Anita Johnson’s Kölsch

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.046 FG = 1.011 IBU = 31 SRM = 4 ABV = 4.4%
Anita Johnson, owner of Great Fermentations of Indiana, in Indianapolis wrote “Lighten Up!” — a story about brewing light-colored extract beers — in the October 2002 issue of BYO. Anita says, “This Kölsch recipe is a crowd pleaser. We have served it at homebrew club meetings, public beer festivals and in the Indy Runners’ recovery tent at the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon (the country’s largest 1/2 marathon). I like this beer because it has lots of flavor but is light and thirst-quenching. The Wyeast 2565 leaves a tartness that I really like. So simple but yet so good!”

Ingredients

7.85 lbs. (3.56 kg) Pilsner malt
1.4 lbs. (0.64 kg) wheat malt
8 AAU Spalt hops (60 min.) (1.4 oz./40 g of 5.7% alpha acid)
Wyeast 2565 (Kölsch) or White Labs WLP029 (German Ale/Kölsch) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step

Mash at 148–150 °F (64–66 °C) for a drier finish. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning of the boil. Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C).