Justin
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Ok, if this hasn't been started by the time I finish writing this then this can be the start of the Kolsch thread following myself and Doc's mention of this style in another thread.
This is from the BJCP style guidelines page and is a nice place to start analyzing and brewing this style:
Klsch
A pale-coloured German ale and an appellation of the Kln area. Lightly fruity in the nose with a soft palate and a delicate dryness in the finish from German hops. Brewed at ale temperatures then cold-conditioned for several weeks. Light to medium gold. Light bodied. COMMERCIAL EXAMPLES: PJ FRUH, MALZMUHLEN, PFAFFGEN, SION, BIERHAUS' GOLDEN, ZUNFT, KUEPPER S.
The following description was equally shamelessly (and without permission) stolen from Tim Dawson's style guide, which seems to have since disappeared from the web. Which is too bad since it was a great page on beer styles.
Technically, this style can only be brewed in the area of Kln (Cologne), Germany. The Klsch Convention, signed in 1985, protects the definition of Klsch and designates the shape of a glass and the region in which the beer may be produced. Klsch is a light to dark gold beer with a light to medium body. Light, fruity, acidic, wine like brew. Some are dryish others are slightly sweet. One distinctive note of the better Koelsches is that they have a very grainy nose, almost like the smell of spent grain. Low hop flavor and aroma and low to medium bitterness. Has a soft palate and a delicate finish that can be dry or sweet. Can be as pale as a Pilsner, but with a light fruitiness of an ale. Klsch is noted for its delicacy rather than for any robust distinctiveness. Klsch has a conventional gravity and strength, a fine bead, and is clean-tasting (all-malt), very well attenuated, soft and drinkable, only faintly fruity (often in the aroma and the beginning of the palate), with a slight acidity and a restrained but definite hoppy dryness, often slightly herbal-tasting in the finish. Can use ale or lager yeast or both. Sometimes up to 15% wheat is used to give added complexity to the fruitiness, to provide paleness of color, and to enhance head-retention and lacework. Bottle conditioned examples may be called "wiess".
Perhaps a better way to define the beer, however, would be to get the information straight from the horse s mouth, as it were. What follows has been pieced together from Email conversations I ve been having over the past couple of months with a Braumeister in Kln. Mixed in are details from various sources in and around Kln and the Klsch-Verband.
Most simply stated : Es ist ein helles, obergriges, hopfenbetontes Vollbier. (Klner-Brauerei-Verband website) Or in English : It is a light, top-fermenting beer, characterised by the hops. The Verband is very proud of the fact that Klsch is Klsch. There is no Premium- or Ur- or Original - (Klsch). That is to say, if it has Klsch on the label, then you already have your guarantee that the beer inside adheres to the very strictest standards. No other designation is required.
OG (Stammwrze) : 1.043 to 1.046
FG : 1.007 to 1.009 (relatively dry)
Grains Naturally you would ideally want to use a good German Lager malt. Fortunately for us the regular Canada Malting 2-Row which is so widely available in Canada makes an exceptionally good Klsch-style beer. Up to 20% Wheat Malt is permissible, but this is very-much the exception and not the rule. My e-friend the Braumeister says he only knows for sure of one brewery which uses wheat.
Hops just about any good German hop can be used to brew a Klsch-style beer. In particular Tettnanger and the various types of Hallertauer are most often seen. In contradiction to the otherwise great article from Brewing Techniques, my source says that Klsch absolutely should not display hop aroma, and that all hop additions should therefore be early in the boil. 20 to 24 IBU is your target for bitterness. However, of the 20 or so brands we've personally tasted, 3 or 4 definitely had a lively hop aroma.
Water A very soft water similar to that required for a Czech Pilsener is ideal for brewing a Klsch-style beer.
Yeast Most good high-attenuating Ale yeasts can be used to make a decent Klsch-style beer. Wyeast 2565 is specifically designed for Klsch-style beer, as is White Labs Klsch (reportedly from PJ Frh). 1007 German Ale is another good choice, and even 1338 European Ale or Chico 1056 can be used. Basically anything that can ferment very clean at room temperatures strong esters are verboten in Klsch and can attenuate in the 80-85% range.
Mash as many of us have heard, fewer and fewer German brewers nowadays do a decoction mash, and this is true in Cologne as in the rest of the country. The Klsch brewery I ve been in touch with mashes-in at 63C, then brings it up to 70C and finally mash out at 78C. They say that exact times are a trade secret, though it is widely known that Klsch brewers mash on for a good hour after a positive test for conversion, in order to achieve the high attenuation required by the style.
Fermentation The normal fermentation temperature is 1 week at 20C to 25C. One brewery in Cologne chooses 20C. This seems to contradict the commonly accepted knowledge that one should ferment down closer to 15C. After a week at what amounts to room temperature, the beer is then Lagered for 3 to 4 weeks at 0C. It should be noted that German breweries (and even most German homebrewers) ferment their beer under pressure.
