Why is my Kolsch sweet?

[Archsnapper]

It's been about 30 years since i drank Kolsch ( in Cologne ), but my memory was of a light dry ale. I brewed the following recipe and it ended up quite sweet, so much so to my taste buds that I have been considering dumping it. So, can anybody tell me what's wrong with this recipe or what may have gone wrong.

Grainfather

4.5 kg Weyermann Pilsner
0.25 kg Weyermann Vienna
0.25 kg Castle malting wheat blanc

43 gms Hallertau Mittelfruh pellet 60 mins
25 gms Hallertau Mittelfruh pellet 10 mins

Mash 17 L One hour at 66°C
Mashout 10 mins at 75 °
Sparge 15L at 75°

28L in kettle, 60 min boil
26L post boil
Volume in fermenter 22.5L

Fermented at 18°C

Yeast Kolsch WLP029

OG 1.055
FG 1.011

Any insights would be truly appreciated.

Barry

[Leann ull]

Couple of things
Try Munich instead of Vienna
ferment temp it will ferment down to 16 with big starter go 17 if you have no temp control 
come back on the mt a degree or 2
Acid malt 50g if you want a bit of bite
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/05/brewing-a-kolsch-beer-recipe-beer-styles/

[Simon_]

I would only use Pilsner in a Kölsch

[nigel_c]

How long did you lager for? 029 can take a few weeks cold conditionin to hit its sweet spot.
I leave my kolsch around 3 weeks cold at least befor tapping.

[Archsnapper]

Bottled 27 February and stored cold at in or around 8 centigrade.

Edit:  I've just checked my records again and actually that was the date I used gelatine fining. I bottled four days later. Could it be the gelatine that's at fault? I find it difficult to realise it's only in bottle for a month!

[biertourist]

Gelatin fining will not make it sweeter.


I'd agree with CH that it's due to the Weyermann Vienna malt and you should swap it out for Weyermann light munich next time.  -I split a 25kg bag with a guy on this malt recently and it does add a weird sweetness to everything; obviously I'm having a difficult time getting through the bag.

I'd also agree that you want to mash about 2 degrees lower to get a lower FG.  -Also check the Alpha Acid % on those German hops to make sure you're hitting your IBUs -the German noble hops have had insanely low alpha acid %'s for the past 2 years.  (I tried to brew a BoPils with nothing but SaaZ from 2015 and I needed an astronomical amount and made the most expensive BoPils ever (I switched to Sterling for Bittering for the next one).


Also if you can get ahold of it, Schill, a small German maltster now makes "Cologne malt" which is kind of like a blend of Pilsner malt and Munich in one -but not that the color is about 4.5L -so you can't use 100% Cologne malt or it will turn out too dark.  Use a blend of 30% Cologne malt, 60% Pilsner malt, and 10% wheat malt to hit the high end of the kolsch color range.


Also note that Kolsch yeasts, especially when fermented at room temperature put off a lot of white grape (think inside of a white grape with the skin removed) flavors that could also be contributing to the perception of sweetness.  --I honestly think a Kolsch made with Nelson Sauvin as the 15-10 minute addition could be amazingly wine-like especially with a bit of acidulated malt added to get the pH down a bit.  Kolsch yeasts can deal with lower pH's well, too so it would be a great candidate for a grapey beer.



Adam

[biertourist]

How long did you lager for? 029 can take a few weeks cold conditionin to hit its sweet spot.
I leave my kolsch around 3 weeks cold at least befor tapping.

Yep.  I had to leave my last kolsch lagering at 1C for 7 weeks before it dropped clear.  Next time I'm adding gelatin for sure.


Adam

[Leann ull]

Hello Stranger 

[Will_D]

Indeed - welcome back Adam

[DEMPSEY]

Whose the yank

[Rafal]

Archsnappper check Your thermometer.... I had to kick out 4 after checking with thermapen 

[biertourist]

Thanks for the welcome back.

Between working for a US company in the US again and having 2 kids now my free time is almost non-existant so I don't imagine I'll be posting too frequently still...


Adam

[johnrm]

I don't think you were banned. I will PM you.

[Leann ull]

Bermuda, Really? What part of Cork is that?