Grammatical Error Kölsch

Hey there brew fans, I have another update to provide you! Big Brew has come and gone for 2013, and I have a new batch at home fermenting away. What is Big Brew you ask? Well, that just so happens to be the day the American Homebrewers Association tries to get its members to all brew on the same day, with the same recipe. I wasn't keen on the recipe choices for this year (Belgian Blonde, English Dark Mild, and American Pilsner), so I went my own route with it and made a Kölsch, the history of which is partly why I wanted to. Ok, I also love the way these taste as the weather gets hotter, so sue me.

So, what is a Kölsch? It is a style that has a hodgepodge of origins, just like the city it originates from in Germany. Cologne (Köln in German) is in West Germany and was originally a Roman trading hub between Munich and London as it was located by the Rhine River. Those that remained after the fall of Rome began to explore the art of brewing, and eventually they formed a guild in order to protect themselves from unfair taxation and labor practices, but also to make sure they could control their craft.

The craft the guild wanted to protect was the use of gruit, or herb mixtures to balance the sweetness of the malt. Kölsch got part of its identity in this, because the guild would eventually give in to the pressure of the time to use hops instead of gruit. The heritage of the spicy, fresh, and effervescent gruit would not be lost, however.

What makes this evolution all the more interesting was that it took place roughly when the lager revolution was beginning to pick up steam throughout Europe, but especially Germany. Because of how set the guild was in its ways, they outlawed the use of bottom-fermenting (lager) yeast in Cologne and stuck hard to the ale yeasts. Though, they did in the end concede on the use of lighter malt varieties in order to get closer to the popular golden lager color.

So, the beer finally had its basic components and was gaining interest, only to have the two World Wars interrupt them and make the brewers have to go down to a trickle as far as production. It wouldn't undo them though, as they fought back to firmly establish Kölsch a style the world would know forever.

That is the heritage of this style, and the history always pumps me up to find my own way to express it in the present. My recipe uses flaked wheat, which is a bit of a throwback to the wiess version, but I kept it grounded in what is considered a true Kölsch with pilsner malt. The hops are all noble varieties, and no one would venture away from the proper yeast for this style, so it all was pretty simple. The only extra I added in here was some roasted paradise seeds that I crushed and put in right at the end of the boil, to enhance the peppery and spicy qualities of the hops, especially the Saaz.

Overall, the brew day went super well, and I was even able to try my hand at increasing my mash temp gradually instead of the lazy man version of setting it to 160 F and letting it ride. I figure that should give me a more interesting flavor in the end, not to mention a smoother finish. I'm very excited to try it again in a larger batch.

That is all I have for now, but stay tuned for a new post from Coren's Corner and a beer festival review.

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

UPDATE 1: This was not a slouch at fermenting, which I am happy to see. The aroma coming off the blow off bucket is great and makes me want it to finish all the faster. I'd like to try this one again with a bit more wheat, especially red wheat, in the grain bill, just to see what it would taste like. Anyways, here she is after about 30 hours after pitching.