Attenuation - Klsch-style beer is attenuated extremely high: 80-85%
Ok. Open discussion
Justin
This is from the BJCP style guidelines page and is a nice place to start analyzing and brewing this style:
Klsch
A pale-coloured German ale and an appellation of the Kln area. Lightly fruity in the nose with a soft palate and a delicate dryness in the finish from German hops. Brewed at ale temperatures then cold-conditioned for several weeks. Light to medium gold. Light bodied. COMMERCIAL EXAMPLES: PJ FRUH, MALZMUHLEN, PFAFFGEN, SION, BIERHAUS' GOLDEN, ZUNFT, KUEPPER S.
The following description was equally shamelessly (and without permission) stolen from Tim Dawson's style guide, which seems to have since disappeared from the web. Which is too bad since it was a great page on beer styles.
Technically, this style can only be brewed in the area of Kln (Cologne), Germany. The Klsch Convention, signed in 1985, protects the definition of Klsch and designates the shape of a glass and the region in which the beer may be produced. Klsch is a light to dark gold beer with a light to medium body. Light, fruity, acidic, wine like brew. Some are dryish others are slightly sweet. One distinctive note of the better Koelsches is that they have a very grainy nose, almost like the smell of spent grain. Low hop flavor and aroma and low to medium bitterness. Has a soft palate and a delicate finish that can be dry or sweet. Can be as pale as a Pilsner, but with a light fruitiness of an ale. Klsch is noted for its delicacy rather than for any robust distinctiveness. Klsch has a conventional gravity and strength, a fine bead, and is clean-tasting (all-malt), very well attenuated, soft and drinkable, only faintly fruity (often in the aroma and the beginning of the palate), with a slight acidity and a restrained but definite hoppy dryness, often slightly herbal-tasting in the finish. Can use ale or lager yeast or both. Sometimes up to 15% wheat is used to give added complexity to the fruitiness, to provide paleness of color, and to enhance head-retention and lacework. Bottle conditioned examples may be called "wiess".
Perhaps a better way to define the beer, however, would be to get the information straight from the horse s mouth, as it were. What follows has been pieced together from Email conversations I ve been having over the past couple of months with a Braumeister in Kln. Mixed in are details from various sources in and around Kln and the Klsch-Verband.
Most simply stated : Es ist ein helles, obergriges, hopfenbetontes Vollbier. (Klner-Brauerei-Verband website) Or in English : It is a light, top-fermenting beer, characterised by the hops. The Verband is very proud of the fact that Klsch is Klsch. There is no Premium- or Ur- or Original - (Klsch). That is to say, if it has Klsch on the label, then you already have your guarantee that the beer inside adheres to the very strictest standards. No other designation is required.
OG (Stammwrze) : 1.043 to 1.046
FG : 1.007 to 1.009 (relatively dry)
Grains Naturally you would ideally want to use a good German Lager malt. Fortunately for us the regular Canada Malting 2-Row which is so widely available in Canada makes an exceptionally good Klsch-style beer. Up to 20% Wheat Malt is permissible, but this is very-much the exception and not the rule. My e-friend the Braumeister says he only knows for sure of one brewery which uses wheat.
Hops just about any good German hop can be used to brew a Klsch-style beer. In particular Tettnanger and the various types of Hallertauer are most often seen. In contradiction to the otherwise great article from Brewing Techniques, my source says that Klsch absolutely should not display hop aroma, and that all hop additions should therefore be early in the boil. 20 to 24 IBU is your target for bitterness. However, of the 20 or so brands we've personally tasted, 3 or 4 definitely had a lively hop aroma.
Water A very soft water similar to that required for a Czech Pilsener is ideal for brewing a Klsch-style beer.
Yeast Most good high-attenuating Ale yeasts can be used to make a decent Klsch-style beer. Wyeast 2565 is specifically designed for Klsch-style beer, as is White Labs Klsch (reportedly from PJ Frh). 1007 German Ale is another good choice, and even 1338 European Ale or Chico 1056 can be used. Basically anything that can ferment very clean at room temperatures strong esters are verboten in Klsch and can attenuate in the 80-85% range.
Mash as many of us have heard, fewer and fewer German brewers nowadays do a decoction mash, and this is true in Cologne as in the rest of the country. The Klsch brewery I ve been in touch with mashes-in at 63C, then brings it up to 70C and finally mash out at 78C. They say that exact times are a trade secret, though it is widely known that Klsch brewers mash on for a good hour after a positive test for conversion, in order to achieve the high attenuation required by the style.
Fermentation The normal fermentation temperature is 1 week at 20C to 25C. One brewery in Cologne chooses 20C. This seems to contradict the commonly accepted knowledge that one should ferment down closer to 15C. After a week at what amounts to room temperature, the beer is then Lagered for 3 to 4 weeks at 0C. It should be noted that German breweries (and even most German homebrewers) ferment their beer under pressure.
Attenuation - Klsch-style beer is attenuated extremely high: 80-85%
Ok. Open discussion
Justin
