WLP029 in a Kolsch

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MFoster75
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WLP029 in a Kolsch

Post by MFoster75 »

Hey all.... I'm brewing a Kolsch today, and I'm pitching WLP029, German Ale/Kolsch Yeast...

My plan is to pitch at or about 65F, get fermentation rolling at that temp, then move to a fridge @ 44F. After I get within .007 of my FG, I plan a diacytel (sp?) rest for 24 hours @ 65F, followed by lagering in secondary @ 35F... Is this a possibility with this yeast, or is it just a pipe dream?
Also, is this an appropriate plan for this style?
General info: Predicted OG of 1.044, Target FG of 1.008. Partial mash recipe, 5.5 gallons.

Thanks!
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slothrob
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Post by slothrob »

I don't think this yeast will ferment well at 44F.
I suspect you'll get better results closer to 60F.
I say this because I've had off flavors from this yeast when dropping it too soon to 50F. If you want to ferment at 44F, I'd use a real lager yeast.
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Thanks!

Post by MFoster75 »

Hey Slothrob... Thanks for the input.

I had read the post you had posted on earlier about the Kolsch, and didn't see much connection between their question and mine, so I posted this.

Unfortunately I pitched yesterday at around 2:30 PM, and found fermentation when I woke up at 7:00 AM. It's currently in my usual fermentation location, my basement, which gets to around 58-62F.

Think this will be warm enough to promote fermentation, yet cool enough to prod the yeast into dropping? Would racking to secondary and keeping in the fridge at around 50F help in creating a clean beer?

Thanks for everything!
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Koelsch

Post by slothrob »

I've had the best experience with this yeast right where you are now. I really think the secret is to give this yeast a little extra time at this temp after it seems done. Then, when you know it's done, give it a couple more days to clean up the acetaldehyde that it tends to produce. In other words, don't hurry it into a secondary.

Once it's ready for secondary, you can start to drop the temperature. At that point you can go low and right down to lagering temperatures, say 35. It will take low temperatures to really drop the yeast clear with any speed.

Perhaps I misunderstood your first question. I consider secondary and lagering to be the same step.
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Post by conman »

our homebrewing club made kolschs as a theme beer last month and I won the competition. I love this style and I have used both wyeast and white labs kolsch yeast in the past. although not my choice of yeast, it does do much better (for me at least) at a little higher temps than the wyeast 2565.

I would suggest staying in the high 50's or low 60's and let it rise slowly to around 70 for a couple of days to clean it up some.
after that, secondary and drop to low 30's for a month.
after that beer should be bright and crystal clear which is necessary for the style, (if you care......lol)
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Post by MFoster75 »

Thanks guys... I think that my plan will be a combination, or more in line with what i had originally thought, just at a higher initial temp. We're two days into fermentation and I've got good CO2 release every 2 seconds or so, at a pretty consistent 58F. So I'll let it finish, give it those few days afterward to clear, bring it up to 65 or so during this clearing, and then crash it to 35F. That seems to be the best combination of all three plans...

I'll keep you all posted, thanks for the help!
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Kölsch

Post by slothrob »

Sounds good. Best of luck!
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Racked to Secondary...

Post by MFoster75 »

Hey guys... I told you I'd keep you updated...

13 days after brewing, and 12 days after fermentation began, I racked the Kolsch to secondary. I noticed primary was complete yesterday morning, and hadn't checked the day before, so I'm pretty confident it had a decent rest. There was good sized yeast cakes floating, and in the racking tube the beer's a crisp hay color. My OG was 48, and I was looking for a final of 8. Upon racking the beer I'm at 9. My plan now is three weeks @ 35F. I'll update then.

Thanks for all the help!
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