09 February, 2008

Where the Fuck Are My Hops Kölsch

First brew-day in Texas! There is no LHBS in B/CS so I ordered a Kölsch and a Bitter from Northern Brewer. I figured Kölsch is a good way to ease any megaswill-drinking new friends into good beer. Last night I went through boxes of packed equipment and retrieved what I need to brew. I had a nice starter ready. Everything looked set to go.

The recipe from NB:

Fermentables

  • 9 lbs Durst Pilsen
  • 1 lbs. Weyermann Pale Wheat
Hops
  • 1 oz. Argentina Cascade (60 min)
  • 1 oz. Argentina Cascade (30 min)

Wyeast #2565

I started the strike water around 11:30 (central time) just as a couple of my friends showed up to watch the process. When I went go get the ingredients from the cupboard I discovered that the hops were missing. Either I misplaced them or NB didn't ship them.... This was the perfect opportunity to introduce the guys to the homebrewer's creed: "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew." Lacking homebrewed beer, I pulled out some Fancy Lawnmower ale from St Arnold's Brewery (a kölsch) and went for the ingredients from the bitter. EKG, Target, Magnum.... This won't quite make the BJCP standard definition of kölsch.

Hops
  • 0.75 oz 8% AA Target 60 mins
  • 1.00 oz 5% AA E.K. Goldings 30 mins
I also couldn't find my depth meter (an aluminum ruler), so I had to eyeball the amount of strike water. It turns out I had too much, leaving me with a dilute mash and not enough sparge water. My efficiency is way off because in the end I collected about 4 gallons of 11% brix wort.

I am glad to be making beer again, glad to have six or eight new friends (enough to start a homebrew club) to share the process with (in no small part because of the beer for them). I'll probably find those hops tomorrow.