Kolsch style and water profile

[jon326]

Hey guys,

I know a lot of people get uppity on their water profiles when it comes to trying to make authentic say, a pils of some type variation or origin. When it comes to Kolsch, how impactful is the water profile in regards to the end beer? Picked up a white labs pure pitch kolsch yeast, and just doing a german 2 row/little munich with a simple hop addition. Trying to keep this recipe as simple as possible.

[Kealia]

I wish I could help you, but I can't. I treat my water the same for every brew (which I started doing about 2 years ago) to make my water better, but not specific to each beer style.

There are a few really knowledgeable people here that can help you - hang in until they get here.

[jon326]

haha thanks. before i enlisted i had spreadsheets and every chemical known to man to make my water on point. considering how ridiculously hard the water is where im at in texas, i might need to start treating my water again or just use all distilled with a little tap

[mashani]

I don't know what your using to figure your profiles, but I think a "balanced" profile for a pale colored beer (if that helps you select something) should be fine. My water when treated with Campden at sterilization levels ends up in that type of profile and makes good Kolsch. Doesn't need so much softening/buffering as a Bohemian Pils.

I don't think you should simply try basing it off of Koln city water profile as the breweries most likely treat it. That's the thing about water profiles, you need to really know if a brewery treats their water or not, and how they do it if they do - not simply where it comes from.

What you don't want is a water profile that will make the hops "pop" or make it seem mineraly. You don't want either of those things. The yeast (if using a true Kolsch yeast) will do the magic of making it seem "Crisp" all on its own.

Hope that helps some.

[Beer-lord]

Exactly what yeast is it?

[MadBrewer]

I dont know if I would target a certain profile...I usally dont really. But I would use nuetral water for the most part. Nothing high in Sulfates or Chlorides and Sodium on the other side of the coin. To brew something that light and delicate you would need low carbonate water and need to nuetralize the alkalinity in it or end up with it not making a very good Kolsch.

The better questions are do you know your water profile you brew with? Do you use Bru'n Water or EZ Water for water additions? Are you checking mash ph and acidifying the mash now? If no then tartgeting a water profile is only a piece of the puzzle. But yeah adjusting or building your water for a beer like Kolsch could really make it or break it. Im thinking of brewing up a Kolsch soon myself. When I brew light styles like this I need to acidify the mash heavily because of my alkaline water but thats about it.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I've found that Brew Your Own has about the most reliable brewing style information I've found anywhere online. I haven't had a chance to brew a Kolsch yet myself, but when I do it would be based a lot on Zamil's article. As for the water profile there is a really good article on the Brewing Techniques website about Kolsch brewing water. Come to think about it now, I think brewing up a nice batch of Kolsch will make for a very interesting brewing project.

[mashani]

Exactly what yeast is it?

I don't know what yeast he was planning on using, but WLP029, WY2565, or WY1007 are the only yeasts I'd use to make a Kolsch.

If you make one with a West Coast Ale strain or Notty or something like that like many American brewers do (including commercial "kolsch style" beers) I can pick it out because it's lacking the "crispness" for lack of a better word that you get from the above strains. They throw off sulfur when fermenting, you won't taste it as sulfur in the final product, but it does change the perception of it.

EDIT: For anyone who has not used those yeasts, the 029 is better to use if you have mid 60s temps. The others are good if you have low 60s or even mid 50s temps. You can use the 029 at low 60s temps, but you should build up a starter like for a lager yeast if you do so to get full attenuation.

And they all might stink during fermentation, but don't stress about it.

[jon326]

WLP029 pure pitch.

The water here SUCKS where I am at, so I was going to just build up a balanced profile starting from distilled water. I've been reading around and every says exactly what you all said - don't go for what people think the water is <insert beer origin> but make a balanced profile where your sulfates are lower than your chlorides. With a few additions, I have this :
Ca 50
Mg 5
Na 5
SO4 55
Cl 70
HCO3 0

[MadBrewer]

What you have there should work just fine. As long as the ph target is in range. Something like a Kolsch you would want to target 5.2-5.3 mash ph to keep the beer fermentable and crisp. Lately I have been looking at Bru'n Water more and they have built in target water profiles. I have only used 1 target profile from Bru'n Water so far and it was for "Amber-Balanced" and I'm still waiting to taste the differences from my normal water.

This one below is for "Yellow-Blanced"...just for reference. It's not too far off from what you put together, so sounds like you are on the right track. There problaby would be much difference in the two water profiles that anyone would taste. The difference being this one has more Sulfates, where yours has more Chloride, in the opposite ratio. Both are still in the balanced range.

Ca 50.0 Mg 10.0 Na 5.0 So4 55.0 Cl 45.0

[Foothiller]

Since hearing from sources like podcasts by John Palmer how the mineral content can add desired characters to already good beers, I usually pay attention to water additions as part of my recipes. I'm lucky in the Sierra Nevada foothills to have fairly clean water from the mountain sources, so I need to add minerals even for light beers. I will be doing a Kolsch soon (before the temperature in my work room rises in the spring), and my targets are: Ca 50 ppm, Mg 10, Na 40, SO4 50, HCO3 (bicarbonate) 50, Cl 60.

Comparing this to previous posts, I have seen a minimum of 10 recommended for Mg, as a yeast nutrient, assist with enzyme reactions, accent flavor generally, and slightly lower pH. Chloride, in amounts up to 50 ppm for light beers, accents flavor and sweetness, adds fullness, accentuates bitterness, improves clarity, and increases stability.

Considering my starting water content (from my water district) and that this is a partial mash so it includes some minerals in the maltster's DME, my additions in a 2.5 gallon batch are 1/8 tsp gypsum (CaSO4, 1/8 tsp Epsom salt (MgSO4), 1/4 tsp chalk (CaCO3), 1/8 tsp calcium chloride (CaCl2), and 1/8 tsp non-iodized salt (NaCl).

[ScrewyBrewer]

The most accurate way to measure mineral additions is by weight, using an inexpensive digital scale. Take the volume of calcium chloride and baking soda as one example, where baking soda is very fine and calcium chloride is very course. A tsp of baking soda will weigh more than a tsp of calcium chloride. Chalk is the last thing to use to when trying to raise pH, it is not very soluable in water and very hard to accurately measure its impact ahead of time. I've never added salt directly to my water, but I have increased the NaCl by using baking soda, epsom salt and gypsum proportionately.

[Foothiller]

It's correct that weight is more accurate than volume for measuring the minerals, but the targets really are for workable ranges anyway. The difference in weights of different compounds can be incorporated in the calculations, as mine do. Water district reports are generally for annual averages, and the actual mineral content varies during the year. The same variability could affect the content of DME if some is used. I have talked with a pro brewer who starts each day by testing his water supply, because he knows his water district uses multiple sources with different content, in addition to the seasonal variation. As for what specific additions to use, there are multiple valid ways to get to the desired result, and the combination depends on what's in the starting water content and on other ingredients in the beer.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I have talked with a pro brewer who starts each day by testing his water supply, because he knows his water district uses multiple sources with different content, in addition to the seasonal variation.

Tell me the pro-brewer is Colin Kaminski? If it is, what a cool coincidence!

[Foothiller]

Yes, ir was Colin. We were lucky to have a presentation by him at our homebrew club. I had put some time previously studying water chemistry, then it felt like he covered 10 times that amount of knowledge. I'm still absorbing things from his book, which had immediately gone on my Christmas wish list.