"HB" Kölsch

Yet another style of beer that originated in Germany. Production of this beer is centered near Cologne. It is a close relative and a direct competitor to Alt. Düsseldorf and Cologne are neighboring cities, and there has been fierce rivalry in the past between the two. There are reports of violence breaking out for ordering the wrong kind of beer in the wrong city. True or not, it is not an issue these days although for the most part if you live in Cologne you drink Kölsch exclusively and vise versa.


Kölsch is fermented at even cooler temps than Alt and use no dark malts and far less hops. It was essentially created by ale brewers around Cologne to compete with pilsners. Kölsch is usually less hoppy than a traditional pilsner and can even be on the sweet side. 

This Kölsch uses the exact same yeast as my Alt. It is quite light and clean, but does have some esters present that you would not get in a true lager. I fermented this in my temp controlled fridge at 55. I lagered it at 35 for a couple weeks before kegging and then bottling. I was attempting to create a beer that was similar to the standard HB or Hofbräu lager. I think this comes pretty close even though it  uses an ale yeast.

There is not much of this stuff left, so I figured I would document it here.  












Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.00 gal     
Boil Size: 6.02 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 4.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Mash temp: 150

Ingredients:
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Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU     
8.00 lb        Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM)             Grain        80.0 %       
1.00 lb        Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                     Grain        10.0 %       
0.50 lb        Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)              Grain        5.0 %        
0.50 lb        Munich Malt (5.0 SRM)               Grain        5.0 %        
2.00 oz       Crystal [3.50%]  (60 min)                 Hops         25.2 IBU     
1 Pkgs        German Ale/Kolsch (White Labs #WLP029)    Yeast-Ale