Planning a Kolsch

[Moonlighter]

I've been reading up on brewing a Kolsch in the threads here. I think I have an idea of what to expect but I'm looking for reassurance as to my understanding of the order of events that will take place.

From what I've read, after brewing I pitch and ferment on the cool side (62-64 F) for about one week. Then I'm supposed to cold condition the beer for 4-5 weeks. After the first week of fermentation do I rack to a secondary and then place that carboy into the cold storage? What temperature do I cold condition at? Do I do anything after that or just go ahead and bottle?

I'd like to get this started pretty soon so I can have some to drink when it's warm out. I appreciate any help, thanks.

 

[JLem]

I would let it ferment out completely - not just for 1 week. I'd probably let it go for at least 2 weeks. Then I would raise the temp for a couple of days to make sure any diacetyl is taken care of. Then I would rack to a secondary vessel and lager for a few weeks at 40F or so (or as close to that as you can get).

 

[craigmil]

I recently made a Kolsch which my Koln Germany sister-in-law thought was quite good so here is what I did.

Use the German Kolsch yeast, do your boil and get the wort down to 60f and try to keep it closer to 60 than 70 for first two weeks (I had active fermentation from this yeast strand for over 10 days!). If it gets too warm (high 60s) the fruity esters start to come out of this yeast and will ruin the style. Let it go for 3 weeks in primary then I moved it to cooler set at 40f for about 2 weeks. Then I transferred to corny which was pressurized and let sit for another week at 40f.

When I cracked this open it was pretty heavily carbonated (which is the style I'm told) but was so crystal clear and beautiful I was willing to wait the extra minute while the foam came down.

Take your time - let it develop on it's own - it's a nice refreshing beer.

 

[camus]

I am drinking a great Kolsch right now. As others have started let it ferment out, I let mine roll at 68, used WLP029. Then racked and cold crashed for 4 days before bottling.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

If you use the Wyeast Kolsch yeast, it's a pretty darn slow yeast. My primary was 1 month, secondary was 1 month, all at 65F. Be patient.

What's your recipe?

M_C

 

[Tall_Yotie]

http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/05/brewing-a-kolsch-beer-recipe-beer-styles/

I followed those instructions and the recipe, and after a few weeks conditioning in the bottle I had a brew that was a favorite among many.

Edit: If you are not an all-grain brewer, still follow the schedule he has for the conditioning/fermenting. Should work with an extract or PM recipe as well.

 

[Moonlighter]

Thanks for the responses. I think my first mistake was thinking I could "rush" this thru to be ready in August for the (very short) summers we have here on the Olympic Peninsula. So, first and foremost I need to remember that, despite the differences in method, I am still producing a top fermenting ale and I need to be patient and let the yeast do its thing.

Here's the recipe, from my LHBS, the funny thing is his notes don't say a thing about cold conditioning:

Kolsch
As you may be able to tell from the name, this is a German Ale originally brewed (by law) only in the town of Koln (Cologne). This is a light beer, very refreshing, not bitter, or hoppy. It isn’t a thin beer. I’ve added Munich and wheat malt to beef up the body so even at a 1.045 original gravity, the mouth feel isn’t weak. The Perle hops in the boil are just to help balance the beer and the aroma addition is at best faint. But you’ll see, a little will go a long way.

5 1/2 lbs Dry Extra Light Malt Extract
1 lb Munich Malt
1/2 lb Wheat Malt
1 oz Perle Hops 8 HBUs (Boiling) 60 min
1/2 oz Perle (Flavor & Aroma) 3 min
Wyeast German Ale Yeast
For Bottling:
1 1/4 cup Dry Malt Extract Or 3/4 cup Corn sugar
Add the cracked Munich Malt and Wheat Malt to 2 gals of cold water and bring to a boil. When the boiling starts, remove the grain. Add the Dry Extra Light Malt Extract, then bring to a boil again. Add 1 oz of Perle hops. Boil for 57 mins. Add 1/2 oz of Perle hops and continue to boil for 3 mins. Sparge the hops with cold water into the fermenter. Add the wort to the fermenter with cold water to make 5 gals. Add yeast when the temp reaches 70º. Ferment at 65º for 7 days or until fermentation slows. Rack to a secondary fermenter. Let it age 1 week in secondary then bottle or keg. For bottling, use 1 1/4 cup of dry malt extract boiled with 2 cups of water added in the bottling bucket.​

I've tried four other recipes from this place and they are all very good drinking beers, although whether they are to style is something I just don't know. I should also say that I don't follow his instructions to the letter. For instance, I don't pour hot wort into the fermenter; I chill the wort to below 70 degrees first.

