I’ve made a couple Kolsch’s with Breiss 2-row simply because it was all I had for grain. Turned out OK and very drinkable but in the future I’ll be using pils malt. And I’ve made 2 batches with all Zeus hops. Mt hood is good in there as well.
Don’t obsess just do it. Despite it’s simplicity and paleness the style is very forgiving.
Anyone here used Global’s Kolsch Malt in their Kolsch, and if so at what %? Seems pretty dark.
thanks–
–Michael
I use Wyermann Pils a lot. I went through a couple of bags of Briess Malteurop a year or so ago and it made a beer that was lacking the same flavor and, interestingly, had a little drop in efficiency.
Some of the honey flavor that ukolowiczd mentioned in his post is from pils malt rather than yeast, so I think European pils malt is important in this style.
I’ve heard some people add a very small late addition or flameout addition, like 10-20g / 5gal. Any opinions on late hop addition, or just go with a bittering addition? I was also planning on a mix of Rahr pils and Colorado pale malt, but should I just go all pils?
Any recommendations on a mash schedule? Is a decoction appropriate for the style given its German origins?
No. Decoction isn’t traditional for this style. Step mashing is. My normal schedule for attenuated German ales is something like 131/10, 145/30, 158/10, 170/10. My system lets me direct-fire the mash tun while recirculating, so I step that way. Direct infusions of boiling water works too.
Thanks Gordon. I just converted my system to direct fired, manually controlled RIM and should be done testing it Friday night. I’m going to follow your schedule when I take the revised system out for a spin with a Kolsch on Saturday.
I’m also really interested in the answer to this question.
I have used the Global kolsch malt and blended it with Pils malt once to try the thing out. Just didn’t find it was worth the extra effort. I blended it because the SRM of the Global Kolsch malt is so high.
As far as step mash goes, obviously if you have the RIMS set up that makes it easier, but a single infusion is all you really need on this beer. I never saw any great benefit from bothering with a step mash.
I’ve tasted Kolsch made with 100% Global Kolsch malt; it was interesting but it didn’t really remind me of any of the Koln Kolsch I had. I imagine a 50/50 blend with a good European pils would be more on target.
I like to blend Best Malz pils and MFB pale ale as a base for Kolsch, seems to work well.
For those of you looking for a commercial example of a Kolsch, Trader Joe’s SummerBrau is a Kolsch and is quite good. It’s a private label of a brewery that focuses on German beers.
Trader Joe’s is Gordon Biersch’s. Can’t go wrong there.
Personally, I think I prefer Sünner Kölsch, of the two German one’s available readily in the US. When I’ve had it it’s been less winey and cidery than Reissdorf Kölsch.
I’ve never seen Sünner, but I can get Gaffel. I prefer it to Reissdorf, but it seemed to be in better condition too.
The only import I can get is Sünner.
I’m developing the opinion that kolsch might be drinkable in several weeks but it’s definitely worth waiting for it to fully clear. Yeah buddy.
Kölsch, or German ale (same recipe, different WL yeast) is THE beer I brew that the wife drinks, and loves. Three weeks in the bucket, another week to chill and carb. Week five you can read a newspaper through it. GREAT lawn mowing beer.
Well, the Wyeast kolsch yeast is on order (LHBS closed all weekend - must be off to the cottage). I ordered 10 lbs of Pilsner malt. Not sure what brand and I’m sure it’s domestic but it’s a start. German seems to be hard to find for some reason although I’m probably just not looking in the right places.
I’m going to use the recipe that Majorvices posted this first time unless someone can suggest a reason that I should modify it in some way. I’m pretty sure it will be a good starting point.
Here’s a really dumb question. What would happen if I used it as written for 10 gallons and split it and pitched Kolsch yeast in one half and Wyeast French Saison in the other? Are they similar enough in ingredients that this would work? Just trying to do the most with my time. I also thought of removing 1 gallon of wort and adding candied ginger/pepper or whatever to that and boiling it on the stove seperately and then adding it to the saison. Or, am I just making things too complicated? I just want to maximize my time and splitting 10 gals will save me a lot of time versus brewing two days in a row.
Thanks.
I think you’re good either way (boiling some with spices separately or not).
And remember, brewing 10 gallons will save you time AND you brew two days in a row and have more beer. 
The recipe makes a great kolsch, but I will point you to water chemistry and pH. I used to but RO water and cut my water 3:1 RO to Tap and add Calcium Chloride back in to bring my clacium back up and adjust pH. You obviously want the pH to be between 5.4 and 5.6 and the light malt with no buffers can lead to a high pH.
Lately I have been brewing kolsch on a monthly basis on teh homebrew level down at the brewery (mostly to keep the wife happy) and I have been eschewing the RO water and using straight tap with lactic acid and calcium additions and, while certainly drinkable, it just isn’t as good as with the softer water. If you know your water chemistry well you will be able to pull the style off better than if not.
That said, looks like the water in Cologne is fairly hard from my research so who knows.
My water is fairly hard (Carbonate = 216 if I remember right) and I was going to brew this as I’d brew most other lighter beers with a 50/50 split with distilled water (I found out that my local pharmacy carries distilled water for some reason). I’m not sure if this will be enough so I do occasionally add a gram or two of citric acid to it as well if necessary (I admit, I’m sort of haphazard with this but my results have been good so far). My pH meter is just an aquarium one and I had to replace the batteries and I don’t think it is any longer calibrated. I don’t have any calibration solution but if I was to put it in plain distilled water, shouldn’t that read 7? I did that and it read 8.3 which is why I am confident it is not calibrated.
Any thoughts on putting it in distilled water and adjusting it to 7? I know a low and high are better to form a curve but this is what I have. I could use plain 5% acetic acid vinegar for the low end if someone can tell me what the pH of that is.
distilled water is supposed to be at 7, but I have had it read lower than this before, so I dunno. the ColorpHast strips work “ok”. I use them in case I break my probe or my batter goes dead. You can get a decent bench type pH meter for around 60 bucks. Worth in IMO.