My first Kolsch is GREAT!!!!!

[Patrick604]

Sorry, I had to brag just a bit. This is my second all grain, and my second kegged beer and I have to say it is wonderful!!!!

I used a recipe posted in an article on beersmith, added a bit to the grain bill since I am doing an infusion mash with a single batch sparge, and it worked out very well. I am stoked!!!!

I was worried about the fact that my mash did not go according to plan, but my on the fly adjustments seemed to have worked. I guess the saying is true. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew!

Now if my hefeweizen works out this well I will be in business. The little yeaties are taking care of business as we speak.

I am debating if I should run an IPA next weekend, or do another batch of the Kolsch since it will not last for my 4th of July Party.

Original recipe by DJ Spiess:

* 10 lbs German Pilsner Malt
* 0.5 lbs German Munich Malt
* 1.5 oz Spalt hops (4% AA bittering for 60 minutes)
* White Labs WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch or Wyeast 2565 Kölsch



Patrick
Kegged: Kolsch
Secondary: Open
Primary: Hefeweizen
Dearly departed: Oktoberfest

Wine
Bottled: Reisling
Bulk Aging: California trio white, White Zin, Strawberry
Fermenter: Open

 

[edecambra]

Kolsch was my 3rd all grain batch, and mine was awesome too. It is a great style, easy and good

 

[Patrick604]

After further consideration, the flavor is very good, nice and balanced with a subtle hop aroma. The color is excellent, and the carbonation is spot on. However . . . there is a bit of haze.

This does not offend me personally, but I will be serving this to some relatives who used to live in Cologne, and would prefer this beer to be as close as possible to the real thing, which I believe should be crystal clear.

I had a bit of trouble with my mash, my strike water temp was too high at 160, so I added 2 qts of cold tap water to bring it down. Mistake. That much cold water dropped it to 140, where it remained for a bit while I was boiling up more water a quart or two at a time to get the temp back up. When I finally achieved 152, I let is mash for 90 min because I had to go get my son from track practice, otherwise I would have tested it at 60 min.

Do you think the haze is a result of the wide variation in mash temps, time in the mashtun or something else?