather haven't impacted the 'quality' of most hop producing areas like Yakima Valley, but 'quantity' of harvests may be slightly down.

"Most" of the top 6 hop countries are in central Europe - Germany is just shy of the US in production/acreage then the Czechs, Poles and Slovenians are some way behind. So the European heatwave of 2022 hit "most" of the top-6 hop producing areas - they were down 25% in yield as well as quality problems. But the real problem is not the heatwave per se, they've always had the odd one and the farms have survived, but it's much harder to survive bad years that repeat close together with eg 2022 coming so soon after 2018, and then 2023 wasn't great. So a lot of farms are questioning whether they still want to play this game, and breeding for climate resilience has become the #1 priority at Huell.

Yakima is a slightly different story as it's essentially a desert supplied by irrigation. So things will be fine until suddenly they aren't. At all. Whilst walking my dog earlier this year I happened to bump into one of the guys who controls irrigation allowances in Yakima and he said that 2023/4 had seen the 3rd lowest snowpack on record and they were getting a bit nervous. In the end the drop in tonnage was in line with the drop in acreage, but it's complicated by the big drop in acreage of low yielders like Citra whilst high yielders like CTZ are up so there was some kind of vintage-related hit to yield.

My hope is to use original hops from their traditional terroir rather than resort to U.S. domestically grown German derivatives. That said, the Hallertau Mittelfruh in that photo look really sad. You're right, I wouldn't want to brew with them.

The real take home from that picture is that the traditional landraces really suffer in drought conditions compared to varieties bred more recently. So people need to stop having this fixed idea that "I must have Mittelfrueh/Tettnang/Saaz in my lager" and be more open to using newer varieties (which will also tend to have less pesticides used on them) like Tradition, Saphir or Saaz Shine.

 

[Mr. Vern]

Me and you @Broothru!

+1 on the journey for a great Kolsch 2025. I just returned from Germany and dusting off Eric Warners book while searching for advice on HBT. I have not ventured into pressure ferment yet but I think my first attempt(s) will use more traditional process.

Good info here! "souvenir" for inspiration

 

[Broothru]

Hardly traditional - Melon, Polaris and Blanc were all released in 2012!

AIUI they are all from the Stanglmair farm in the Hallertau, sampled at the farm.

"Most" of the top 6 hop countries are in central Europe - Germany is just shy of the US in production/acreage then the Czechs, Poles and Slovenians are some way behind. So the European heatwave of 2022 hit "most" of the top-6 hop producing areas - they were down 25% in yield as well as quality problems. But the real problem is not the heatwave per se, they've always had the odd one and the farms have survived, but it's much harderto survive bad years that repeat close together with eg 2022 coming so soon after 2018, and then 2023 wasn't great. So a lot of farms are questioning whether they still want to play this game, and breeding for climate resilience has become the #1 priority at Huell.

Yakima is a slightly different story as it's essentially a desert supplied by irrigation. So things will be fine until suddenly they aren't. At all. Whilst walking my dog earlier this year I happened to bump into one of the guys who controls irrigation allowances in Yakima and he said that 2023/4 had seen the 3rd lowest snowpack on record and they were getting a bit nervous. In the end the drop in tonnage was in line with the drop in acreage, but it's complicated by the big drop in acreage of low yielders like Citra whilst high yielders like CTZ are up so there was some kind of vintage-related hit to yield.

The real take home from that picture is that the traditional landraces really suffer in drought conditions compared to varieties bred more recently. So people need to stop having this fixed idea that "I must have Mittelfrueh/Tettnang/Saaz in my lager" and be more open to using newer varieties (which will also tend to have less pesticides used on them) like Tradition, Saphir or Saaz Shine.

Very good explanation and synopsis. I misspoke about ‘traditional’ hops, rather meaning ‘traditional growing regions and terroir’. But you’re quite correct in my need to separate from the “must have the Hallertau/Saaz, etc” mindset.

The difficulty for me, however, is equating ‘brewing to style’ with the authenticity of the ingredients. My hangup with wanting (and not finding) Weyermann Cologne or BestMalz Heidelberg is a perfect example. I could no doubt brew a perfectly fine Kolsch with any of the properly kilned Pilsner grists from Germany or Bohemia, but I want the 2 row Spring barley grown and milled in the Upper Rhine Valley region.

