Kolsch Hopping

[Matt12398]

I'm going to be brewing a kolsch at the weekend and was looking at which hops I have. I have some liberty which are meant to have some good noblesque characteristics but they are from 2011 and are meant to be terrible for long term storage. With that in mind would they be of any use added late for aroma or are they worth binning?

[killer]

If it's an unopened pack then open them up and smell them. If they smell good then just use them. I've also recently used 2011 hops in a beer without any problems (not liberty though). Trust your nose. Have a spare pack of Hallertauer or Saaz on standby just in case...

[Matt12398]

Unfortunately those are the only hops that come close to anything German although they are American. I've got magnum but not sure that will have the effect I want

[killer]

Not sure how well magnum would go in a Kolsch. While hoppiness is relatively restrained in a Kolsch, it still has that typical noble hop flavour. I'd open the pack now and confirm that they are ok, before you get the mash on at the weekend, then bung them back in the freezer. Rob is still selling 2011 Liberty (at a reduced price) so I presume they are fine to use as long as they have been stored properly.

[Matt12398]

Thanks killer. I might use some and see how they are.

[mysterio]

Magnum work well as an aroma hop and would be more authentic than Liberty. I wouldn't be using any old hops in any beer.

[Belter]

Magnum work well as an aroma hop and would be more authentic than Liberty. I wouldn't be using any old hops in any beer.

How old is old Mysterio?

[mysterio]

I think killer is right, go by aroma. If they're stored correctly, i.e. frozen and vacuum packed/nitrogen sealed, then they should be okay. I just think Magnum is a more appropriate choice esp. if they're fresh. Liberty are quite lemony and would go well in a summer ale or pale ale.

[Matt12398]

Originally I wasn't going to do a kolsch, it was just going to be a blonde beer using kolsch yeast but I fancied something a bit more along the lines of something lager-like/pale German ale. I'll try it with all magnum based on your advice, Mysterio. I plan to lager it for a month. As I'll be fermenting around 18 degrees is a diacetyl rest relevant when brewing this style?

[Matt12398]

So I went with the following recipe.

Lager malt - 5 kg
Vienna malt - 0.3 kg
Pale wheat malt - 0.3 g
Magnum - 30 minutes - 20 IBUs
Magnum - 15 minutes - 8.5 IBUs
WLP029 Geman Ale/Kolsch Yeast

Mashed at 65 degrees. My efficiency was way higher than expected so its predicted to be around 4.8% rather than the 4.5% I was aiming for.

Currently sat in the brew fridge. After primary fermentation has finished I'll be racking and lagering for 4 weeks.

[seymour]

Sure looks good to me. How did the late boil smell? Oh, and yes, I'd do a diacetyl rest before lagering.

[Matt12398]

I smelt pretty good. I had a taste of the wort and there was very little bitterness as you'd expect but some definite hop flavour.

For the directly rest how do you know when to start? Is it a couple points before fg? I find beersmith fg predictions very unreliable so maybe I should have done a separate force ferment. What temperature should it be done at?

[mysterio]

Start raising the temperature a degree or two per day 1/3rd before expected FG.

For example, OG 1.050, expected FG 1.012, begin raising temp around 1.025 until FG is reached. Don't worry too much, as long as you know what FG will be within a few points it's not going to make a major difference.

For a Koelsch maybe aim to have it up around 18-19C when terminal gravity is reached.

[alix101]

I've do have good water for a kolsch but I find just leaving it at 17c for 2 weeks does the job no crash cooling until I keg it... good luck recipe looks good

[Matt12398]

I've been fermenting it at 18 degrees. Should I have been fermenting it a bit cooler? I was of the impression that if I wen't much cooler it wouldn't provide an active fermentation?

Basically then you wouldn't increase the temp any further?