Kolsch

Leaving aside particular styles of beers I want to drink, there are a number of other considerations that go into homebrewing. Some of those things are experimentation and cost. If I can save a few dollars when brewing, I will try to do so. But I also like to try new things and experiment. So this is where yeast culturing comes in. 

I like Kolsch but honestly haven't had a lot of it over the years. And when I buy yeast, I typically try to brew with it multiple times, so it never seemed to make sense - at least to my cheapskate self - to purchase a Kolsch yeast and only use it once, since I wouldn't generally be making multiple Kolsch batches.

After purchasing a four-pack of Riggs Kolsch back in the spring and noticing the beer was quite hazy, I decided to see if I could culture the yeast from a can. It worked well. The yeast took off, and I contacted the brewery to ask about the strain. They replied that they use BSI-29. There is not much information about this particular yeast on the internet, but according to BSI, it is similar to WLP029. 

I continued feeding the yeast until I had enough to pitch as a starter, in May 2023. The night of the brew, I recall that the starter had an apple-y aroma. I was nervous about that but decided to take the risk. And what a big risk. I've been burned by bad yeast so many times in the past. Anyhow, everything was fine. The fermentation was fairly slow and did not form a big krausen. 

Despite the smell of the starter, the beer turned out great. It cleared nicely over time, even though I did not use gelatin. It had a very nice grainy flavor and no yeast off flavors. Not a lot of hop flavor as I recall. This was a well-balanced beer and a recipe that I would love to brew again.

Recipe for 5 gallons (inspired by beerandbrewing.com):

7.5 lbs German pilsner

1 lb Carapils

Targeting about 24 IBU

1 oz Tettnanger (3.9 AA) 60 minutes 

.5 oz Tettnanger 15 minutes

.5 oz Tettnanger 10 minutes

BSI 29 yeast

FG was around 1.008-09

English bitter

Second brew of 2023. Simple English bitter-style ale with Maris Otter and crystal 80. EKG and Fuggles hops. This was a crisp, drinkable beer but I think I just don’t really love the flavor of S04. I often thought the esters were very cherry-like which clashed with some of the ingredients, particularly the first beer I made, Caribou Slobber. One thing I appreciated about this beer is that the malt, bitterness, and ho​p flavor were very balanced. I’ve made beers, such as the Schlafly pale ale clone, in which the malt was completely covered by hop flavor, so it was nice to achieve a balance with this beer.

Recipe for 5 gallons:
7 lb maris otter
.5 lb crystal 80

1 oz ekg 60 minutes
1 oz fuggles 15 minutes

Caribou Slobber

First beer of 2023. Northern Brewer’s Caribou S kit, though I purchased the ingredients on my own and just got the recipe from their web site. This was an ok beer. Nothing wrong with it per se, but the S04 esters clash with the dark malts. This is the second time I’ve made this beer. The first time, in 2014, I used Windsor yeast. I recall the flavor being closer to Moose Drool. So maybe Windsor is a less estery yeast? Regardless, if I make this again, I’ll use a cleaner English or American ale yea​st. 

Sierra Nevada Tumbler clone attempt

Tumbler is a beer that used to appear regularly but now does so only occasionally. It's a great beer and so I wanted to brew a beer that's similar though maybe not an exact clone. Sierra Nevada posts a few details on their website, which I used to developed the recipe. 

This beer is long gone, as I brewed it in the fall of 2022. I recall thinking that the smoke seemed heavy at times, though I think that seemed to disappear the more I drank it. The beer also appeared darker than the real thing. It also had a pronounced char/astringent character from the chocolate malt, so I'd probably dial that back. All in all a tasty beer though.

Recipe for 5 gallons:

8.25 lb 2-row

.5 lb chocolate malt

2 oz smoked malt (Weyermann)

.5 lb Caramel/Crystal 80

1.051 OG

Estimated FG 1.010

SRM 20.65

US-05 yeast

.75 oz Chalenger 60 minutes (8.1 AA)

.5 oz Challenger 15 minutes (8.1 AA)

.25 Willamette 15 minutes (4.2 AA)

36.92 IBU