Ruined Kolsch

[allentwnguy]

Well not actually ruined just out of the guidelines a bit.

I finally got a mill. yep that's what did it. What a difference. After brewing with a commercial crush and getting high 60ish efficiency my first batch, for the Kolsch, out of my mill gave me 88%. Which of course gave me an OG of 1.060 and an est 6.5% ABV. Way stronger than what I had wanted. But... rather than play with additions I went with it. It will still drink very well and I'll make adjustments to all my recipes based on this, 'cept maybe the IIPA! I guess you have to brew one of your recipes to see where you're at then go from there.

 

[mabrungard]

I've had this problem too. Several beers had too high an OG and the resulting balance was off...due to that new mill. New equipment can often require you to revisit your recipes and procedures. It is a pain. Now I understand why some breweries resist changes of any sort.

 

[allentwnguy]

It will be nice to use less grain. I use beersmith so just changing my efficiency will tweek my recipes, I think. I'm hoping the alcohol bite isn't overpowering for the Kolsch but..... I'll force myself to drink it!

 

[goosegrease]

Congrats on the new mill! Due to many variables, it is very hard to exactly pinpoint what your efficiency will be for any given mash. We can come close, but even when you hit your your number on the head, we still have to boil it. We can again, thru repetition dial in our boil losses pretty well, but there are still plenty of variables. What this is leading up to is a reminder that a last gravity reading before you cool your wort to pitch temps, will allow you to tweak your numbers. Too low, add some DME. Too strong, water is your friend. Hope this might help. take some muscle from your Super Kolsch .

 

[tootal]

Having your own mill is great. Finding that sweet spot between efficiency and a stuck mash can take a couple of tries but once you find it then you can tweak the recipes! Sounds like you got very lucky the first time. I think your Kolsch is like a Sticke Alt. So Sticke Kolsch? (Secret Kolsch) It worked for the guy who made the first double Alt beer. Instead of calling it a mistake he just renamed it his Secret Alt. :rockin:

 

[allentwnguy]

. What this is leading up to is a reminder that a last gravity reading before you cool your wort to pitch temps, will allow you to tweak your numbers. Too low, add some DME. Too strong, water is your friend. Hope this might help. take some muscle from your Super Kolsch .

That is what precipitated the purchase of the mill... I was always having to add DME to get to where I needed to be with my OG. DME isn't cheap and I prefer to buy it just for yeast starters. Yeah I could have added water but then I would have been over volume for the carboy, I don't bottle so there would have been more beer leftover (if there is such a thing!) So I just rolled with the stronger Kolsch. It will taste good and have a kick...

 

[allentwnguy]

Well this beer will be something! It had a good fermentation but... it got warmer out and I don't have a way to cool it well so it has been hovering in the 20c range, which is a little high for this yeast. I wound up putting the carboy (6.5) into my brew kettle and making a water bath. Still it is hard to keep the temp down. I think I'll wind up with a dry fruity 6.5 ABV beer. I hope it is drinkable!