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Quick Kolsch question
Hi all;
After years of being forced to either not brew in the summer, or use a swamp cooler and hope for the best (with the FL summers a swamp cooler can only do so much), I have come into the possession of a lagering fridge. So to celebrate I have brewed a kolsch style. I know that the style dictates a cool secondary, but I usually refrain from racking unless I am going to age..why introduce oxygen if I don't have to right? So having never used the wyeast kolsch yeast before I have no idea if there will be any off flavors if I just cold crash in the primary for a couple of weeks. I cannot imagine that there will be a problem, as I have left beers in the primary for longer than that..but I figured it won't hurt to run it by the board for opions.
I always leave my kolsch in the primary for lagering. The yeast cake actually helps with the lagering process. I've done it with both Wyeast's Kolsch and thier Kolsch II, lagering for 6-8 weeks, and havent had any problems.
Thanks for the reply..now to decide what to rack onto the cake once the lagering is done.
I'm going to piggyback on this post since I also have a kolsh related question.
I'm going to brew a kolsh this weekend and I was thinking about adding some additional flavoring. I'm open for suggestions. I have a few ideas but don't want to be too leading and am really curious what your opinions are. Thanks!
mikogreen wrote:
I'm going to piggyback on this post since I also have a kolsh related question.
I'm going to brew a kolsh this weekend and I was thinking about adding some additional flavoring. I'm open for suggestions. I have a few ideas but don't want to be too leading and am really curious what your opinions are. Thanks!
I would suggest, lime peel. Just use a potato peeler and remove the zest off of 2 limes, careful not to go so deep as getting any white pith with it. I have also had kolsch secondaried with kafir lime leaves. Not sure exactly how the brewer incorporated it, and it was a bit perfumy, but still interesting.
Just some brainstorming suggestions, any citrus fruit would be welcome.
the lime zest sounds good, or you could add just about any kind of berries. strawberry, raspberry, blackberry should all be good. Apricot would also be interesting, or a couple chile peppers, just don't go overboard. I had a cream ale made with chile peppers in the secondary, the brewer used just enough peppers to add a bite to it, but not overwhelm you and make you feel like you needed to douse your mouth with beer to put out the flames. which is good, since then that would just add to the problem, lol.
On a trip to Itheca NY there was a pub that brewed its own brews and had a jalapeno enfused beer that was good. Lot's of heat, but was really only good for one glass, couldn't drink that stuff all night, it was a heavy ale and the jalapeno was strong. Real interesting brew though. I've thought of trying it, but like I said you couldn't drink em all night.
I brewed my first Kolsch on 7/1. It is fermenting at 70°F now. When do I bring it down to lagering temps and how low do I go?
Thanks for the suggestions. I was considering (in order) lavender, camomile, or vanilla bean soaked in bourbon (I'm afraid the bourbon would introduce a little flavor I didn't want to add, next time I'll soak the beans in vodka).
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