Mixed-Style Beer Orange Kolsch (AG/EX)

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BierMuncher

...My Junk is Ugly...
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
12,440
Reaction score
952
Location
St. Louis, MO
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
American Ale 056
Yeast Starter
Yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
11
Original Gravity
1.045
Final Gravity
1.013
Boiling Time (Minutes)
70
IBU
13.2
Color
4.9
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7 Days at 68 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 days at 68 degrees
Additional Fermentation
Keg conditioned for two weeks at 37 degrees
I promised myself that I would not post this recipe until it had been kegged, carb’d, chilled and served to my “audience”. I tapped it last night, sampled and served to my friends & family (mostly female) and it got a unanimous thumbs-up.

I love the overall light taste of Kolsch but I hate dealing with Kolsch yeast (takes forever to drop and really needs long, cold conditioning). I love the crisp citrus and coriander of Belgian Wits, but wanted a variation that didn’t rely on a 50% flaked wheat grain bill.

I used a typical Kolsch grain bill with some flaked wheat for a nice lacy white head and a normal Kolsch hops bill, tamed down a bit to compensate for the spiciness that the orange peel and coriander would add. I then went with a simple dry american ale yeast for a bit crisper finish than the Belgian wit offers.

The taste is fantastic. Crisp, mild and a definite orange undertone. The coriander is subtle enough that it simply lends some “snap” to the beer. Between 4.5% and 5%, this makes a great (fast) summer time ale.

If you’re looking for something the gals will enjoy, I highly recommend this recipe. For me, it’s going to be a house staple.

Notice the higher malt profile...this is offset by the coriander and orange peel.

Orange_Kolsch_Hops_Ratio.jpg

Orange_Kolsch_pour.jpg

10 – GALLONS AG (5 Gallon AG & Extract Recipes Below)

Batch Size: 11.00 gal
Boil Size: 13.54 gal
Estimated OG: 1.045 SG
Estimated Color: 4.9 SRM
Kolsch_NoKolsch_Color.jpg
Estimated IBU: 13.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.0 %
Boil Time: 70 Minutes

Ingredients:

------------
Amount Item
16.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM
2.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.00%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.10%] (20 min)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (10 min)
0.75 oz Dried Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min)
0.75 oz Dried Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 min)
1.00 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min)
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-56)


5 – GALLONS AG

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 5.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 13.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

------------
Amount Item
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
0.50 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Hallertauer [3.00%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.10%] (20 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50%] (10 min)
0.50 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min)
0.50 oz Dried Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min)
0.50 oz Dried Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 min)
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-56) Yeast-Ale

5 – GALLONS EXTRACT

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 5.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 12.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

------------
Amount Item
6.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
0.50 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Hallertauer [3.00%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.10%] (20 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50%] (10 min)
0.50 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 min)
0.50 oz Dried Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 10.0 min)
0.50 oz Dried Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 10.0 min)
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-56) Yeast-Ale
 
So...you only added orange peel and coriander to the boil?

I need to fix an orange blossom Cream ale (not enough orange) and I was thinking of adding some orange peel and coriander into the keg, kind of like a "dry spicing" to get more orange into it. You think that would work?
 
Dude said:
So...you only added orange peel and coriander to the boil?

I need to fix an orange blossom Cream ale (not enough orange) and I was thinking of adding some orange peel and coriander into the keg, kind of like a "dry spicing" to get more orange into it. You think that would work?
Definitley. I did that with a Belgian Wit batch and it really helped. I actually brought the dry ingredients to a boil in about a cup of water, let cool slightly and the added the mixture. Adding everything dry and I'm afraid it would take forever for the spices to hydrate and have any effect.
 
BierMuncher said:
Definitley. I did that with a Belgian Wit batch and it really helped. I actually brought the dry ingredients to a boil in about a cup of water, let cool slightly and the added the mixture. Adding everything dry and I'm afraid it would take forever for the spices to hydrate and have any effect.

Awesome. Thanks!
 
Hey Thanks BM. I might have to give this a try soon, it sounds and looks great.

I'm also trying to learn what makes one type of beer different than another. Could someone please explain why this is considered a Kolsch? Is it the use of the noble hops, the color and possibly the use of a little bit of wheat grains?
 
I took a swing at this about a month ago and I tasted it as I transfered to secondary today and it tasted really good. It was a little dryer than I expected though. I mashed at 152. Looking back, I probably should have mashed closer to 154. What do you typically mash this at BierMuncher?

I also under-sparged and ended up closer to 4.5 gallons which caused my OG to be slightly higher (1.051), but mine finished quite a bit lower too (1.009). Do you think this could have been because I mashed at 152?

Thanks for the recipe!
 
drunkatuw said:
I took a swing at this about a month ago and I tasted it as I transfered to secondary today and it tasted really good. It was a little dryer than I expected though. I mashed at 152. Looking back, I probably should have mashed closer to 154. What do you typically mash this at BierMuncher?

I also under-sparged and ended up closer to 4.5 gallons which caused my OG to be slightly higher (1.051), but mine finished quite a bit lower too (1.009). Do you think this could have been because I mashed at 152?

Thanks for the recipe!
Two things come to mind:

I typically mash at around 155. The half gallon short along with a lower mash would have dried it out some. I'd imagine it tastes pretty good though.

I brewed some of this in the summer when my ferment temps were around 69-72. That might be a bit higher than you came up with and given me some slight esters.

The most important thing it to remember that the primary-to-secondary taste will certainly improve.
 
