Subscriber Exclusive
Recipe: pFriem Kölsch-Style Ale
Courtesy of Josh Pfriem, cofounder and brewmaster of pFriem Family Brewers, here is a homebrew-scale version of the beer that won gold at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival.
Make & Drink Better Beer
Subscribe today to access all of the premium brewing content available (including this article). With thousands of reviews, our subscribers call it "the perfect beer magazine" and "worth every penny." Your subscription is protected by a 100% money back guarantee.
For more about this beer and the reasoning behind its methods, see Brewing Naked Beer: Kolsch-Style Ale, the pFriem Way.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.044
FG: 1.007
IBUs: 17
ABV: 4.8%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
7.8 lb (3.5 kg) Weyermann Pilsner
6.5 oz (184 g) Briess White Wheat
HOPS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Tettnanger at 60 minutes [14.5 IBUs]
0.5 oz (14 g) Tettnanger at 10 minutes [2.5 IBUs]
YEAST
BSI W-177 if you can source it, possibly as slurry from a friendly neighborhood brewery; otherwise, use your favorite available Kölsch strain, such as Fermentis SafAle K-97, White Labs WLP029 German/Kölsch Ale, or Wyeast 2565 Kölsch.
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and conduct a step mash: Mash in at 142°F (61°C) and rest 30 minutes; slowly ramp to 154°F (68°C) over 60 minutes, then rest 20 minutes; then raise to 168°F (76°C) and mash out. Lauter and sparge as necessary to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil 70 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. Chill the wort to 58°F (14°C), aerate well, and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 60°F (16°C). When fermentation is complete, chill to 29°F (-2°C) and lager for 2–3 weeks. Then package and carbonate to about 2.7 volumes.
BREWER’S NOTES
Water: For Kölsch you want a soft water profile. We add a small amount of calcium chloride twice—at mash in and when the kettle’s full. For this recipe, the equivalent would be 1 g for each addition.
Clarification: At pFriem, we centrifuge and filter Kölsch-Style Ale. You could consider adding Irish moss or Whirlfloc to the boil, or whatever methods you prefer for getting brilliantly clear beer at home.
