Kölsch – Jar of Destiny

The Jar presented a challenge for these Brew Dudes. How can we brew a delicate, balanced beer that deserves to be fermented in lower than room temperatures in one of the hottest summers in recent memory? Well, with a temperature controlled fridge, that’s how. This video takes you through the recipe, the brew day, and our evaluation of a Kölsch beer that we brewed as best we could.

Kölsch Recipe and Brewing Instructions

I based this recipe on Jamil’s recipe in BYO.

Grain Bill

9.25 pounds (4.2 kg) Weyermann Pilsner malt (2° L) 95% of grain bill

0.5 lb. (227 g) Weyermann Vienna Malt (3° L) 5% of grain bill

Hops

Hallertauer Mittelfruh hops (1.5 oz./42 g) at 5.9 % AA for 60 minutes

Yeast

Wyeast WY2565 Kölsch yeast

Mash Instructions

Mashed with 4 US gallons (15 Liters) of spring water – no alterations

149° F (65° C) for 90 minutes

Collected 7.5 US gallons (28 Liters) of wort 

Boil Instructions

Boiled for 75 minutes – added hops with 60 minutes left to go in the boil

Added a Whirlfloc tablet with 15 minutes left to go in the boil

Fermentation Instructions

Chilled wort to 60° F (16° C) – added starter and yeast packet.  Fermented for 2 weeks

Packaging Instructions

Cold crashed and added gelatin – 1 teaspoon (3 g)  in ¾ of a cup (177 milliliters) of water

Closed transfer to keg and forced carbonated

Lagering in keg – this beer was in the keg for about a week when we made the video.

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV: 5.1%
IBUs: Probably over 30

Final Results

I tried hard to get this beer as clear as I could for the video. With some gelatin and some cold conditioning, I got it to a translucent state. More time in the keg will make it brilliantly clear in time.

My main concern was to get the fermentation right. I had made a liter starter, which was 2 weeks old before I brewed. I got another packet as a fail safe and then dialed in my fridge to that 60° F (16° C) temperature. After 2 weeks and taking a gravity reading, I felt like it was ready for transfer.

If I were to brew this beer again, I would use less hops. I think dialing into that 30 IBU sweet spot would be my goal. Although it’s on the high end for the style, I think that would be a good target for attempt number two of this style.

BREW ON!