Kölsch
I finally got around to brewing a Kölsch kit that I had got from Northern Brewer a while back. Of note here is the first us of my converted keg boiler and DIY wort chiller.
| Style | Kölsch |
| Yeast | WYeast 2565 |
| Original S.G. | 1.047 |
| Current S.G. | 1.011 |
| ABV | 4.8% |
This was an extract kit so the ingredients and process were simple (1# dry malt extract, 6# malt syrup, two types of hops). The trick to a Kölsch is it's somewhat longer, cooler fermentation. Unfortunately, it got warm again so I'm probably going to be fermenting it too warm. I don't think this will ruin it but it won't end up quite like I'd hoped.
One of the things I wanted to do with this was a try a full boil in my converted keg boiler (literally an old, discarded, half-barrel keg that I cut the top off, welded some legs onto, and installed an output valve into). While the boiler worked just fine, the propane burner I had was underpowered. It took three hours to get 6.5 gallons of water to a light boil. I am going to have to look into getting a more powerful burner if I want to do this again.
Also, the converted keg has a volume around 15 gallons which is way more than I need for making 5 gallon batches. Oh well, as the Subgenius say, too much is always better than not enough. (Except that since it's so wide, with only a few gallons of wort there isn't enough depth to float my hydrometer. I still needed to decant wort into my hydrometer's cylinder to get a readying. Do they make shorted hydrometers? I can't see why not. Though the resolution probably isn't as fine.)
The other interesting thing is that I used my DIY wort chiller for the first time. It's 50' of 3/8" copper tubing with two hose adapters on the end. I guess it worked pretty well. It didn't leak and it cooled the wort down a lot faster than any other method I could have employed. (The keg wasn't going to fit in my sink.) Since it's made of relatively thin tubing it's a little janky. I just have to be a little careful not to kink it.
Because of the poor power of the propane burner the whole process took over 5 hours. But in the end I had five gallons of wort; which is now bubbling away in my basement. O.G. 1.047 @ 68°F.
[Update Tuesday, August 28] Primary fermentation was pretty much done having expended itself, IMO, too quickly. The recipe calls for a maximum optimum temperature of 64°F for the kind of WYeast I used. Actual temperature ranged from 72°F to 77°F (it got unseasonably hot here at the end of August). On reflection, I should have used the dry Safale US-05 Ale Yeast because its optimum range extends to 75°F. I'll try to pay more attention to that in the future.
In any case, I racked it into secondary and took a gravity measurement (1.011 at 77°F => 1.012). It should be, at this point, 4.7% ABV which is just about fine. I'm hoping the 2-4 weeks spend in the secondary will help mellow some of its flavors or it will be a little difficult to drink.
[Update Tuesday, October 2] After five weeks in secondary I finally kegged this beer. Final gravity reading was 1.010 @ 71°F, with an alcohol yield of 4.8%. The flavor of the Kölsch is significantly different than it was five weeks ago. It's surprisingly light but there's still something a little off. With some bubbles and some chill I'm sure it will be JUST FINE when serve it at my Halloween party.