We hear from John Keske, President of Melbourne Brewers, who has been kind enough to share this mouthwatering recipe of his award winning Kölsch.
“German beers have always been among my favourites,” Keske told us, “But Kölsch wasn’t on my radar until a trip to Cologne in 2012. I had tried it before but never thought it was particularly special. Drinking it fresh promoted it as one of my favourite styles.
“The beer is easy to drink, and when drinking at a Kölsch brewery you do not need to order new rounds. When you finish your beer, it is quickly replaced by bar staff. They keep track by marking a tick on your coaster to count the beers. You place your coaster on top of the empty glass to signal you have finished drinking and pay for the beers marked on the coaster.
“My recipe is simple, mostly Pilsner Malt, with a bit of Munich to round it out. I have made it before with Vienna, Carapils, CaraHell, and even light crystal malt, but I always end up coming back to Munich.
“Many homebrew Kölsch recipes include wheat, but most traditional breweries do not, and I leave it out of mine. For hops I like Tettnang, but any noble variety would work. I like this recipe with relatively low bitterness, but you could increase the hop additions to boost the bitterness and hop aroma. The step mash produces an attenuative wort, which helps create a clean profile and a dry finish,” he says.
“My favourite Kölsch is always one that is clear. It might be psychological, but clear just tastes better. Unfortunately, the Kölsch yeast is fairly powdery and can leave the beer cloudy. To help, I use kettle finings, but the beer usually needs to be fined with gelatine or other agents. Combined with a four-week lager period, this helps produce crystal clear beer.
“I have won a few competitions with this beer (Melbourne Brewers Beerfest and Vicbrew). Overall, this is an easy-drinking beer, and I almost always have one on tap. If you are interested in homebrewing and are in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, come check out the Melbourne Brewers at melbournebrewers.org.”
John Keske’s Kölsch
All grain (expected figures)
OG: 1.051
FG: 1.009
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 18
Volume: 23 litres
Ingredients
5kg Pilsner malt
250g Munich malt
150g Acidulated malt
60g Tettnanger hop pellets
2g CaCl2
2g CaSo4
Wyeast 2565 Kölsch yeast, or White Labs WLP029
German Ale/Kölsch
Method
1. Mash in at 64°C for 70 minutes, adding CaCL and CaSo.
2. Increase mash temp to 69°C for a further 20 minutes.
3. Sparge and bring to a boil (60 minutes).
4. Once boiling, add 40g Tettnanger hops.
5. With 10 minutes left on the boil, add remaining 20g Tettnanger hops.
6. Cool wort to 15°C, oxygenate or aerate, and run into fermenter.
7. Pitch yeast and maintain 15°C for four days.
8. Increase ferment temperature to 20°C to finish out fermentation.
9. Keg or bottle as usual, and lager for four weeks.
Extract (expected figures)
OG: 1.051
FG: 1.009
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 18
Volume: 25 litres
Ingredients
3.75kg Pilsner extract
250g Munich malt
150g Acidulated malt
60g Tettnanger hop pellet
Wyeast 2565 Kölsch yeast, or White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kölsch
Method
1. Heat up about six litres of water to 72°C.
2. Prepare the Munich and Acidulated malt by crushing and placing in grain bag.
3. Immerse grain bag into heated water and mash for 30 minutes.
4. Remove grain bag and allow to drain. GENTLY squeeze bag to remove wort.
5. Bring to the boil, adding half of the extract.
6. Once boiling, add 40g Tettnanger hops for a 60 minute boil.
7. With 10 minutes left on the boil, add remaining 20g Tettnanger hops.
8. At 60 minutes, flame out and cool wort to 15°C while running off into fermenter.
9. Top up fermenter to 23 litres, adding the remainder of the extract and stir thoroughly.
10. Pitch yeast and maintain 15°C for four days.
11. Increase ferment temperature to 20°C to finish out fermentation.
12. Keg or bottle as usual, and lager for four weeks.
For all the other recipes in our continuing weekly series, head here. If you have a recipe you’d like to share with us, email Deb on djackson@intermedia.com.au.