Even some of the outstanding U.S. domestic malts like Rahr North Star Pilsner or the newer Pure Montana grains would work. Briess also produces quality products, but the one thing they lack for me isn’t quality, per se, but cache. It’s snobbery, I suppose, over substance, but the desire to create an ‘authentic’ replica of the original is difficult to overcome.

Ford makes good, reliable vehicles, but I still opt for Volvo and Mercedes when it’s time to purchase a new vehicle.

 

[Broothru]

+1 on the journey for a great Kolsch 2025. I just returned from Germany and dusting off Eric Warners book while searching for advice on HBT. I have not ventured into pressure ferment yet but I think my first attempt(s) will use more traditional process.

Good info here! "souvenir" for inspiration

View attachment 866455

Das ist wundervoll!

It’s been 15 years since I was frequently traveling to Germany (Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf, with side trips to Koln), and I so much want to go back. A river cruise down the Rhine and Danube would be my first choice, but SWMBO’d can’t sit on an airplane for 7~8 hours anymore, so my international travel is pretty much curtailed. Many good memories though, of travels from England to Russia, from Iceland to the Adriatic, with many other destinations in between.

I do miss it so, but I can reminisce with the many beers that remind me of those days.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The difficulty for me, however, is equating ‘brewing to style’ with the authenticity of the ingredients. My hangup with wanting (and not finding) Weyermann Cologne or BestMalz Heidelberg is a perfect example. I could no doubt brew a perfectly fine Kolsch with any of the properly kilned Pilsner grists from Germany or Bohemia, but I want the 2 row Spring barley grown and milled in the Upper Rhine Valley region.

Even some of the outstanding U.S. domestic malts like Rahr North Star Pilsner or the newer Pure Montana grains would work. Briess also produces quality products, but the one thing they lack for me isn’t quality, per se, but cache. It’s snobbery, I suppose, over substance, but the desire to create an ‘authentic’ replica of the original is difficult to overcome.

I hear you, it's complicated - so much of brewing history has involved people trying to replicate beers from elsewhere with local ingredients. Brew an English porter when you only have lager yeast to hand and you end up with Baltic porter, try to brew the lagers of one's German homeland in a California goldfield with no temperature control and you end up with steam beer. And whilst an "authentic" IPA should only be brewed with Chevallier and Goldings, in the real world that name covers a whole zoo of different beers.

But the importance of authenticity varies depending on the beer. Coming from the British tradition which is all about balance, you should be able to taste all the different components of the beer and it's pretty obvious if one of them isn't quite right. British breweries are typical of European ones in studiously ignoring the "rules" laid down by BJCP, but at the same time they all have a characteristic "Britishness" that comes from using British ingredients and it just doesn't quite work if brewers use non-British ingredients. OTOH it probably doesn't matter much what base malt you use for a Belgian quad, as long as you get the sugars right and to a lesser extent the yeast.

I guess kölsch has two things going on to justify your search for "purity" - it's got that British thing of every ingredient being "on display", there's nowhere for non-authentic ingredients to hide. And it's the opposite of the modern IPA, it's a relatively niche style with only a handful of benchmarks so the boundaries are drawn very precisely in the minds of beer judges (if not necessarily in the minds of brewers in Cologne). Both factors make it hard to get too creative, judges know what they are looking for and it's up to you to deliver that as far as you can.

 

[Broothru]

I hear you, it's complicated - so much of brewing history has involved people trying to replicate beers from elsewhere with local ingredients. Brew an English porter when you only have lager yeast to hand and you end up with Baltic porter, try to brew the lagers of one's German homeland in a California goldfield with no temperature control and you end up with steam beer. And whilst an "authentic" IPA should only be brewed with Chevallier and Goldings, in the real world that name covers a whole zoo of different beers.

But the importance of authenticity varies depending on the beer. Coming from the British tradition which is all about balance, you should be able to taste all the different components of the beer and it's pretty obvious if one of them isn't quite right. British breweries are typical of European ones in studiously ignoring the "rules" laid down by BJCP, but at the same time they all have a characteristic "Britishness" that comes from using British ingredients and it just doesn't quite work if brewers use non-British ingredients. OTOH it probably doesn't matter much what base malt you use for a Belgian quad, as long as you get the sugars right and to a lesser extent the yeast.