I'm brewing extract this year and next year I'll gently break the news to my wife and dive into AG.

Any comments or suggestions on the recipe are appreciated!

 

[Tall_Yotie]

According to my CEO that is from Koln, Kolsch is joked around to not be real beer. So if the recipe adds a little mouth feel or body, then that is fine. The recipe looks good. For the instructions, I am not always a fan of keeping grains in at boiling. I tend to toss the grains in, bring the temp up to 170F, and remove the grain. If this took less than 30min, let the water sit at its temp until you hit 170F, then pull the grains and boil. Again, just how I did it.

As for the hot wort to the fermenter, I figure he is expecting the water to bring the batch to 5g is cold enough to get the 2g you have to 70F.

I could argue about the fermentation timing, letting it be done fermenting until you go to a secondary, but do what you want and what works for you.

As for cold conditioning I would still highly recommend it, if you have the capabilities. A Kolsch is incredibly clear and crisp, so if you can chill the secondary for a couple days before bottling/kegging I would recommend that. I had my 5g batch at 45F for 3-4 days, and had plenty of yeast still left to prime.

 

[Moonlighter]

Thanks, Tall Yotie. I didn't ignore that link you gave me and I'm planning on diving into that this weekend. We'll be in Leavenworth, WA, a little "Bavarian" village so it will be the ideal setting for learning about German "near beer"

I pretty much posted the entire recipe because his recipes seem to differ somehow from a lot I see posted on this site; I guess I wanted to see if someone thought his ideas were a little off base. Personally I add 2/3 of the extract with 15 minutes left in the boil. I also don't follow his guidelines regarding fermentation time and temps but rather, I look up the yeast on the appropriate website and follow their specs, and I test fermentation with gravity readings.

Cheers!

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

Here's the schedule I used for my last Koelsch: 2 weeks at 62*, 2 days @70*, 4 weeks at 55*, then bottled. It was very tasty. I don't see the need to transfer to a secondary unless I was going to add gelatin or other clarifying agent. But mine hasn't needed any additional clarifying.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Sounds good NWEagle. Figure out the process that works best for you, even if it differentiates from the recipes. Lots of folks say that when steeping grains for an extract brew you get the water to 150F, stick grains in, hold that temp, and then 20-30 minutes later remove the grains, possibly sparging at 170F. When I did extract I would just stick the grains in cold, ramp up to 150F, then pull the grains out. Made awesome brews like this. So it all comes down to what process you prefer and what yields good results.

I always take recipes, especially kits, as "here are the grains and extracts, here is the timing for the hops, and here is the yeast" and the rest of the timing and process is up to the brewer.

 

[bottlebomber]

1 lb Munich Malt
1/2 lb Wheat Malt

Add the cracked Munich Malt and Wheat Malt to 2 gals of cold water and bring to a boil. When the boiling starts, remove the grain.

Any comments or suggestions on the recipe are appreciated!

Does this seem like a strange step? When are whole grains ever supposed to be brought above 170? I've never brewed all grain, but I am preparing to and so have read a lot about it here on HBT, but the specialty grains in the extract kits I've made have always said to steep and take out before 170

 

[Moonlighter]

That's what i mean by strange instructions. I bring the water to 150ish and steep for 30 min.

 

[Moonlighter]

I should add that he gives this treatment to all his steeping grains. My understanding is that steeping that hot will extract tannins.
However i don't think the author was looking for any mash here but just the "mouthfeel" he mentioned in the description.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Specialty grains don't need to be mashed, just steeped for a quick flavor extract. 150F for 30min is well more than enough. And yes, going too high in temp can lead to tannin extraction. Avoid boiling your grain.