How to make a Kolsch interesting

[catalanotte]

I have been asked at the last minute to provide a 5gal keg to a local charitable event. I have a basic Kolsch style sitting in a fermenter that I need to use for this. 5% ABV, 25 IBU. What ideas are out there to make a Kolsch a bit more interesting with only 10 days in secondary to transform the beer?
I am thinking about dry hopping with Mandarina and crushed coriander seed. Other option is Lemondrop dry hop with sage. Suggestion on weight of hop/spice would also be appreciated. Thinking 1/2 to 1 oz of each.

 

[S-Met]

The enemy of good is better. Is there anything wrong with the brew? If you don't need to do anything then don't do it.

 

[davidabcd]

What you suggested sounds fun. Kolsch is a nice base. I'll be interested in reading what others have done.
However, if these are average beer drinkers, Kolsch is a safer, middle of the road for everyone.
From a cooking standpoint, only make items for big parties (or charitable events) that have been tested and you know how they'll turn out.

 

[mongoose33]

What is your intended grain bill?

I don't have my notes handy, so this mostly from memory: In my Kolsch I have

8# Pilsner malt
4# Maris Otter
1# 20L Crystal or Caramel Malt
1# Munich

Scale that back a bit if you're doing more traditional methods; I'm doing single-infusion and that recipe is overbuilt by about 15 percent to account for dead space loss in the MT, losses to trub, hoses, CF chiller, and so on.

I know a guy )) who's a native German; asked him for a scathing review of my Kolsch. He thought it was delicious, and his compatriots wanted to know when I was bringing a keg over.

But--he said it's not a Kolsch. Why? Too much flavor. He says a traditional Kolsch in Germany is much like our BMC macro beers here. I didn't want to brew such a beer--I can buy it, if for some unknown reason I wanted that.

I wanted a flavorful quaffer, and this gets there. Hops are Hallertau plus a bittering hop which escapes me right now.

If i were going to scale that recipe back a bit, I'd probably do this:

7# Pilsner
3.5# Maris Otter
13 oz 20L Crystal/Caramel
13 oz Munich

I'm planning on brewing that this weekend. Here's the interesting thing about this beer: it's FAST from grain to glass. I brewed one in May that I kegged after 10 days, force carbed it the rest of the way, and served it to my local homebrew club 11 days after brewing.

Great, just great positive feedback on it. Then I told them the news: not only was it just 11 days old, I pitched the White Labs WLP029 yeast with no starter. Fermented it at 60 degrees, a short increase for the yeast to clean up after itself at the end, then crashed after a week.

I also do a step-mash: About 134 degrees for 10 minutes, then ramp to 149 degrees for the rest of the time. That makes it a little more fermentable and a bit drier, but that is offset by the more flavorful malts I'm using.

Now, all that is what I do. I'm kind of in @S-Met's corner in that if you already have a good one, serve it. If you want to add a little more depth to it, swap out some of the base malt for Maris Otter, add a pound or so of Munich, and you'll create greater depth of flavor.

 

[Jag75]

I think Kolsch is a perfect beer for this as it will be liked by most non craft beer lovers.

 

[catalanotte]

Appreciate the recipe discussion, but this Kolsch is already made. Grain Bill was very simple, 18 lbs German Pilsner and 2 lbs of dark Munich. Pearl hops at 45 min for 25 IBU. 30 day fermentation at 65 deg. Good clean Kolsch style and I agree with some comments that by itself it would work just fine, but really want to showcase something just a bit different.

 

[catalanotte]

Appreciate the recipe discussion, but this Kolsch is already made. Grain Bill was very simple (10gal batch) 18 lbs German Pilsner and 2 lbs of dark Munich. Pearl hops at 45 min for 25 IBU. 30 day fermentation at 65 deg. Good clean Kolsch style and I agree with some comments that by itself it would work just fine, but really want to showcase something just a bit different.

 

[Vale71]

You could dry hop with some German aroma variety such as Saphir or Tradition, but I wouldn't overdo it in any case unless you want to turn a Kölsch into an IPA which won't work.

 

[filthyastronaut]

To me, a solid, properly made Kolsch IS interesting--and will appeal to many people.

 

[Coffeeturnal]

I'd leave it alone... Kolsch is great.

But if you must do something, I've had a few cucumber kolschs that were superb. Something along that line is on my "to-brew" list. That would give it something interesting and easily identifiable while still maintaining drinkability. (I've never done this myself so I have no advice on actually doing it)

 

[Cyclman]

Adding apricots would be nice.

 

[Amadeo38]

I’ve done a lime Kölsch that was quite nice. Easy enough to add some zest to the carboy and let it sit, or better yet, just make a lime zest tincture with vodka and add at kegging to taste. Aim to make it a light background component so it’s identifiable, but the qualities of the Kölsch still shine through.

 

[couchsending]

Appreciate the recipe discussion, but this Kolsch is already made. Grain Bill was very simple (10gal batch) 18 lbs German Pilsner and 2 lbs of dark Munich. Pearl hops at 45 min for 25 IBU. 30 day fermentation at 65 deg. Good clean Kolsch style and I agree with some comments that by itself it would work just fine, but really want to showcase something just a bit different.

Why 30 days at 65? All you’re doing there is creating potential issues in the beer caused by yeast death.

