Xmas Kölsch

[sifty]

Still working my way through different styles and thought a Kölsch might be a good beer for xmas, hopefully will be a sunny hot day to suit this pale, clean, highly carbed beer. As it's Dec now (yikes) I won't be able to bottle condition this in time, so will probably keg it, and maybe bottle a few for interest's sake/later consumption.

Simple recipe:
[Around 5%, 7 EBC, 23 IBU]
Approx 90% Pilsner, 5% wheat, 4% Vienna and the remainder Gladiator (dextrin) malts. Tettnang hops, with Pacifica at hopstand for a NZ hop aromatic twist, and Lallemand Köln dry yeast.

The ingredients have arrived, but first mistake was only ordering one packet of yeast, and I'll need 2 for this brew. I used a yeast starter for the first time recently and thought I'd do the same every brew, without realising that it's not the done thing with dry yeasts, apparently.
Did a bit of reading and amongst the conflicting advice it seems Lallemand have advised it is ok to do so (found a forum discussing this) so I decided to give it a go...

Hydrated the dry yeast in 30° water in a small flask as per packet instructions while I boiled 150g light DME in 1.5 litres water, and into a 2 litre Erlenmeyer flask. When cooled I added yeast slurry and placed in a beer fridge at 21 degs on a stirplate. That's been running overnight, forgot to add yeast nutrient so will add a pinch when I'm home. Started this last night (Wed evening). Plan is to run 48 hrs for the yeast to multiply, chill to settle out, decant off spent wort and pitch yeast on brewday, which will be Saturday...

Will see how things go...

 

[sifty]

Well something is happening. Came home to find the foil lid blown off and gunk everywhere. Cleaned things up, added some nutrients and put a new foil cap on. Hope nothing bad has got in, but at least I know the yeast was viable...

 

[sifty]

2 days in I popped the flask in.the fridge overnight to settle. Ended up with a thin layer of sticky yeast on the bottom. Looked very thin to me, was wondering if I'd cocked up...

Had an easy brewday. Only 5.1 kg grain in a 25 litre batch so had full flow on the tap and exceeded OG (target 1.046, got 1.051). I'd decanted the starter and put flask in the brew fridge to acclimatise with about 100ml of cooled wort. Swirled pitched,and 24 hrs later fermentation was well under way...

Quite pleased as apparently this is a slow starting yeast, looks like making a dry yeast starter as an experiment has worked...
(so far)

 

[sifty]

Update. Day 4 and fermentation is pretty much over. I ramped SP to 21° yesterday and will hold for a couple of days before cold crashing and fining with gelatine.
Such a speedy ferment this should be ready by Xmas if I bottle over the weekend. And it smells delightful to boot...

 

[Cestrian]

Looks great! I do love a Kolsch. Haven't used that yeast before though. I usually use Safale K97, which is a heavy top cropper, so I skim the yeast off the top for the next brew. I usually do what you have done with the hops to give it a bit of a twist. I like Motueka. You don't need much though, maybe 20g late addition, because most of the flavour is coming from the yeast on this style.

I would have just used 1 pack of yeast for 5% btw. A lot of faff to make a starter and more chance of something going wrong.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[dcbrookes]

The biggest problem with Kolsch yeast is that it is not very flocculent and takes ages to clear.

 

[sifty]

Ah interesting. I bottled it yesterday and thought it had cleared well after a cold crash. The test PET bottles are already firming so things are underway. Initial taste test was 50:50, had an almost lagery aftertaste, hopefully a couple of weeks will clean things up...

 

[Cestrian]

sounds great! I'm tempted to get one on now.

kolsch can be difficult to clear if you let that big frothy head sink into the beer. traditionally they scoop this off for the next brew, so there is less yeast in suspension to floc. I've tried it both ways and scooping the yeast off makes it much easier for the beer to clear.

 

[sifty]

It's definitely clear in the bottles, here's one of my PETs in the sun today...

There is quite a lot of sediment that floats around if you upend it though. Only 5 days in the bottle however, so picking some cold storage after it's done will help things settle...

 

[MickDundee]

The biggest problem with Kolsch yeast is that it is not very flocculent and takes ages to clear.

My last kolsch never cleared from when I started drinking it until the keg finished. It was lagered in the fermenter for 4 weeks, sat in the keg at 3C untapped for another 4 weeks and then it took me about 6 weeks to finish the keg.

I hadn’t made one since 2019 because I’d started doing lagers instead, and I don’t think I’ll make another in a hurry. My Vienna lager was crystal clear after about 4 weeks when I bottled it part-carbonated and took it to brew club.

 

[Zee]

I do think Kolsch is an underrated style. I always have a tap with my Kolsch on and brew 40 litres of it at a time to ensure there is always a keg waiting.

In my experience the Koln yeast clears up quicker than K-97 but K-97 is a £1 or so cheaper per pack and I’ve never been able to tell the difference between the two yeasts when I’ve done a split batch.

Regarding pitch rate, unless I’m doing a ‘big’ beer, I will always pitch one pack per 23 litre batch. That is the same for any style I brew. After experimenting I don’t hydrate either and just pitch straight in. I believe the need to hydrate dry yeast has actually come from the wine industry and not required for beer. I think that has been mentioned recently by Fermentis.

My standard recipe for a 40ltr batch is 90% Pilsner malt and 10% Vienna for 4.9%(ish). Bittering hop for 25 IBU, 50g Tettenang split between 30 minutes and 5 minute addition. K-97 and ferment at 16 degrees.
I use RO water and add additions for a balanced water profile.

My next batch I think I will split and add a small amount of a fruity hop as mentioned. Maybe Talus or Galaxy.

Merry Kolschmas!!

 

[sifty]

Update. All labelled and the PET bottles are rock hard, so tried one last night at a BBQ. Very promising, given they're only 10 days into bottle conditioning. Poured clear, great carbonation and nice, clean flavours. Should be good to go on xmas day...