I guess kölsch has two things going on to justify your search for "purity" - it's got that British thing of every ingredient being "on display", there's nowhere for non-authentic ingredients to hide. And it's the opposite of the modern IPA, it's a relatively niche style with only a handful of benchmarks so the boundaries are drawn very precisely in the minds of beer judges (if not necessarily in the minds of brewers in Cologne). Both factors make it hard to get too creative, judges know what they are looking for and it's up to you to deliver that as far as you can.

"Both factors make it hard to get too creative, judges know what they are looking for and it's up to you to deliver that as far as you can."

Quite true, and at the end of the day, the final 'judge' is me. And I can be brutal on myself and what I want to achieve. Prolly should work on that benchmark a little harder (i.e., "chill" a bit!)

 

[Cornelder]

And this is where we can get into these debates about competitions and styles that win vs styles that just don’t win. Once you get to the BOS round all bets are off as they’re comparing apples to oranges and banannas and it becomes all bias and individual preference. You might as well be trying to win BOS with an American Light Lager. Sure, it happens once in a blue moon but very few and far in between. They’re solid styles and can be well made but you’re never going to match up to the flavors that are present and that they’re looking for in other styles. Its not fair but thats how it is.

This is spot on. Unless you are set on a BOS against all categories, you might consider looking for German styles only based comps. I’ve seen a Kolsch win BOS but the comp was just German styles. IMO, the style has a hard time standing out in big comps.

 

[Broothru]

I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I enter one specific competition every year that is open to all BJCP categories. There are usually 250~275 entries in this particular comp, but not all categories get entries. Only one beer advances from each category to Best of Show, but a low scoring 1st Place “Fruited Beer” winner will not necessarily advance to BoS simply because it won its category. BoS judging is usually between 12 to15 beers from unique categories. Never would you see an IPA against another IPA in the final round.

Anyway, I won this comp last summer, as well as three years ago. Last year was a Helles, and three years ago it was a Czech Pilsner. Neither of these beers are necessarily ‘main stream’ entries in a universe dominated by NEIPAs, Pales Ales, etc. So is my goal of winning a third BoS in a non-mainstream category indeed a lofty objective? You betcha’ it is! And that’s why my ego wants so badly to make it happen.

I did have a Kolsch in last year’s comp that actually did win its category and advanced to the BoS round, loosing out to my Helles as it turns out. I had joked with one of the officials when I dropped off my entries that I thought I had two winners. One of them was. Now I want to prove to myself that the ‘loser’ can also be a winner, too.

 

[couchsending]

Kölsch is a yeast driven style. If you’ve had Kölsch in Cologne or fresh Kölsch from Cologne you’ll understand this. Wlp029 makes what Americans think Kolsch tastes like annd it’s easy to use but it doesn’t make what Kölsch actually tastes/smells like IMHO.

The esters that yeasts like 2565 create are critical for this style.

Cologne malt from Weyermann isn’t used by any Kölsch brewery in Cologne. Virtually no German brewery actually uses Weyermann base malts. They export 90+ percent of their base malt cause they can get more money for it outside of Germany.

Choose your favorite German pils malt and use either 10% Vienna or 10% wheat, or 5% of both. Maybe 2% Carahell. Thats it. No Munich.

The hoppiness of Kölsch can vary amongst producers. Doubt any of them are dry hopping their beers. I doubt many Kölsch producers even add hops past 30 minutes left in the boil. I think you’d be shocked how much hop character you can get by adding a bunch of low alpha noble hops at the beginning of the boil to get the bitterness you’re targeting vs. adding a higher alpha German variety. Perle, tradition, northern brewer, tett, whatever.

I’ve used every Kölsch yeast under the sun. Used English yeasts really cold, lager yeasts warm, etc. You have to use the true Kölsch yeasts that create the pear/white grape esters if youre trying to replicate Kölsch brewed in Cologne. I think the best is Kölschbier from ECY.

