Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394)

I brewed a couple Sundays ago for the first time since Bad Lands Kölsch (Batch 393).

Over a month between brew days. I'm still "on pace" for less than 75 gallons of beer, which would be the least amount of beer I've ever brewed in a year since 2009, the first year I brewed.

And ... back then I only did 2.5 gallon batches, so even though the volume was less, the number of batches would have been much higher that year.

Oh well! My beer supply isn't in danger of running out. 

Anyway ... as I mentioned in Bad Lands Kölsch vs. Spotted Cow, I recently traveled to Wisconsin, and picked up some Spotted Cow.

Back in 2020, I came up with a "tribute" recipe to Spotted Cow, but didn't have any to compare the two beers to.

I thought now would be a perfect opportunity to re-brew ...

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

I made a couple of recipe changes from the version I brewed in 2020. First, I reduced the color by substituting a dark crystal for what previously was mid-night wheat. For whatever reason, when I originally designed the recipe, I had in my head that Spotted Cow was more amber than it actually is.

I also didn't have Cluster hops, so I substituted Cascade for the finishing hop. It is a small enough amount that I'm not sure this will actually make a difference.

The last change is that I used Colorado Kolsch Yeast (Propagate Lab #MIP-511) instead of the WYeast strain I used in 2020. I suspect this probably has a noticeable flavor difference, but I won't know for sure since it was so long ago that I actually had it.

I got a late start on the Brew Day.

I set up the mash right before going to church, allowing it to finish up while I was away. 

When I returned, I turned on the recirculation for about 15 minutes and then pulled the pipe to drain. I set the Foundry to heat up to around 195.

Then, I headed out for a bike ride 

While I was gone, a GFI tripped, so the Foundry was off. The temperature was still up over 185, so it likely happened fairly soon before I returned for the ride.

But, regardless, I had to take a little more time heating the wort.

The gravity was high, so I diluted the wort some.

Then, I got myself to the boil, which is a short 35 minutes.

The boil went fine. I chilled with the hose and then ice water / pond pump down to under 65 degrees.

I let myself have a Spotted Cow for lunch.

After lunch, I got the fermentor into the basement with the cooling system applied. I pitched the yeast at around 1pm.

Fermentation has been going well. As I type this, it is pretty close to done. As you read it, it will likely be kegged.

Then, I started up Spare Ribs on my Weber Kettle.

I followed my standard procedure .. a couple hours naked ... a couple hours wrapped ... less than an hour sauced. 

It was a nice lazy day. I suspect I had a few SheppyBrew Beers during the day, but I don't remember for sure which ones and how much.

And the ribs turned out wonderful.

As always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.