Kolsch recipe?

[bigdave]

Can anyone advise on a decent recipe using the following:

25kg Lager malt
2kg Pale malt
1kg Munich malt
1kg Vienna malt
1kg crystal malt

100g perle
45g Bramling cross
67g Stella
60g Rakau

[Manx Guy]

Hi BD!

A good starting point would be

95% lager malt
5% Vienna
To about1048

Perle to 20-25ibu @90mins
Then 20g at 10-15 mins

Tett would b ideal if you had any but perle should make a nice kolsch...
90 min boil an 90 min mash at 65.5-66c use a thin mash of 3.5/4l per kilo

Soft water I best, but If Pocklingtons water is anything like that in Stamford Bridge thn you might want to get some ash beck from tescos...
A little wheat malt wouldn't hurt head retention.

What yeast do you plan to use?
I have had bet results with WLP 029
Hope that helps...

Guy

[seymour]

Sorry, bro. I need you to buy some Wheat Malt.

BASIC KÖLSCH RECIPE
This is a fairly flexible style, but it's usually Pilsener (or a similarly grainy pale malt) plus some wheat, and sometimes some Vienna, Munich, or CaraPils/Dextrine Malt. I've seen many good Kölsch recipes on these forums, but here's a very basic one. Predictably, I like mine at the top end of ABV and IBU recommended ranges.

6 US gallons = 5 Imperial Gallons = 22.7 Litres

GRAINBILL:
87% = 8.87 lb = 4.02 kg, English lager malt
10% = 1.02 lb = 463 g, Wheat Malt
3% = .31 lb = 141 g, Vienna Malt

MASH ≈ 150°F/66°C for 2 hours or consider a multi-step mash

BOIL 60 minutes, add Irish Moss at 15 min remaining.

HOPS:
1 oz = 28.3 g, Perle, 60 minutes
.5 oz = 14 g, Perle, 15 minutes

YEAST: a dedicated Kölsch strain is key, such as Wyeast 2565, Wyeast 2575-PC, White Labs WLP003, WLP029

FERMENT: at 62-68°F/16-20°C, when primary fermentation slows down, consider racking to secondary fermentor for lengthy conditioning/improved clarity.

Prime for high carbonation (i.e. ½ - ¾ cup white sugar), store bottles/casks 1 week at fermentation temperature, then as long as you can stand it at 40-50°F/4-10°C.

STATS (assuming 75% mash efficiency and 77% yeast attenuation):
OG: 1049
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 31
COLOUR: very pale golden

EDIT: whoa, Manx Guy! You beat me to it, but look how similar they are!

[bigdave]

I tend to avoid using wheat malt full stop because in higher concentrations, it makes my throat swell up and I cant talk, swallow etc.. This only ever happens in beers though as I can eat bread no problems.

We've recently moved from Pocklington back into York where the water is softer but still harder than chuck norris wearing a diamond encrusted concrete coat.

Yeast wise I was just going to use Brupaks English Ale Yeast as this is all I could get my hands on locally (well, the lhbs had a choice of that, lager yeast or US-05).

[seymour]

I tend to avoid using wheat malt full stop because in higher concentrations, it makes my throat swell up and I cant talk, swallow etc.. This only ever happens in beers though as I can eat bread no problems...

Yikes, I don't want to cause that! I would, however, strongly recommend something other than lager malt and Vienna malt, to increase the graininess, bready mouthfeel, head retention, lace, etc. Perhaps some flaked barley or steel-cut oats. That's not exactly true-to-style, but neither is an English ale yeast strain. Whatever the case, you're likely to produce a nice crisp summer ale.

[bigdave]

I can do porridge oats!?

I bet you'll look forward to trying this!!

[Matt12398]

Dave don't the post come to York?

[seymour]

I can do porridge oats!?

I bet you'll look forward to trying this!!

A resounding yes to both questions.

Dave don't the post come to York?

Nope, strict government regulations dictate exports only.

[Manx Guy]

Sorry, bro. I need you to buy some Wheat Malt.

BASIC KÖLSCH RECIPE
This is a fairly flexible style, but it's usually Pilsener (or a similarly grainy pale malt) plus some wheat, and sometimes some Vienna, Munich, or CaraPils/Dextrine Malt. I've seen many good Kölsch recipes on these forums, but here's a very basic one. Predictably, I like mine at the top end of ABV and IBU recommended ranges.

6 US gallons = 5 Imperial Gallons = 22.7 Litres

GRAINBILL:
87% = 8.87 lb = 4.02 kg, English lager malt
10% = 1.02 lb = 463 g, Wheat Malt
3% = .31 lb = 141 g, Vienna Malt

MASH ≈ 150°F/66°C for 2 hours or consider a multi-step mash

BOIL 60 minutes, add Irish Moss at 15 min remaining.