Ferment in the low 60s. Great thing about most Kölsch yeasts is that they produce virtually no diacetyl so you can cool them as soon as they hit terminal. Hardest part is getting them to clear. its now popular in Cologne to serve young Kölsch that’s hazy and call it, Wieß Kölsch.

The cans/bottles of Kölsch from Cologne that I’ve bought at stores in the US have all been so trashed that they don’t really resemble what they actually taste like at the source or at least fresh.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I had joked with one of the officials when I dropped off my entries that I thought I had two winners. One of them was. Now I want to prove to myself that the ‘loser’ can also be a winner, too.

[one of those weird crossovers, originally he sang it in character in the soap opera Eastenders, but went on to make UK #1 in 1986]

 

[Broothru]

Kölsch is a yeast driven style. If you’ve had Kölsch in Cologne or fresh Kölsch from Cologne you’ll understand this. Wlp029 makes what Americans think Kolsch tastes like annd it’s easy to use but it doesn’t make what Kölsch actually tastes/smells like IMHO.

The esters that yeasts like 2565 create are critical for this style.

Cologne malt from Weyermann isn’t used by any Kölsch brewery in Cologne. Virtually no German brewery actually uses Weyermann base malts. They export 90+ percent of their base malt cause they can get more money for it outside of Germany.

Choose your favorite German pils malt and use either 10% Vienna or 10% wheat, or 5% of both. Maybe 2% Carahell. Thats it. No Munich.

The hoppiness of Kölsch can vary amongst producers. Doubt any of them are dry hopping their beers. I doubt many Kölsch producers even add hops past 30 minutes left in the boil. I think you’d be shocked how much hop character you can get by adding a bunch of low alpha noble hops at the beginning of the boil to get the bitterness you’re targeting vs. adding a higher alpha German variety. Perle, tradition, northern brewer, tett, whatever.

I’ve used every Kölsch yeast under the sun. Used English yeasts really cold, lager yeasts warm, etc. You have to use the true Kölsch yeasts that create the pear/white grape esters if youre trying to replicate Kölsch brewed in Cologne. I think the best is Kölschbier from ECY.

Ferment in the low 60s. Great thing about most Kölsch yeasts is that they produce virtually no diacetyl so you can cool them as soon as they hit terminal. Hardest part is getting them to clear. its now popular in Cologne to serve young Kölsch that’s hazy and call it, Wieß Kölsch.

The cans/bottles of Kölsch from Cologne that I’ve bought at stores in the US have all been so trashed that they don’t really resemble what they actually taste like at the source or at least fresh.

I appreciate the recipe suggestions regarding the grist bill. That’s exactly the proportions and grains I’m focusing on. The yeasts as well, and I’ll be looking to find some ECY Kolschbier as well as Wyeast 2565 & 2575PC, in addition to the WLP-4061/Yeast Bay Rhine Kolsch that I’ve got propagating right now.

One small nit on grain pricing, though. The ‘homebrew’ pricing I’m seeing between Weyermann, Ireks and BestMalz is nearly identical. I don’t doubt German domestic brewers would choose other grains over Weyermann if the price differential was 5% or more, but I don’t see that as a rejection of Weyermann on a ‘quality’ basis. Quite the contrary.

I’ve had very good luck with Weyermann base malts, and their stats data (friability, diastatic power, etc) are comparable. I’ve got my LHBS/brewery supplier getting me pricing quotes from BSG for a 55# sack of both Weyermann Cologne and BestMalz Heidelberg, both of which are Spring-grown 2 row Bohemian malts grown in the terroir near the Neander Valley.

Even though as you point out, Kolsch is a yeast driven beer, these grains are said to express some of the classic characteristics of Kolsch beers, more so than other top tier German Pilsner malts. The bigger decision is whether to include a small amount of wheat.

My plan is to brew at least five half-batches to compare what ‘similar but different’ combinations of yeasts/hops/grains yields the most authentic Kolsch. It’s been 15-20 years since I had the pleasure of having Kolsch by the Dom in Koln, and as happy as I am to have purchased some Gaffel and Reisdorf stateside recently, it certainly falls short of the fresh beers served by the Kobes.