10 days at 65-68 then slowly ramping down to 40 over an extended period after removing yeast and then lagering at 30 for a month would be a much better fermentation schedule to produce a nice clean, crisp, Kolsch with great head retention.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

A Kolsch style beer using Pilsner and a bit of Vienna malt then fermented with Kolsch yeast makes a delicious beer. Not sure which yeast the OP used but a 30 day fermentation is twice as long as needed, if a good pitch was used. I've found the Kolsch style to be very approachable and well liked by novice and experienced beer drinkers.

 

[Garage12brewing]

At this point to play it safe I would only add 2oz of Perle hops in your secondary 5 days before kegging to add a little more aroma. That would add some taste to it without unbalancing it. I was myself think about making a Kolsch but with hopping similar to a pale ale or a hoppy American blonde ale...

 

[MaxStout]

What makes a Kolsch a Kolsch is its delicate, balanced flavor and aroma. Why do you want to smother that with dry hops? If it's good beer, serve it as is.

 

[catalanotte]

A Kolsch style beer using Pilsner and a bit of Vienna malt then fermented with Kolsch yeast makes a delicious beer. Not sure which yeast the OP used but a 30 day fermentation is twice as long as needed, if a good pitch was used. I've found the Kolsch style to be very approachable and well liked by novice and experienced beer drinkers.

It has been 30 days, not by choice, but because I don’t have anywhere to put it. It was fermented out in a week and relatively clear by the second week. I have a 30 friends coming over Saturday to hopefully drain a few cornys so I can keg this. Used Wyeast Kolsch for those that asked. I just didn’t transfer to secondary to avoid excessive handing. 30 days on yeast won’t cause any harm. It will be either be kegged or racked with additions in secondary this weekend. Have 10 gal, may try one plain and one with the hop/spice. Goal would be something similar to Upslope Brewing’s Rocky Mountain Kolsch which is really good.

 

[couchsending]

Depends on your definition of harm..

 

[catalanotte]

Depends on your definition of harm..

that’s a helpful comment

 

[bleme]

I'll just add that if this beer is already carbed, a lot of the suggestions here will make it erupt with a volcano of foam. Tinctures are safe but anything solid is going to create a ton of nucleation points.

 

[catalanotte]

Update, split batch into 2 - 5 gal secondaries. Added a Lemon drop hops and fresh lemongrass to one and left the other alone. Have sampled side by side and can’t decide which one is better. Crisp clean Kolsch or the slight citrusy ginger finish to the other. Decided to bring both to the event and let the guests decide. I’ll update after Friday night.

 

[catalanotte]

Update, split batch into 2 - 5 gal secondaries. Added a Lemon drop hops and fresh lemongrass to one and left the other alone. Have sampled side by side and can’t decide which one is better. Crisp clean Kolsch or the slight citrusy ginger finish to the other. Decided to bring both to the event and let the guests decide. I’ll update after Friday night.

Holy ****. Won the whole contest, going to brew this beer as a 15bbl collaboration with a local commercial brewery. On cloud nine tonight.

 

[day_trippr]

Congrats!
Which version?

Cheers!

 

[catalanotte]

Congrats!
Which version?

Cheers!

Lemongrass Kolsch won the day

 

[TXBeerDrinkr]

I just finished a batch of Kolsch and used some Huell Melon towards the end. Added a great flavor to mine.

 

[odie]

My fav kolsch is the Morning Joe by Banger Brewing. a subtle coffee flavor I have yet to replicate. It is delish

 

[catalanotte]

My fav kolsch is the Morning Joe by Banger Brewing. a subtle coffee flavor I have yet to replicate. It is delish

Sounds interesting. Maybe a handful of coarse ground coffee beans at flameout.

 

[odie]

Their Kolsch is clear...no hit of coffee color. it's the flavor...I'm guessing whole beans. Not sure if at F/O and removed before primary or in the primary. Doesn't take much though. I put too much in the primary for too long....way too much coffee flavor...maybe 1/4 cup next time? trial and error...

 

[kerp]

As someone from Cologne let me tell you some wheat malt (about a quarter) makes a Kölsch. It's unfiltered ancestor is named Wiess, which is related to Belgian White and Bavarian Helles. I will try to add some sage and honey like Upslope.

 

[kerp]

As someone from Cologne let me tell you some wheat malt (about a quarter) makes a Kölsch. It's unfiltered ancestor is named Wiess, which is related to Belgian White and Bavarian Helles. I will try to add some sage and honey like Upslope.

I have to correct myself, between a fifth and a tenth wheat malt. I tried the sage (half a leaf per l - 10 min) and honey (half a tbs per l - 0 min) and some dry hopping with Mandarina. Will see the results in a couple of weeks.

 

[Panderson1]

What makes a Kolsch a Kolsch is its delicate, balanced flavor and aroma. Why do you want to smother that with dry hops? If it's good beer, serve it as is.

This.

Also use a good healthy kolsch style yeast or it isn't really a kolsch.

Keep all the experiments with IPA/Pale/Blonde ales

 

[catalanotte]

Keep all the experiments with IPA/Pale/Blonde ales

As much as I appreciate a really good true to style beer, no beer is off limits for experimentation, that what makes craft brewing fun. I started this thread by putting lemongrass in a Kolsch style and people loved it. Upslopes Rocky Mountain Kolsch is a great commercial example. If you didn't make it in Koln it isn't really a Kolsch anyway so nothing wrong with playing with other elements of this or any other style. Just don't put doughnuts and maple syrup in a stout and call it an Irish Stout, call it something accurate.