Kolsch Fermentation Question

[Thirsty Boy]

Touch that keg and all your lagering efforts will be screwed - powdery miserable floaty hell of yeast it is. Plus it has the added "bonus" of being actively nasty tasting in suspension as well. I love kolsch - I love to brew kolsch - but honestly, I have never ever had an unfiltered kolsch that didn't taste bad. Homebrewed and commercial examples both.

Style guidelines say that traditionally kolsches are filtered bright ... and there is a reason.

Some people might not mind beer that tastes like vomit - but me I filter it instead and wouldn't make it if I couldn't.

[ajdelange]

WRT to the Kölsch I mentioned in an earlier post: I took it down to 33 °F and shut off the cooling a couple of days ago. By today it had drifted up to 49 °F and I kegged it. The reason for shutting down the cooling is to kill the convection currents caused by the chill bands in the hope that some of the yeast will drop - not for a diacetyl rest which shouldn't be necessary with an über staub hefe like this one. I say "hope" because while there was plenty of beutiful beige paste in the cone the beer looks like the branch after a storm. Nonetheless it is delicious. Indistinguishable from the previous batch (which has been lagering long enough that it is bright) except that the previous batch is a little more bitter.

It did go through the stinky stage briefly but that was a week or so ago. I used the Wyeast strain for this brew with very good results.

[11amas]

Mine is the Wyeast as well. I may get a plate filter anyway so I plan on seeing how time, gravity, and cold clear up the beer. I have been looking at filtering lately though; it may be my excuse.