Kolsch with Wyeast 2565 - noob questions ....

[WrkdbfGuy]

Okay, so I recently brewed my first beer - a nice beginner-friendly Nut Brown Ale. It turned out well and I'm ready for my second batch; this time a Kolsch that my wife requested. But this time I'm going to step up my brewing process a bit. Here's a list of the new things I'm going to try:

• Yeast starter with stir plate
• Both primary and secondary (recommended for Kolsch)
• Blow off tube during primary, air lock during secondary
• Ferment in my basement/"fermentation chamber": 51°F during the winter (no extra cooling needed) and an STC-1000+ with Ferm Wrap to raise/control the Wort temperature

Okay, a few questions to show my noobiness:

Any special tips when doing the 2 or 3 day yeast starter? The directions seem simple enough but there's nothing like experience. When do I know the yeast are ready to be pitched?

Also the yeast directions say to ferment the wort at 58° to 62° with the Wyeast 2565 I'll be using. How would you suggest I set up the profile in the STC-1000+? Just program it to ferment at say 60° for the entire fermentation period (3 weeks or so)? Or should I program it to let the temp drift up a few degrees as the yeast gets active, and then back down? What about letting the temp ramp up a few days before bottling time? Or ramp it down for a cold crash?

Looking for any suggestions and comments as I'd like to do the best I can with these new steps - never having done them before.

Thanks, Bill

 

[billym99]

Hi Bill,

For 2565 I usually pitch and ferment right at 60 and get good results. I use either 2565 or WLP029 for nearly all of my ales. I'll take a gravity towards the end of fermentation, once attenuation is close to where I want it I'll raise the temp to roughly 66 to get the last few points. I don't know about creating a profile with the STC1000, I just monitor daily and adjust as needed.

I never use a secondary so can't help you out there. IMO, I find secondary's to be no more then a hassle. I feel that a good crash cooling post fermentation drops all the yeast nicely and results in bright beer.

For yeast starters I usually make them about three days in advance and use the MrMalty online calculator to figure out size. I try to keep the starter warm (70ish) and crash cool it about 24 hours before pitching so I can decant some of the wort off. I don't worry as much about decanting for an ale since the starter tends to be small, 4L lager starters are another story. I monitor the starter daily, they will start to turn milky once a lot of yeast has been produced, you'll see a krausen at some point. I've read varying opinions on when to pitch (high krausen, post krausen, etc.). I let it mostly ferment out then crash cool, but have pitched during high activity with good results as well. Only tip I have is remember to not use an airlock if using a stir plate, I cover mine with a few layers of sanitized tin foil.

Enjoy! Love some good kolsch and love that yeast, very versatile.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

BillyM had some great advice above.

I love 2565 and my kolsch has turned into a house favorite with my friends. In the first generation it flocculates really REALLY poorly, so I would make my starter about a week ahead of time if possible, let it ride a few days and cold crash for 2-4 days in the fridge. My first time using this I still had a cloudy pour for half the keg after a month of lagering in the keezer. With that said I loved the taste you get from having a bit of yeast in there too, it adds a nice element to a kolsch IMO.

I always over-pitch ~20% based on the Mr. Malty calculators. We're really just estimating our cell counts here and an overpitch of that amount will not affect flavor as much as an under-pitch.

I also never secondary. I pitch at 58, let it self-rise to 60 and let it ride there for 2.5-3 weeks. When I think it's done I increase the temp to 65 for a few days, then take a gravity reading. It helps clarity if you can cold-crash for a few days before kegging, but there will still be a lot of yeast in suspension.

I've been recycling the same pitch of 2565 for 3 brews now and I find it flocculates a bit better in subsiquent generations, presumably because I keep dumping the poor flocculators down the drain when I make my starters!

Enjoy the brew it makes a great beer.

 

[solbes]

Yes, make a healthy sized starter as the cooler than normal pitching temps will require more yeast to get it quickly up and running. I have found my sweetspot for fermenting 2565 is 58F. At 60 you really start to accentuate the lightly fruity and dry wine taste and at 56 that taste is almost non-existent. I like it noticeable but just a little bit in the background. I ramp it up to about 64 or so for 2 days as its nearly finished. Then I drop the temps in primary to 35F over a period of 3-4 days.

I rack into secondary on top of rehydrated unflavored gelatin (plenty of threads here on how to do that). This yeast is a beauty, but she is stubborn to drop. I keep the secondary temp at 35 for 3 weeks and its ready for kegging or bottling at that point. I have made 5 batches over the years and am starting to plan my 6th

 

[JonM]

I usually cold crash and decant starters. If I were using2565, I'd make the starter at least a week in advance so I'd have 4-5 days to cold crash (extremely low flocculating yeast like this needs extra time to settle out)

If you're pitching full volume, then you probably only need 2-3 days.

 

[ChiefIlliniwek]

When I did my first Kolsch last year, I didn't use a starter, because I hadn't advanced that far yet, it was also my second brew. I ended up using one on the next brew (not the Kolsch) four days in advance, let it swirl on the plate for two days, and then moved it to the fridge for two days. I only made a half liter starter because that's what Palmer does in his book. I'm doing 1L starters for this weekend's brew. I haven't used MrMalty, but I need to start.

For the Kolsch, I used Irish moss, and fermented in primary for three weeks at about 60 degrees. I then transferred it to my secondary for three weeks in my downstairs fridge. I was careful to not pick up a lot of the crap in the bottom of the boil kettle when I moved the wort into the fermenter, same thing when I racked from primary to secondary, and from secondary into the bottling bucket. My bottles did have some yeast in them, but they weren't bad.

I think the beer turned out well. It's not great, but it's very drinkable. I had a boilover and lost a decent amount of bittering hops. I think it probably turned out a little maltier than it should have. I'm definitely doing a Kolsch again this summer to try and do a better job.

 

[WrkdbfGuy]

Sorry to resurrect my own thread, but I'd like your opinions on my plans for my Kolsch.

It's been in primary for about 15 days now at a (controlled) 58°F. As expected the 2565 yeast started off with a very vigorous 3 or 4 days with blow off tube. After 8 days or so I replaced the blow off tube with an airlock and the airlock activity has now slowed to about 2 or 3 bubbles per minute.

I'm thinking I should take a gravity reading, and assuming that looks good, raise the temperature to about 68°F or so for 2 to 3 days, then rack to secondary and lager condition for 3 weeks at about 35°. Then bottle of course.

Does this sound good? Or do you have other ideas on how to finish off my Kolsch?

Thanks, Bill

 

[solbes]

I would skip the gravity reading and bring up the temps into mid 60's for 2-3 days. Take your gravity reading right before moving to secondary for lagering (3 weeks at 35 sounds perfect).

Then you have the decision of adding gelatin or isinglass at racking if you want it clearer. It will clear about 1/2 to 2/3 on its own during the 3 weeks of lagering without any fining agents. Not strictly necessary, but is preferred if you want clearer beer. Cheers!