Kölsch Style All Grain Beer Kit

Kölsch Style All Grain Beer Kit

Crisp, refreshing and seriously easy-drinking

Fancy brewing something a little different from the usual pale ale or lager? Our Kölsch Style All Grain Beer Kit is a beautifully crisp, pale German-style beer that sits somewhere between an ale and a lager.

Kölsch is traditionally associated with Cologne (Köln), Germany, where the name is protected. While a genuine Kölsch must be brewed in and around Cologne, this recipe lets home brewers recreate the clean, refreshing character of a classic German Kölsch-style beer at home.

Expect a pale straw-coloured beer with a soft malt character, delicate floral hop notes, a crisp finish and plenty of refreshment. It's the sort of beer that's dangerously easy to drink – one pint somehow turns into three.

A German-style beer made for home brewing

One of the things that makes Kölsch particularly interesting for home brewers is its brewing and fermentation character. Traditionally, Kölsch is made using top-fermenting yeast but is then cold conditioned, giving the finished beer a remarkably clean and lager-like character.

That makes it a great choice if you enjoy German lagers and Pilsner-style beers but don't want to go through the demands of a traditional lager fermentation.

Our recipe uses Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Malt, Weyermann Vienna Malt and Dextrin Malt, creating a light, clean malt base with just enough body to balance the crisp finish.

Tettnang hops provide the classic German character, bringing subtle floral and herbal notes rather than overwhelming bitterness.

A personal favourite

I'll be honest, this is one of my favourite beers to brew. I've brewed it more times than I can remember, tweaking the recipe along the way until I got it to where I think it makes a cracking Kölsch-style beer.

It's clean, crisp and ridiculously refreshing, with just enough malt character and Tettnang hops to keep things interesting. It's also one of those beers that seems to disappear from the keg far quicker than it should!

This isn't a recipe I've simply put together for the shop. Infact this is a recipe I've brewed and enjoyed long before the shop was even an idea. I've drunk plenty of it myself and I know what a cracking beer this is. Cheers.

What to expect from your Kölsch

• Colour: Pale straw to light gold
• Character: Clean, crisp and refreshing
• Malt: Light, soft and delicate
• Hops: Floral, herbal and subtly spicy
• Bitterness: Moderate and balanced
• Finish: Dry, crisp and highly refreshing
• Batch size: 23 litres
• Original Gravity: 1.049
• Final Gravity: 1.010
• Approx. ABV: 5.1%

What's included?

Your Kölsch Style All Grain Beer Kit contains everything you need for a 23 litre brew:

Grain

• Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Malt
• Weyermann Vienna Malt
• Crisp Dextrin Malt
  

Hops

• Tettnang

Yeast

• Helvellyn Kolsch Yeast

Addition

• Protofloc
  

All the grain is supplied pre-crushed and ready for brewing, so you can get straight on with brew day.

Why brew a Kölsch-style beer?

If you're a lager drinker who wants to try all grain brewing, this is a cracking place to start.

You get the clean, crisp character associated with German lager beers, but the fermentation process is more approachable for the home brewer. It's also a great summer beer – pale, refreshing and light enough to enjoy without being short on flavour.

Brew your own Kölsch-style German beer

Whether you're looking for a Kölsch all grain kit, a German-style beer for summer, or simply fancy brewing something clean and refreshing, this recipe makes a great addition to your homebrew list.

Get the mash tun out, chill the wort, give the yeast a good home and let it do its thing.

Then give it a little patience.

The reward is a beautifully pale, crisp and refreshing Kölsch-style beer that's made for a sunny afternoon – or, let's be honest, any afternoon.