Kolsch vs Lager

[iophon]

I'm not a lager person really but I do like very hoppy Pilsners. So I thought I would try to brew a Pilsner using a kolsch-like recipe. Has anyone done this and what were the results? My thought was to ferment low temps using a neutral yeast and lager (condition really) for a few weeks. Base malt is Golden Promise, hops are noble (plenty of them) but no dry hopping...

[edisonst]

I just made a Pale Alt bier that I hopped up like a northern german pils. I went like 65% pils, 25% Munich, 5% wheat and 5% vienna. I bittered with tettnang, .5 spalt for flavor addition and 1 oz of sahir, spalt, tett blend at 2 minutes.(33 ibu total) I also dry hopped with .5 oz of the same noble blend. Mashed at 150. I tasted it today on the way to the lagering keg and it is friggin delicious. I say go for it.

[dmtaylor]

I think this is a great idea. Go for it. It will be excellent.

[ajdelange]

Kölsch and Pilsner are similar in that they are both made with noble hops and Pilsner malt as the base. But there are definite recipe distinctions and the beers are dramatically different. WRT the grain bill a Kölsch will have a bit of wheat malt for head (though a Pils may have this too) whereas the Pils will have up to 10% carapils or some similar malt to lend caramel notes to the beer. The Kölsch will be done with a two step infusion mash but the best Pils will be done with a triple decoction mash (or the use of some melanoidin malt to simulate the effects of decoction mashing). The biggest difference is in the yeast. Kölsch is all about the yeast. Without a proper Kölsch strain the beer will be nothing like a Kölsch (except perhaps pale). You can make a Pils with a neutral lager yeast but it is better to select a pilsner strain such as the available Budvar or Urquel based yeasts. While it is true that yeast characteristics aren't as strong in a Pils as in an ale it is also true that yeast character is one of the major defining qualities of a particular Pilsner beer.