Any thoughts on using fresh Orange peel on this? If so, how much would you use? I live in Florida and have great access to some unbelievable fresh fruit. I was even thinking on trying to replace the bitter orange peels with grapefruit peel.

Any thoughts would be appreciated
 
McSwiggin' said:
Any thoughts on using fresh Orange peel on this? If so, how much would you use? I live in Florida and have great access to some unbelievable fresh fruit. I was even thinking on trying to replace the bitter orange peels with grapefruit peel.

Any thoughts would be appreciated
The good thing about this recipe, is that you can continually adjust up the orange flavor by incremental additions to the secondary.

For the recipe listed, I'd be tempted to add 2 whole ounces of grated orange peel. The freshness of your oranges will offset the fact that they weigh more because of the water content.

Add two ounces and taste the wort about 10 days into fermentation. If it's light on taste. Boil up another ounce in a cup of water, cool and add.
 
I am getting ready for this next brew day (probably Wednesday). One question, Do you use whole corriander seed or ground corriander seed?
 
McSwiggin' said:
I am getting ready for this next brew day (probably Wednesday). One question, Do you use whole corriander seed or ground corriander seed?
Always crush or grind your coriander or you'll get very little flavor out of them.

I use either a rolling pin (they crush easily) or a coffee grinder.
 
Hey Bier,
I'm getting ready to brew this beer in a couple weeks. Would you still go with the US-56 (US-05) that you spec'ed or have you ever gone with actual Kolsch yeast to mix it up a bit? I bought both while I was there but I'm leaning towards using the Kolsch yeast.
 
Hey Bier,
I'm getting ready to brew this beer in a couple weeks. Would you still go with the US-56 (US-05) that you spec'ed or have you ever gone with actual Kolsch yeast to mix it up a bit? I bought both while I was there but I'm leaning towards using the Kolsch yeast.

If you have the Kolsch yeast...go with that.

Plan on a bit longer fermentation and keep it on the cool side. :mug:
 
I'm brewing a variation on this today. Same grain bill, but the only hops are an ounce of hallertau for 60, and I'm adding the zest of two lemons with the orange peel and spice addition. Fermenting with wyeast kolsch at 58.
 
I ended up doing the Kolsch yeast with a 1/2 gallon growler starter. I kept it between 58-60 degrees and was surprised how fast it fermented. It didn't chug along forever like I heard happens with Wyeast 2565. Maybe 3-4 days of airlock activity. I'm going to let it sit for a month, then transfer to keg for at least another month of lagering.

That 10 minute addition smelled fantastic! I can't wait to see how this turns out.
 
I ended up doing the Kolsch yeast with a 1/2 gallon growler starter. I kept it between 58-60 degrees and was surprised how fast it fermented. It didn't chug along forever like I heard happens with Wyeast 2565. Maybe 3-4 days of airlock activity. I'm going to let it sit for a month, then transfer to keg for at least another month of lagering.

That 10 minute addition smelled fantastic! I can't wait to see how this turns out.

I used the 2565 for my o-fest, and it did chug along forever. I'm using that for this too. Did you use white labs?

edit: nevermind, sounds like you used 2565 but it just didn't do what you expected.
 
I am surprised to report that the citrus character is so slight as to be barely detectable. Just a very very slight orange peel bitterness. I'm going to need to give it some help in the keg.
 
Yeah, it's very slight for me as well. I've had it in the keg for a couple days but I plan on leaving it for another 3 weeks or so before I really start drinking it. It needs to clear and lager awhile longer.

Other than that, its a very good beer that is a nice departure from what I normally make.
 
Do you strain out the orange before fermentation, or leave it in there? I think I'm going to brew this tomorrow. I am thinking of adding a little summit hops for aroma.
 
Ok I've been reading so many recipes I have been confusing myself! I actually bought the ingredients for the Sterling Gold! That beer sounds delicious too, and not too dramatically different from this one. I think it will still work nice with the Summit - maybe 0.5oz at the end of boil?
 
Ok I've been reading so many recipes I have been confusing myself! I actually bought the ingredients for the Sterling Gold! That beer sounds delicious too, and not too dramatically different from this one. I think it will still work nice with the Summit - maybe 0.5oz at the end of boil?

They're both in the same spirit of a light beer with some zest. Summit will work fine as an additional flavoring/aroma hop.
 
would it be the same if i used the American Ale Wyeast W1056 for this? I got something about to come off of a yeast cake of this and was just going to repitch it to this brew. Also i was going to try the summit hops. Do i just sub them in for the Hallertau? Or do i sub the for the Cascade? Or do i just add all of them!!!
 
I brewed this last weekend, but used Wyeasts 1007 German ale. I have it fermenting around 64-65. How long should I let it go in primary? Also should i rack to secondary or just keg and crash cool? Thanks
 
About to start the mash for this bad boy. Only changes I made was subbing Summit (.25 oz to watch the AA's) for the Cascade and adding another small addition at flame-out.

Will report back in a few weeks!
 
I just ordered the ingredients for this. It will be my 4th different BM recipe which I am trying out, all the previous ones have turned out great. I have Hallertau and Cascade hops in inventory, and kolsch yeast in my frozen bank, so all I needed was the grain and spices.
 
SWMBO doesn't like beer, something about the aroma and "alcoholly flavor." She likes margaritas though, go figure. Do you think this is something she might like? I know that's a pretty subjective question, but has anyone had non-beerlovers enjoy this brew?

I really want to brew something she would enjoy! Thank you
 

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