Kölsch started

I am proud to say the fifth beer of the year has been started. You may be wondering why I pump out so many beers in February and March, and I will point out that due to school I will have no time in April and I want the beers to be ready when I finish finals in May. Simple answer huh? My cousin Jamie came down to Cincinnati to brew with me. Just in case you did not know, Jamie gave me my first pieces of equipment for brewing, some of which I still use today. Jamie graciously purchased all of the ingredients. We were very fortunate to find the proper German hops, Spalt and Hersbrucker, which were essential for this style. Kölsch is a German ale, that is slowly gaining popularity in the US, almost exclusively as an import, although there are some domestic brands out there. The beer is sometimes confused for a lager, but it does use top fermenting ale yeast, although it is brewed at low temperatures for an ale. The yeast prefers 50-60 degrees. It is sitting in my basement brewing closet just under 60 degrees. The beer is low on hops, and the alcohol will be just over 4% in this recipe. The appearance of the beer will be a light color, and it should be fairly clear. My mission before this beer is bottled, is to find the proper glass, which is in the picture below.

Old 49er Steam on Tap

Hopefully you did not miss a chance to drink the Pale Ale, because the keg was finished and now the Steam beer is on tap. I will eventually buy a second keg, but one is enough for now. In a previous post I described Steam beer. I named it "Old 49er Steam" because the beer has its roots in California in the 1840s during the goldrush. Below is the label I have made for the handful of bottles I filled, and it is displayed on the kegerator. I think the beer turned out nicely, it is a smooth taste that will be refreshing as the spring weather starts to warm up.