 

[couchsending]

I appreciate the recipe suggestions regarding the grist bill. That’s exactly the proportions and grains I’m focusing on. The yeasts as well, and I’ll be looking to find some ECY Kolschbier as well as Wyeast 2565 & 2575PC, in addition to the WLP-4061/Yeast Bay Rhine Kolsch that I’ve got propagating right now.

One small nit on grain pricing, though. The ‘homebrew’ pricing I’m seeing between Weyermann, Ireks and BestMalz is nearly identical. I don’t doubt German domestic brewers would choose other grains over Weyermann if the price differential was 5% or more, but I don’t see that as a rejection of Weyermann on a ‘quality’ basis. Quite the contrary.

I’ve had very good luck with Weyermann base malts, and their stats data (friability, diastatic power, etc) are comparable. I’ve got my LHBS/brewery supplier getting me pricing quotes from BSG for a 55# sack of both Weyermann Cologne and BestMalz Heidelberg, both of which are Spring-grown 2 row Bohemian malts grown in the terroir near the Neander Valley.

Even though as you point out, Kolsch is a yeast driven beer, these grains are said to express some of the classic characteristics of Kolsch beers, more so than other top tier German Pilsner malts. The bigger decision is whether to include a small amount of wheat.

My plan is to brew at least five half-batches to compare what ‘similar but different’ combinations of yeasts/hops/grains yields the most authentic Kolsch. It’s been 15-20 years since I had the pleasure of having Kolsch by the Dom in Koln, and as happy as I am to have purchased some Gaffel and Reisdorf stateside recently, it certainly falls short of the fresh beers served by the Kobes.

The comment about Weyermann was more about the Cologne malt specifically. Yes you should use a German Pilsner malt. Whichever you like, Weyermann, Best, Ireks, Durst, etc. No knock on Weyermann, they make great malt. They’ve just done a great job of convincing US brewers that if they want to make true German beer that you need to use their malt. Which isn’t the case.

I personally prefer Kolsch with 10% wheat. Your opinion may differ.

 

[Broothru]

The comment about Weyermann was more about the Cologne malt specifically. Yes yo a German Pilsner malt. Whichever you like, Weyermann, Best, Ireks, Durst, etc. No knock on Weyermann, they make great malt. They’ve just done a great job of convincing US brewers that if they want to make true German beer that you need to use their malt. Which isn’t the case.

I personally prefer Kolsch with 10% wheat. Your opinion may differ.

So, I was leaning towards 5% Vienna/5% wheat/90% pilsner, or just skip the wheat and go with 10% Vienna. But you’d advocate for 10% wheat/no Vienna? I’ll probably brew two different batches to compare. Does the presence of wheat further complicate clearing with already low flocculating yeast?

Regarding the ECY Kolschbier yeast, it looks like they’re only doing brewery volume pitches now while the lab shuts down.. I did find a brew shop online that says the have some ECY21, but no indication how fresh it is. Most of their ECY yeasts were shown “Out of Stock”, so it may be a crap shoot. I reached out directly to the lab with an email, so we’ll see it anything comes from it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Regarding the ECY Kolschbier yeast, it looks like they’re only doing brewery volume pitches now while the lab shuts down.. I did find a brew shop online that says the have some ECY21, but no indication how fresh it is. Most of their ECY yeasts were shown “Out of Stock”, so it may be a crap shoot. I reached out directly to the lab with an email, so we’ll see it anything comes from it.

I've revived yeast that were nearly 5 years past best-before, you just need to be gentle with them.

 

[Broothru]

Yep. I’ve brought some ‘zombies’ back after an extended hiatus as well. Patience, plus a three step rejuvenation starting with a ~1.020 SG/250 ml first propagation seems to work. I’ll give the brew shop a call this morning to see if they actually have it, then maybe place an order.

From their website, ECY says they’re shutting down no later than July this summer, but will do custom propagations (brewery pitch only) until that time. Sad to see another supplier going out of business.

 

[beren]

I’ve used every Kölsch yeast under the sun. Used English yeasts really cold, lager yeasts warm, etc. You have to use the true Kölsch yeasts that create the pear/white grape esters if youre trying to replicate Kölsch brewed in Cologne. I think the best is Kölschbier from ECY.

Really sucks east coast yeast is closing up in a few months. Anyone know if someone else is taking over?