HOPS:
1 oz = 28.3 g, Perle, 60 minutes
.5 oz = 14 g, Perle, 15 minutes

YEAST: a dedicated Kölsch strain is key, such as Wyeast 2565, Wyeast 2575-PC, White Labs WLP003, WLP029

FERMENT: at 62-68°F/16-20°C, when primary fermentation slows down, consider racking to secondary fermentor for lengthy conditioning/improved clarity.

Prime for high carbonation (i.e. ½ - ¾ cup white sugar), store bottles/casks 1 week at fermentation temperature, then as long as you can stand it at 40-50°F/4-10°C.

STATS (assuming 75% mash efficiency and 77% yeast attenuation):
OG: 1049
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 31
COLOUR: very pale golden

EDIT: whoa, Manx Guy! You beat me to it, but look how similar they are!

Yes very similar, I usually add 5-8% wheat malt but given Daves wheat issue maybe not what's called for on this occasion...
I agree with Seymour that agood kolsch yeast can make a difference if you can get it...

As for your water either treat it or use some soft bottled stuff from one of those southern counties ...

Oats could be and interesting addition!
I manage to get a nice grainy malt tone to my kolsch using either pils or ink ale and a blend of UK pale...

Either way you will get a nice beer, let us know what you go for and how it turns out...

[Barley Water]

You know, I think old Seymour has a long position going on oat futures; he tries to put oats into every recipe trying to drive the price up.

I have never really screwed around with Kolsch but it seems to me that basicly what you want to do is make up a wort that is very similar to a pilsner wort except perhaps not quite so bitter (in other words you want dry, dry, dry). I have always just figured that once I got the really hard work done I might as well just ferment the stuff with a lager yeast. If you look at the style guidelines it says that a bit of fruity ester flavor is acceptable however the best examples I have quaffed have almost none, it is hard to tell the difference between them and a lager. Anyhow, if you opt not to use the proper yeast at the recommended temperature I'm sure your will end up with a good beer but it won't taste like a Kolsch, way too much yeast character in the beer.

[seymour]

You know, I think old Seymour has a long position going on oat futures; he tries to put oats into every recipe trying to drive the price up. ...

You noticed, eh?

I say it all the time, I'll keep saying it: by rights, oats belong in beer, every beer, every bit as much as barley, wheat, and rye. I don't know why people relegate it only to certain stout recipes. It's a delicious, silky, creamy cereal grain which conducts itself in the mash just as the other cereal grains do. Oats are also cheaper and more plentiful than malted barley, which ought to make it a no-brainer for homebrewers. C'mon everyone! Liberate your mash tun!

To be fair, German towns appear to have avoided oats, but this data still proves that oats used to be a much bigger part of brewing than nowadays:
From viewtopic.php?t=57975#p609518

I discovered a very cool reference chart I just had to share:

Quoted from Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard W. Unger, p.160

TABLE 6. PROPORTIONS OF GRAINS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BEER,
THIRTEENTH THROUGH SIXTEENTH CENTURY, IN PERCENTAGES

Town ......................Date.......Wheat.....Oats.......Barley
London.....................1286.......17..........66..........17
Nuremberg................1305.................................100
Ghent......................1300s......50.......................50
Lier (kuit).................1440.......43..........35..........22
Lier (hop)..................1440.......20..........60..........20
Brussels (wagebaard)...1447.......27..........46..........27
Hamburg...................1462.......10.......................90
Lille..........................c.1500.....23..........45..........32
London.....................1502?......14..........14..........72*
Bavaria......................1516................................100
Antwerp (kuit)............1518......73..........15..........12
Antwerp (klein)...........1518......13..........47..........40
Lille..........................1546......12..........70..........18‡
Hannover...................1526......33.......................67†
Antwerp (kuit)............1536.......8...........49..........43
Antwerp (knol).............1536......18..........45...........37
Antwerp (half stuuyvers)..1536......18.........40...........42
Antwerp (cleyn bier)......1530s.....13.........47...........40
Antwerp (strong)...........1530s.....20.........40...........40
Lille.............................1546..................20...........80‡
Hamburg (Weissbier)......1500s.....10.......................90

Sources: Arnold, Chronicle (Customs of London), 247; Bing, Hamburgs Bierbrauerei, 254; Bracker, "Hopbier uit Hamburg," 29; Campbell et al., A Medieval Capital and Its Grain Supply, 205-6; DuPlessis, Lille and the Dutch Revolt, 124 n. 13; Lŏhdefink, Die Entwicklung der Brauergilde, 18; Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 440; Peeters, "Introduction," in combined facsimile edition of Lis and Buys; Soly, "De Brouwerijenonderneming van Gilbert van Schoonbeke," 340-44; Uytven, "Haarlemmer hop," 345.

*Called "malte" by Arnold and presumably barley malt
†Said to be in the Hamburg style.
‡Temporary restrictions to meet grain shortages.

