Posted on 05/18/2011 2:56:56 PM PDT by Hotmetal
I use that same yeast when I make Kolsch also.
You should be fine at 60 degrees. If you did let it go higher you may want to bump it up tword the end of the secondary to help the yeast “clean up” the diacetyl. If you have been keeping it within its temp range, I would cold crash it hard for a solid week. That yeast does not flocculate well and can be a bear to clear. Dont be surprised if you have to use some gelatin to help it clear.
Personally, I prefer to lager mine for a few weeks as cold as I can get it. It helps it clear and will really help to make it drinkable more quickly.
Once its kegged, you will know quickly if you need to do the gelatin trick or not. It will be very apparent.
If so, drop some gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water, let it cool and gently “place” the gelatin water on top of the brew and walk away.
2 or 3 days is usually all it needs to run as clear as water after. be careful of that first glass though, ewwwwww, nasty.
Let me know how it turns out. Kolssh is one of my very favorite styles.
Cheers,
Knewshound
Excellent. Thanks!
I wondered about diacetyl production since I pitched at 70 degrees. It did go right into the keezer at 60, but I read that the kolsch yeast was a bit more tolerant of higher temps than a true lager yeast. It certainly won’t hurt to bump it up to clear any residual diacytl.
I’ve only made one lager, and though I lagered at the right temps and did a diacytl rest, it tasted like bad movie popcorn. Pitching more yeast and another diacytl rest made it taste more like butterscotch, which I understand is somewhat in style for some German lagers. I ended up dumping it though. Now I know to pitch at LAGER temps. The trick is getting that wort cooled that far.
Yes, the yeast does not flocculate well, but I’m not overly concerned about that. It’s not a competition beer. But then again, I want it to look good for friends and family, right?
“I want it to look good for friends and family, right?”
Exactly.
That is after all, why craftsmen like us DO this hobby.
I can buy beer anywhere, serving homebrewed beer is, to me, like serving my guests a gourmet meal.
My meal just happens to last in a keg until its empty.
Cheers,
knewshound
Take it from a Pittsburgh native, warm Iron City in a can tastes like the can.
Inspired by this thread; I added a bottle of 'Arrogant Bastard' to the shopping cart today. I am enjoying it right now...
FINALLY made it to the brew store yesterday.
Coopers Stout in the carboy as we speak...
Started with abt a gallon of tap water, got it boiling. Added in the 1.4 KG corn sugar.
Opened the can (I got smart this time, and had already put it into a pot with hot water in it to get it loose), mix in with the sugar, etc on the stove.
Let it get good and warm but not back up to a boil and put it in the carboy. Added cold tap water and it came down to about 79 degrees. Figured this is probably ok, so I pitched the yeast (London ESB Wyeast. I was actually able to break the damn packet this time, it was swelling good!)
If there is anyone here who wants to try making beer for the first time, I would highly recommend the ESB yeast. It’s hard to get any bad results with this, because by the time you pitch it, it’s like night of the living yeast, this stuff really goes good!
In about 4 days, I’m going to split off around five quarts of it, and add two quarts of water with another 1/2 KG sugar. I like to try things like this, this way I end up with two brews, one a fairly heavy stout, another which is a lighter stout but with higher ABV.
Current temp sitting at 74 degrees and it’s already bubbling like mad!
Luv making beer!
;-)
Hate washing bottles!!
:-(
You know, you travel to a country like the Czech Republic or any of her neighbors, and there just about any mass produced beer beats any of the American so-called craft beers, with weird animal names (hardy, har, har! ) and colorful labels. Why is it? Is it the water?
(I’m excluding from this comparison American brewpub beers, which are in a completely different category.)
Outstanding Pic !
Four of these beers are from Belgiun.Only maybe two of the others were a miss. The one with the dog,Sneaky Pete is a very good IPA. In the past few years American craft beer has come a long way.
Wow, I had found your blog and seen the beast before had never put 2 and 2 togather and connected that blog with you here. Do you have any new suggestions for the beast since you have had it for awhile?
Actually, I have found it to be barely tolerable here in the Sacramento heat. My shop rarely gets below 78 during the summer and the beast struggles bad. While it is still entirely serviceable for ales, lagers/pils are simply going to have to wait until fall.
All in all, the beast is doing exactly as I had hoped. Maintaining 65-75 for nearly any ale is achievable year round now. Pils/Lagers still have to be done once the shop temps drop below 60.
I have done some modifications including wiring the thermostat always on and adding a fan to the evaporator coil.
It is still to this day the single best thing I ever made for homebrewing.
Cheers,
knewshound AKA MM
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