anyone have an opinion here?
WLP 029 or WY2565
2565 is cleaner but takes forever for the yeast to finish fermentation and settle out (like a couple months!) unless you use gelatin after fermentation to settle it out (which only takes 24 hours!).
WLP029 is great as well. It is also a slow fermenter (maybe one month at 60 F) but it settles out without any problem at all. I am currently using it in a “dark kolsch” and it tastes very clean and wonderful as well. I’m actually debating which one I like better. Both are great. I wish I’d done a side-by-side to know for sure.
[quote=“dmtaylo2”]2565 is cleaner but takes forever for the yeast to finish fermentation and settle out (like a couple months!) unless you use gelatin after fermentation to settle it out (which only takes 24 hours!).
WLP029 is great as well. It is also a slow fermenter (maybe one month at 60 F) but it settles out without any problem at all. I am currently using it in a “dark kolsch” and it tastes very clean and wonderful as well. I’m actually debating which one I like better. Both are great. I wish I’d done a side-by-side to know for sure.[/quote]
wow. just wow.
a MONTH @ 60 degrees? I haven’t made a Kolsch yet, but was thinking about one for the spring. I know its not a beer you can rush, but man that is a long time.
Are you saying it takes that long to floc, or is your gravity not where it needs to be?
I know people love kolsch’s, but I’m not sure whats great about spending 6-8 weeks on a beer and NOT having a bo-pils in my hands!
I’m saying I brewed it about 3 weeks ago, and it is STILL bubbling. In fact I just brought the temperature up from 60 F to 67 F in the hopes that this will speed things along. Gravity is about 1.012 (OG was about 1.060) and it is still going. It is NOT infected and tastes sublime. Fermented real fast in the beginning, but it’s the end here that’s taking forever. The yeast is already all settled out. The beer is still in primary and still bubbling away. I know with the other 2565 yeast, it would be the same story, except the beer would be super cloudy for several more weeks.
if the krausen has subsided, couldnt the bubbles just be CO2 being forced out of the solution after you warmed it 7 degrees? 1.012 is about 80% attenuation, and from what I know of kolsch’s they aren’t supposed to be bone, bone dry like a bo/german pils.
I dont mean to be incredulous, it seems you know what you are doing and certainly seem to know this yeast and style well. It just seems to be a long time, but if the taste/gravity of the beer is improving with additional time on the yeast, who am I to argue!? My beers, with a proper pitch of yeast and (hopefully) good manipulation of ferm temperature, are on the yeast for about 2 weeks on average. But once again, I’ve never made a kolsch,
so I’m just trying to gather as much data and experience as I can.
Do you lager yours as well?
It was bubbling while still at 60 F, with a thin krauesen on top, which is why I warmed it up. It seems to be within a day or two of finishing now, the krauesen is now gone and very very little CO2 coming up anymore. Probably done right now – I’ll check on it tonight when I get home from work.
FWIW, I pitched a 2.5-quart starter in a 6-gallon batch. This is approximately half of what mrmalty recommended, but the yeast was very fresh, only like a week or two from manufacture, so I felt safe in doing underpitching slightly. It seems to me that I was right. Fermentation at the beginning started up within like 6 or 8 hours of pitching, by the way. Not shabby.
Once fermentation is 100% done and I see no more signs of CO2, like tonight or tomorrow or whatever, then I will rack and put in my garage to lager for a couple weeks before bottling. Right now my garage is in the 20s which should be a good lagering/conditioning temp. Although this is probably a wasted effort as it already tastes fantastic. Lagering might help to clarify and might mellow it out a little, maybe. But I do think it is optional for a kolsch. I could carbonate and drink this stuff just fine right now today.
So yeah… maybe it doesn’t take a whole month with the WLP029. Maybe closer to 3 weeks. The other 2 weeks or whatever for lagering is optional. But the 2565… you’ll need a couple months almost for certain.
I have brewed 2 batches of honey kolsh using 2565 and the first turned out awesome. the second I just brewed on Friday. Both times I did not use a starter (I know bad bad brewer) and had bubbles at 10 hours. (I brew at night so I can go to bed and not obsess about no activity 
) Both at 62 degrees. As for the first one good clean flavor. Hope that helps Cheers.
Wow missing part of my reply, thats what happens when you leave the computer to go fix things in the house :shock: Or what not, Could be I’m just getting old and forgetful, but my fermentation took 3 weeks at 60 degrees so yes it does take some time but it is well worth it my first batch was half drank in 2 days and with only 20 bottles left I will probably run out before the new one is ready
does anyone catch more/less sulphur in either of these yeasts? I forgot to ask the brewer, but I had a kolsch from a dude in another brew club, and there was the slightest tinge of sulfphur, and it was so damned tasty.
Ok I’m done with hijacking this guy’s thread after that question!
I think I’ll try the default dry yeast.???
Pietro: The 2565 definitely produces more sulfur than the WLP029.
1tun: Yeah, you can use a regular dry yeast to make a kolsch-like ale. You’ll want to ferment as cool as possible, 60 F if you can get it that low, to help the beer turn out as clean as possible. One thing is for sure: You will make good tasty beer!
