All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
Kölsch Recipe
BJCP 5B · Kölsch
The golden beer of Cologne: pale, clean and dry, with a light fruitiness from the yeast. It's fermented like an ale and cold-conditioned like a lager.
Kölsch recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.048
- Final gravity
- 1.009
- ABV
- 5.1%
- Bitterness
- 23 IBU
- Color
- 4 SRM (7 EBC)
- Mash
- 65 °C (149 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 16 °C (61 °F) for 14 days, then 2 weeks cold
- Bottling
- 6 g of sugar per liter (0.8 oz/gal)
About 145 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
Kölsch recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner malt4 EBC (2 °L) | 3.80 kg (8.38 lb) | 88.4% |
| Vienna malt8 EBC (4 °L) | 0.30 kg (0.66 lb) | 7.0% |
| Wheat malt4 EBC (2 °L) | 0.20 kg (0.44 lb) | 4.7% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Hallertau Mittelfrüh4% alpha acids | 45 g (1.59 oz) | 60 minBittering |
| Hallertau Mittelfrüh4% alpha acids | 15 g (0.53 oz) | 10 minFlavor |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry kölsch yeast, such as K-97: one 11.5 g (0.4 oz) packet.
Water: About 28.5 L (7.5 gal): 13 L (3.4 gal) for the mash and 15.5 L (4.1 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 6 g of table sugar per liter of beer bottled (0.8 oz/gal), about 120 g (4.2 oz) for 19 L (5.0 gal), or 7 g per liter (0.9 oz/gal) of dextrose.
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 13 L (3.4 gal) of water to 71 °C (160 °F), add the crushed malts and stir well. It should settle at about 65 °C (149 °F): hold that temperature for 60 minutes, covered. Mashing at 65 °C (149 °F) gives a very fermentable wort and a dry kölsch.
- Lift out the grain and sparge it with 15.5 L (4.1 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F). You should collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.042.
- Boil for 60 minutes, uncovered, with 45 g (1.6 oz) of Hallertau from the start and another 15 g (0.5 oz) with 10 minutes left. Pilsner malt needs the full hour of uncovered boiling so it doesn't end up tasting of cooked corn.
- Chill to 16 °C (61 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the sanitized fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.048.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 16 °C (61 °F). Warmer, you get more fruity esters and it drifts away from the style.
- Once the gravity holds at 1.009 for three days in a row, drop the fermenter to 2–4 °C (36–39 °F) and leave it there for two weeks; an old fridge will do. The beer clears and the flavor rounds out.
- Bottle with the sugar dissolved in a little boiled water and let it carbonate for two or three weeks at room temperature. It turns out bright and fairly highly carbonated.
Kölsch yeast is slow to drop out: cold conditioning is what makes it clear. If you can't chill it, it still turns out good, just a bit hazy.
If your Hallertau isn't 4% alpha acids, multiply the grams by 4 and divide by your percentage to keep the 23 IBU.
The style: Kölsch (BJCP 5B), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this Kölsch be?
About 5.1% ABV: it starts at 1.048 and finishes at 1.009, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 16 °C (61 °F) for 14 days, then 2 weeks cold and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of Hallertau Mittelfrüh at 4% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 23 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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Reference style: Kölsch in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.