---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


***************************************************************
        TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

         No "sponsor-level" donation yet this year

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********

DONATE to the Home Brew Digest. Home Brew Digest, Inc. is a 
501(c)3 not-for-profit organization under IRS rules (see the
FAQ at http://hbd.org for details of this status). Donations
can be made by check to Home Brew Digest mailed to (NOTE NEW 
ADDRESS):

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871054
Canton, MI 48187-6054

or by paypal to address serverfund@hbd.org. DONATIONS of $250 
or more will be provided with receipts. SPONSORSHIPS of any 
amount are considered paid advertisement, and may be deductible
under IRS rules as a business expense. Please consult with your 
tax professional, then see http://hbd.org for available 
sponsorship opportunities.
***************************************************************


Contents:
  Kolsch Tips? (Adam Arndt)


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*   Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Home Brew Digest, Inc. is a 501(c)3 Public Charity 
[170(b)(1)(A)(vi)] All donations & gifts to the HBD are 
tax deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue 
Code; as are bequests, devises, transfer, or gifts under 
section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Code.



	Financial Projection as of 21 May 2014
*** Condition: Concerned, but somewhat optimistic ***
       Projected 2013 Budget  $3,235.00
 Expended against projection  $1,238.53
      Unplanned expenditures ($   95.77)
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) ($ 779.89)
HBD, Inc. is projected to be bankrupt September 2014
 
As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you.

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word
  "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL
  ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
  the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address
  for the automation - that's your job.

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright 
  HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK 
  before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content 
  cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to 
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
                  Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce



----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 21:52:45 +0000
From: Adam Arndt <adama at microsoft.com>
Subject: Kolsch Tips? 

My home brew club is doing a group brew of a pretty simple Kolsch recipe; I
figured I'd share my Kolsch / light beer tips and I'd solicit any others that
people have.

As you can see I'm very much interested in a Kolsch without any HINT of
graininess or lingering / harsh bitterness and that is bright / clear.

Grist:

*	  As always if you want to go traditional a simple grist is the way
to go and always use German ingredients; a blend of mostly Pilsner with some
light malted wheat and a small bit of light Munich if desired

*	  Dough-in: I find the German Pilsner + wheat malt combo to really
result in a lot of dough balls so be ready to really spend some time getting
doughed-in properly if you're mashing in above the gelatinization temp

*	  Milling: Conditioning your malt will help keep husks from getting
shredded; shredded husks release more tannins/ polyphenols which ruin light
beers, IMHO (use 2% water by weight sprayed with a fine mist and thoroughly
mixed; -let set for 10 min before milling

Water:

This is an area I'm looking for tips; I have EXTREMELY soft Seattle water
that I treat with double stage carbon block filters.

*	  1 Tbsp calcium chloride added directly to the mash (to help the
mash ph, aid clarity and to focus on soft, malty flavors)

Mash:

*	  I like to mash light beers on the thinner side to have less sparge
water to decrease the likelihood of extracting tannins

*	  Mash low for that high fermentability that you want in a kolsch;
alternatively multistep infusion mash or upward infusion mash (the upward
infusion mash starting from below the gelatinization temp will avoid dough
balls as an added bonus) -I target 63C which I guess is 145.4F

*	  Recirculation mash for 60 min; if not recirculating a 90 minute
mash will give you that extra bit of fermentability

*	  Avoid oxygen pickup especially if recirculating -oxygen will
increase color of this VERY light beer style

Sparge:

*	  Again limit oxygen pickup

*	  I batch sparge my kolsch to reduce the risk of over sparging and
extracting grainy tannins

*	  Acidify sparge water to avoid extracting grainy tannins

*	  Heat the initial runoff (First runnings) to 68C and hold there to
"super charge" enzymes and to essentially perform a 2nd step

*	  Target a lower-than-normal 1st batch sparge temp of 68C to "super
charge" enzymes left in the mash as an essential 2nd temp step

Boil:

*	  At home brew scale 90 minute boils for DMS from pilsner malt are
largely unnecessary; this especially holds true with my 1:1 height to width
kettle geometry and high boil off rate

*	  I use an electric low heat density element and turn the heat
output down to 60% for all but the last 10 min of the boil to keep the wort
darkening to a minimum

*	  With 10 min left to the boil I add both whirlfloc and polyclar
(PVPP) the combination is GREAT at helping both hot break and tannin
flocculation but results in lots of fluffy trub and large wort losses

Chill:

*	  Chill rapidly below 140F to prevent DMS formation

Fermentation:

I'd love some discussion on temps with the different kolsch strains

*	  The colder you're fermenting the more yeast you need but target in
between ale and lager pitch rates, depending upon fermentation temp

*	  Transfer off of the trub, prior to pitching, as in the German
tradition

*	  Pitch at fermentation temps -don't pitch high and wait for it to
chill; upward fermentation ok; flat fermentation temp profile ok; downward ==
bad

*	  Personally I simply ferment at 60-63F

*	  Either skim off the "braun hefe" -brown fermentation crud or let
it blow off via blow off tube to avoid harsh bitterness

*	  Lager: cold and long (-1C for as long as you can stand it)

I'm very much interested in tricks to get this thing to drop bright when you
only have 3 weeks to lager. Should I just give up hope with a Kolsch strain
and clarity without filtering; any finings recommendations?

Thanks,

Adam

Return to table of contents

---