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Kölsch

 Kölsch

Ken Bazley takes us through a brief history of the Kölsch style...

London Amateur Brewers

September 11, 2023
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Transcript

  1. KÖLSCH
    by Ken Bazley

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  2. Pre-Konvention History
    • Brewing tradition in Köln goes back 1000
    years.


    • Kolsch relatively new style - as a term used to
    describe beer only used in the last 100 or so
    years.


    • Developed from wiess, an unfiltered bitter
    lager beer - not to be confused with weiss.

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  3. Pre-Konvention History
    • The name Kölsch is also the name of the local dialect.


    • It began to surface as the name for this top-fermenting
    style of beer in the latter half of C19th


    • First used in an official capacity after WW1


    • 1920’s - the first distinction was made between echt Kolsch
    which was filtered and Kolsch wiess, which was not.






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  4. Kölsch Konvention
    • 700 year tradition of Cologne brewers organising themselves to
    protect their rights and their craft


    • The Kölsch Konvention regulates which beers can be called Kölsch.
    The rules of this were approved by Federal Cartel Office in 1985


    • Hans Sion in 1945 recognised the need for rules governing
    production and distribution of the various Kölsch brands.





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  5. Kölsch Konvention
    • 24 breweries signed Kölsch Konvention in 1986. Some disappeared or
    taken over. Newer breweries have also opened, including Hellers in
    1991 and Bischoff in 2001


    • 16 brands of Kölsch are produced currently by 9 breweries


    • In 1997 Kolsch received a protected appellation from the EU – the
    only beer style in the World to be protected like this.





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  6. KÖLSCH BRANDS

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  7. Konvention Description
    • A full beer (11-14 plato / 1.044-1.056 OG)


    • Top fermented


    • Filtered bright


    • Dry


    • Hoppy


    • “Produced in Cologne, with the exceptions as per section1 para 2. The designation
    "Kölsch" may only be used for light, highly fermented, hoppy, clear, top-fermented full-
    bodied beer produced in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, which is produced within
    the "Kölsch" area of
    ​ ​
    origin and which is produced there conventionally and under the
    designation "Kölsch" and corresponds to the top-fermented beer sold. The area of
    ​​
    origin
    of Kölsch is the urban area of
    ​ ​
    Cologne. The area of
    ​​
    origin also includes those breweries
    outside of the city of Cologne that had already acquired valuable ownership of the
    designation "Kölsch" before these competition rules came into force.”





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  8. BJCP Description
    • ABV 4.4% -5.2%


    • FG 1.007-1.011


    • IBU 18-30


    • OG 1.044 – 1.050


    • EBC 7.0 – 10.0 (3.5 – 5.0 SRM)


    • A subtle, brilliantly clear, pale beer with a delicate balance of malt, fruit, and hop character, moderate
    bitterness, and a well-attenuated but soft finish. Freshness makes a huge difference with this beer,
    as the delicate character can fade quickly with age.









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  9. THE TASTING…

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  10. Recipe Discussion
    • According to Eric Warner (author of Kölsch - History, Brewing, Techniques, Recipes)this is the recipe if you want to make the perfect
    Kölsch


    • For a 5 gallon batch


    • OG 1.045


    • IBU 22


    • Soft water


    • Triple-step infusion mash – 62C, 71C, 78C mashout.


    • Malt


    • 3.18kg Pils malt


    • 0.34kg Wheat malt


    • Hops


    • Perle @ 60min


    • Perle @ 20min


    • Hersbrucker @ 10min


    • Kölsch yeast


    • Then lager @ 0C for 21 days


    • Carbonate to 2.3 vols (2.65 for bottled)









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  11. Recipe Discussion
    • Mark Sanderson’s award-winning recipe


    • OG 1.048


    • IBU 25


    • Single-step infusion @66C plus mashout @ 75C.


    • Malt


    • 97% Heidelberg (Bestmalz)


    • 3% Acidulated malt


    • Hops


    • Perle @ 60min – 15.1 IBU


    • Perle @ 10min – 6.6 IBU


    • Perle @ FO – 3.5


    • Kölsch yeast @ 14C + diacetyl rest


    • Then lager @ 4C for 52 days









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  12. Find out more…
    Buy this book:


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  13. Acknowledgements
    • Eric Warner’s book


    • Kölsch Konvention website


    • https://www.koelner-brauerei-verband.de/k%C3%B6lsch-konvention


    • Wikipedia


    • Also I stole loads of images from the internet, (especially these lovely ones which have formed the
    background to my presentation) so if they’re yours, then thanks.


    • Danke schön unt prost!









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