doing a Kolsch style

I am moving on to my 2nd brew this coming weekend and plan on doing a Kolsch style brew. I already have an amber ale and think a nice Kolsch style would be a great compliment to the Amber. My question though is during the secondary fermentation the recipe calls for the brew to be kept at a 50 degree temp. I plan on using my Kegerator as the secondary fermentation however when checking the temps it sits between 46-48 degrees. Having the temp lower than called for will it affect the yeast and fermentation or will it be fine?

Which yeast are you planning on using?  My assumption is that the 50°F secondary is to perform a type of lagering phase. I think the 46 - 48° will be fine. If you keg your beer I would just keg it then chill it and allow it to lager for awhile to allow the beer to clean up and clarify.

IIRC Kölsch is lagered at 40oF for 4 weeks. 45oF will be fine.

So if I did this I should just hold off on hooking up the CO2 until after secondary is complete? Im going to be using Wyeast 2565 yeast smack pack.

You can carbonate at the same time as lagering.

Edit : The WY2565 can be lagered cooler than 45°F.

awesome thanks for the info. I can’t help myself I got this itch and need to brew…

I know the feeling. I brew as often as possible. I try to brew several different styles so I have plenty to choose from.

Currently I have two taps on my system. figured that same reason when the wife asked me why. I like a variety so I went with an amber ale and now a kolsch. I wanted something light for working in the yard.

This (as well as the other info).  I lager in the keg under CO2 at 38ish.  My last Kolsch is almost ready (right at 4 weeks lagering).  Alas, it’s not quite to style since I got a little extra bitterness and flavor out of the hops I used (they were out of Spalt, so I used Hallertau).  It actually comes off as a Kolsch/German Pils hybrid.  I was even considering entering it as a Pils on a lark.

My current kolsch is very similar. It definitely tasted more like a pils when it was younger but has softened a bit with time. I used 2.1% AA tettnang to get to 26 IBUs which equated to a lot of hops. It has an overall ‘hoppiness’ that is not present in a traditional kolsch. I overshot my gravity quite a bit and decided to add more hops as well and overdid it a bit.

To the OP, if you are kegging I wouldn’t worry about lagering it before packaging. For me it’s interesting to see how the beer changes by sampling throughout the aging process.

Indeed! Drink fresh Kolsch! Yum.

Keep in mind that 2565 has a rep of being very slow to drop clear.

That is why I like to use a strong AA% hop like German Magnum for bittering to minimize the amount of hop matter going into this delicate style beer.

So I did the Kolsch today and it kicked my ass. I couldn’t get the boil to stay at 168 like the directions said so I had to paint a low at 180. did it for about an hour and had to actually cool the boil down twice when I realized I made a mistake. So by me taking this off the boil and dunking it in a water bin to chill did I ruin this beer. I just want to know before I go and put it in 2ndary fermentation next weekend.

Not sure what you mean by “couldn’t get the boil to stay at 168 like the directions said so I had to paint a low at 180”.
Are you talking about steeping some grain at those temps?  They are pretty high to be steeping.

Was there even a grain bill?  Or was it purely extract?

Is your beer ruined?  Probably not.  It may have a bit of astringency though, and/or unconverted starch from the heat.

We need more info on exactly what happened.

Boil at 168°? That doesn’t sound right.

Some reason my Mac is acting stupid today. It was a mix grain and abstract brew. I steeped the grains at 160 and was told to add everything once I rolled it over to the boil. I think I got confused on the instructions they weren’t very clear. So I started the boil and tossed in the hops as directed 60,25,and 15 min.
I know I have action going in the primary right now the air lock is going nuts so not sure if I should be worried. If I steeped the grains too high whats the worst that going to happen?

Steeping at 160 should be fine, but you did get an actual boil going?

Yes I said screw the directions as they were confusing me and just went with a boil Right now I have so much activity in the primary I just removed the airlock and put the blowoff on it.