Long weekend brewing

Summer officially begins this weekend and that has me thinking about what beers to brew with the extra day off.  So many styles go well with the warm weather: wheat beers (both Belgian and German), lagers, lighter IPAs and Pale Ales, and fruit beers.  As I was shopping online for yeast, I noticed Kölsch and knew I had found a winner.

For one, Kölsch is a quaffable beer that goes down smoothly on a hot summer day.  In fact, Saint Arnold brews Fancy Lawnmower Beer which falls into this style and as the name says its perfect to enjoy after activity outside on a summer day.  But do not let the name fool you...in no way does this mean that the style lacks flavor.  Quaffable, yes...tasteless and watered down, no.  Subtle fruit flavors and aromas combine with mild malt sweetness to create a very enjoyable beer.

Second, if I am going to brew a Kölsch I need to do it now before the temperature in my basement gets too warm.  The hybrid ale yeast used to make Kölsch likes temperatures closer to that of a lager and my basement probably won't give me that too much longer. 

And finally, I need to follow up fermentation with a 6 week lagering period.  Doing the math...2 weeks to ferment + 6 weeks to age = 4th of July Kolsch.  Perfect!  For those worried about patriotism, don't.  I will be brewing American style ambers and IPAs over the weekend as well to aid in the celebration!  No English beers...I promise!

With styles that I do not brew frequently, I like to look at the history of how the style came about so that I can be sure to incorporate any traditional methods or ingredients.  Kölsch is an appellation designation similar to Champagne that is protected by the Kölsch Konvention and is restricted to the breweries in and around Cologne(Köln), Germany.  The Konvention defines the beer as a "light, highly attenuated, hop-accentuated, clear top-fermenting vollbier."  The Kölsch style as it is brewed today is less than a hundred years old, but there has been brewing in the city of Cologne, Germany for at least a thousand years.  The precursor to this style was called keutebier and was made from mostly wheat.  Over time, the amount of wheat has been slowly reduced to the point that the beer is produced almost exclusively from malted barley.  The grain bill today for producing a Kölsch consists of Pilsner malt and 0-10% wheat malt.  With that knowledge in hand, I'll probably try about 5% malted wheat to provide some character as I think 100% Pilsner malt will probably be lacking in some of the depth I would prefer.

Back in college when I was traveling Europe one summer, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the approved Cologne brewers, Fruh.  Here we were able to experience Kölsch served in the authentic Kölsch glassware by the dedicated beer server as is the tradition.  Each beer comes in a tall, cylindrical glass of 200 mL like the one pictured at the top of the post.  The specially designated server walks around with a special tray of full glasses delivering them to those who are ready for a refill.  From what I remember, the small glass never lead to situations where I was without beer! 

In a related note, as I was writing this post, a friend forwarded this article from the NY Times that details a writer's recent trip to Germany that includes an exploration of Kölsch.  He does a wonderful job of explaining the Kölsch experience.  He also happens to have a great job...traveling around Germany, drinking beer, and writing about it.  Sign me up!