I think modern-day brewers have developed tunnel vision regarding their precious two-row barley. More food for thought from the same book, Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard W. Unger, p.157

"Though beer could be made from literally any grain, the usual components were oats, wheat, rye, and barley. The combination of the four could be and was adjusted according to availability, price, season, and the desired results. By the late thirteenth century, the food grains the canons of St. Paul's Cathedral in London got from their manors were by volume 46 percent wheat, 46 percent oats, and 9 percent barley. Most of the wheat went to make bread and any left over, along with virtually all the oats and barley, was malted for making ale. Monks at Westminster Abbey, on the other hand, consumed by volume 31 percent wheat, 44 percent oats, 24 percent barley, and 2 percent dredge; the barley, dredge, and much of the oats went for brewing. Dredge was a mixture of barley and oats. In 1289 before Christmas, the household of an English bishop used wheat, oats, and barley together, but in the following March it was wheat and oats only. From 1412 to 1413 the household of an English noblewoman used equal parts of barley and dredge except in January and February when barley malt was the sole ingredient. Placotomus in 1549 called beer made with wheat "white beer" and that with barley "red beer." The latter, he claimed, did not remain sweet as long as the former. In 1588 Tabernaemontanus said any two- or three-part combination of wheat, spelt, rye, or oats was best but conceded that any one alone would be fine. The results from different parts of northern Europe for the Middle Ages and Renaissance show the consistency of diversity, of prominent roles for wheat and oats and the slow move toward barley. Rye did not disappear entirely. It was used more in the north and east and even survived in Estonia as a raw material for beer into the nineteenth century.

Another couple revelations from History of Beer and Brewing by Ian S. Hornsey, Chapter 5, The British Isles and Europe, Anglo-Saxon Britian, p. 244-245:

"…The percentage of early Saxon sites at which both bread wheat and barley are found is more than double that of wheat-only sites. The percentage of late Saxon sites at which bread wheat alone is found, declines by one half, but there are no sites of either period on which barley is found alone…One conclusion is that archeological evidence does not support the view that barley was the staple crop in Anglo-Saxon England, the balance suggesting larger quantities of wheat. However, Hagan records hulled, six-rowed barley in the highest percentages throughout the Saxon period…

Oats were quite widely grown in Anglo-Saxon England, being recorded from the late 8th century, and were almost certainly used for human consumption…for brewing, and Renfrew reports that in the Orkneys oats were added on special occasions to make beer more intoxicating…Overall, there is evidence that the frequency of cultivation of oats increased over the period of time that the Saxons ruled."

[Barley Water]

Well, you seem to be looking at beer from an historical perspective while I obviously look at it as it relates to the current style guidelines since I tend to put my swill into competitions. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with either approach. I am somewhat surprised though that you are so into UK beers as say versus Belgian stuff. The two styles that come to mind when using a mixture of ceral grains are both Belgian (those being Saison and Wit Bier). I like making Saison, it lets me get really creative when putting together a recipe and I think that style is a throwback to the good old days on the farm. I bet that those beers are really not that much different than British stuff before the industrial revolution and before the advent of so called commerical brewing.

Since I brew to fit my beers into specific competition categories, I would likely opt not to add oats to a Kolsch. Although I'm sure the beer would be good, it would likely create a mouthfeel which would not be consistent with the modern day beer brewed in Colonge. Of course, I'm the same guy who wants to try and come up with a good wheat IPA (an American wheat beer on steriods and heavily hopped, especially late hopping) so I guess I'm not particularly consistent.

[bigdave]

Heres where I'm at:

[seymour]

Yeah, I hear you, and it all makes sense. I know you know your style guidelines, and you do WAYYY better than me in competitions, which is proof you're an accomplished brewer. My stuff is always weird, intentionally so, so it's never hard for BJCP judges to find "deviations". I never brew for competitions, but I do frequently enter my beers simply for some objective feedback, which I don't often get, so I've dialed-back my submissions in the last year or so. Once, I submitted what I believe was a very historically accurate Finnish Sahti. One judge said too much banana, the other judge said not enough banana, and they both gave me a low score for that reason. Huh?! Guys, who said anything about banana? Do you even know what Sahti is?!

I think there are some good reasons for BJCP/AHA style guidelines, but I'm getting kinda sick of their end-all-be-all attitude, especially as I keep discovering more and more instances where they are way off-base from the true historical beers they claim to be experts on, particularly when it comes to English styles. As you and I have discussed before, considering stuff like California Common, a dubious style defined by a single commercial example, I think they should add additional styles, sub-styles, or whatever you wanna call it: more historical and regional styles such as Finnish Sahti, Kalja, Danish Påske Øl, India Porter, Choctaw Beer, etc, as well as new but widespread here-to-stay ones such as Black IPA and Florida Weiss. I think the more years that go by without a major revision to their style guidelines, the more irrelevant BJCP becomes. Even Ratebeer recently added several new styles, and I can't think of any good reasons for BJCP not to follow suit.

Besides, for the record, I've been using BJCP judging sheets to review bigdaves beers. My first response above was a 100% true-to-style Kölsch recipe. I only brought up oats as a replacement for the required graininess because he is allergic to malted wheat.
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[bigdave]

OH FOR F@£K SAKE!!! SWMBO just cancelled my brew day! What a tw@t!!