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I lived in Bavaria for a few years, and I found significant variation in beer styles as well as many beer styles that aren't exported. I think brewers looking to make "authentic" German beers have more latitude to experiment than the BJCP style guide would indicate. With pilsners, they ranged...

I've had similar issues (liquid in airlock getting sucked into the wort) when I tried out a plastic fermenter, but it was due to temperature changes. When I cold crashed my brews, some of the air in the carboy would get sucked back in to the beer. Rigid carboys (I use glass now) don't have that...

Confirmed with Austin Homebrew that their Kolsch malt is Schill brand, so its at least two years old. Homebrewsupply.com has the exact same product description, so its likely their Kolsch malt is also supplied from Schill and quite old.

I have 4 x 20oz bottles that I fill with water and freeze. I use 2 every 12 hours, and the temperature of the beer is stable (+- 1 degree over 7 days). I make 3 gallons at a time, so you'll need more ice with 5 gallon batches.

Thanks. The Kolsch malt on some of these sites are leftovers from 2017/2018. I'll look into the Weyermann malt though.

If you're looking to improve your temp control, check out the Brew Cooler. Its not much bigger than a carboy and works really well. I've been able to keep my batches 10-15 below ambient temp consistently by changing ice once or twice a day.

I got into brewing years ago in an attempt to replicate a German Pilsner I'd fell in love with while living in Germany. I'd tried a few different grain bills, but none could really deliver the malty finish I'd been missing for years. On a whim, I purchased Schill Kolsch malt and made a pils with...

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

I haven’t used a bucket fermenter, but if you can just drop them in through the airlock hole, that would work, just like you said. Try for the least amount of exposure.

The risk is minimal if you re-sanitize your airlock. Airborne bacteria and yeast can’t fall into your brew during fermentation, as the CO2 pushes air out. Hops won’t infect your beer either...they inhibit bacteria and the risk of wild yeast is near zero.

Good call on reducing the 60 minute addition to 1 oz. IDK what your Citra AA% is, but you’ll get a lot of hop bitterness adding 1 oz. so early. Based on the amount of hops you plan on adding and the time they’ll boil, you’re likely to get a 70+ IBU beer. Depending on your water, that could come...

Traditional Kolsch is “lagered” (really, cold conditioned) 5-10 degrees below fermentation temperature. If you drop the beer into the 30s, the yeast will drop out of suspension.

I thought I'd share my recipe for this weekend. This is my third iteration of this beer, "HoneyDew," that my wife initially requested a few years ago. I've also enjoyed it quite a bit, and I think its pretty easy to make. The intent is to have a kolsch-style beer with just a subtle flavor and...

I've always had very high AA with 029 (>80%), but I make a 1L starter for a 3 gallon batch, which makes my pitch rate very high. I always pick the youngest yeast packet at the LBHS too (always less than 3 months old). I don't over pitch on purpose, but I've read that making less than a 1L...

No, almost all esters are produced in the first 72 hours of fermentation. I've used that yeast in the mid 60s with no detectable esters. Bumping up the temp in the last day or two likely won't add any esters (I assume fermentation is close to completion with this yeast if you've pitched a...

I would also recommend waiting for it to finish instead of bottling. You run the risk of bottle bombs when it carbonates in bottle. If you keg it and leave it in the fridge, then you can effectively halt fermentation. Check the gravity again after a couple of days, as your beer could be...

Similar to Jag75, I tape the temperature probe taped to the outside of the carboy with some bubble wrap over it (I have an Johnson Controls Controller to turn the heating element on/off automatically). On the Brew Strong podcast, John Blichmann did some experiments and found less than one degree...

I've had success with seeding heat mats. I used it for a kettle sour recently, and it kept 3 gallons of wort between 90-100 degrees for over 24 hours.

Looks like yeast clumping on the surface. You're probably fine.

Just double checked in How to Brew. Recommended to aerate a second time 8-12 hours post pitch. Recommended to use air pump over the spoon & stir method. Consider using a foam reducing agent to avoid making a mess.