German Kolsh Ale, 2008
Saturday, October 4th, 2008White labs offers a Klösh yeast for making a German ale. It is not as robust as a lager, this beer is light and a bit sweet. It’s a respectable easy drinking beer. If you want to lighten it up even more (like Budweiser or Coors), try substituting a pound of rice solids in place of a pound of DME. For me, it is so light there is no need to take it further. This is a great beer to brew for your first time. It is very simple with only one hop addition at the beginning.
| Target Volume (Gallons) | 5 | |||
| Total Cost | $29.45 | |||
| Yield (ounces) | 630 | |||
| Cost per 12 oz bottle | $0.56 | |||
| Boil Time | 60 | min | ||
| GRAINS | Pounds | Points/Gal | Total Points | Cost |
| Light DME | 5 | 46 | 230 | $15.00 |
| Steep – 30 min at 150 F | ||||
| German Pilsner Malt | 0.5 | 28 | 14 | $1.00 |
| HOPS | Ounces | Alpha Acids | Boil Time (min) | Cost |
| Domestic Hallertau | 2 | 3.90% | 60 | $4.25 |
| YEAST | White Labs German Ale Kölsh Yeast | Cost | ||
| Attenuation Low | 72% | $6.65 | ||
| Attenuation High | 78% | |||
| Optimum Temp | 65-69 F | |||
| Flocculation | Medium | |||
| Starter | No | |||
| STATS | ||||
| Expected Original Gravity | 1.049 | |||
| Expected Final Gravity Theoretical | 1.011 – 1.014 | |||
| Expected Final Gravity Actual | 1.01 – 1.012 | |||
| IBUs | 21.85 | |||
| Apparent Attenuation | 75.00% | AA = 1 – FG / OG | ||
| Alcohol By Volume – Theoretical | 4.96% | |||
| Alcohol By Volume – Potential | 4.33% | |||
| BREWING: | Squeezed out hops bags medium | |||
| ½ tbs Irish Moss at start of boil | $0.10 | |||
| Water Source Wort | Pure water filter – 3 gallon boil | |||
| Water Source Dilution | Pure water filter | |||
| At racking, gelatin as a clarifier | $0.20 | |||
| DATES | Date | SG | Cum. Days | Notes |
| Brewed | 06/13/08 | 1.044 | 0 | |
| Racked | 06/23/08 | 1.012 | 10 | Added ½ tsp gelatin, lighter in color, tastes bready excellent, no syrupy flavor |
| Bottled (SG pre bottling) | 07/01/08 | 1.011 | 18 | Wow that takes awesome, crisp, not carmely at all, light mild bitter finish |
| OK TO DRINK BY (60 days): | 08/12/08 | |||
| BOTTLING | ||||
| Priming Method | 5 oz Corn Syrup (1 cup) | $0.50 | ||
| Caps, cleaners, etc | $1.75 | |||
| Container | Capacity | Qty | Total Volume | |
| Bottle | 12 | 11 | 132 | |
| Corny Keg | ||||
| Total Bottled: | 132 | |||
| TASTING | ||||
| 07/04/08 | 21 | Put it on tap, could not resist to try, tastes weak and sweet, need to wait more | ||
| 07/20/08 | 37 | This is getting less sweet, very clear and light colored. | ||
| 08/08/08 | 56 | Everybody likes this beer, it is light flavored, a bit sweet, very refreshing. | ||
| 08/15/08 | 63 | Refreshing crisp and light, beer is improving with age. | ||
| 09/15/08 | 84 | Sweetness has let up a lot, very refreshing and thirst quenching. |
